US embassy cable - 05VIENNA3314

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 VIENNA 003314 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR R, P, AND EUR/AGS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
 
TAGS: PREL, KDEM, KPAO, PHUM, PGOV, KMPI, AU, EIAD 
SUBJECT: COMBATING EXTREMISM: EMBASSY EFFORTS IN AUSTRIA 
 
REF:  STATE 159129 
 
This message is sensitive but unclassified. 
 
1.  (SBU) The Austrian political leadership is generally 
 
satisfied that radicalized Muslims do not pose an 
 
imminent threat to security in Austria.  Austrian media 
 
have shared that confidence and have rarely demanded more 
 
be done to root out extremism.  Austria counts around 
 
340,000 Muslims among its population - approximately 
 
4.2%.  Islam enjoys official status in Austria.  The 
 
"islamische Glaubensgemeinschaft in Osterreich" (IGG) is 
 
the recognized organization representing believers.  At 
 
the same time, the government insists that security 
 
forces keep those few residents suspected of ties with 
 
extremist groups under tight surveillance. 
 
2.  (SBU) Austria's flagship initiative to address the 
 
alienation between Islamic and Western societies is a 
 
high-level conference scheduled for November 14-16, 2005 
 
in Vienna entitled, "Islam in a Pluralistic World."  The 
 
Ministry for Foreign Affairs has invited prominent Moslem 
 
leaders for a dialog with Western counterparts and civil 
 
society experts.  Confirmed Muslim participants include: 
 
- President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan 
 
- Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu of the 
 
Organization of Islamic countries (OIC) 
 
- UN Sec Gen Special Advisor Lakhdar Brahimi 
 
- First Deputy Speaker Hussain Al-Sharistani of the Iraqi 
 
National Assembly 
 
- Religious Affairs Minister Mahmoud Zakzouk of Egypt 
 
- Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Malaysia for 
 
Religious Affairs Abdul Hamid Othman 
 
- Religious Affairs Minister Ahmed Taoufiq of Lebanon. 
 
3.  (SBU) The GoA has also invited former President 
 
Khatami of Iran and many other leading figures.  Austria 
 
is especially interested in obtaining the participation 
 
of Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes.  In 
 
Embassy's view, this conference is probably our best 
 
chance to collaborate with Austria on engaging the Muslim 
 
world.  The event will have added prominence because of 
 
Austria's assumption of the rotating EU Presidency a few 
 
weeks later, on January 1, 2006. 
 
4.  (SBU) According to the Documentation Center of the 
 
Austrian Resistance Movement, traditional right-wing 
 
groups with a pronounced anti-Semitic component are the 
 
source of most extremist ideology here.  There are also a 
 
relative handful of individuals in Austria connected to 
 
the so-called "new anti-Semitism" with a left-wing, anti- 
 
globalization ideology who identify with the anti-Israel 
 
cause of Palestinian extremists.  Some of the several 
 
Austrian-Arab friendship societies reportedly have 
 
members with such sympathies.  However, there have been, 
 
for decades, very few violent incidents.  Anti-Semitism 
 
and other extremist ideologies tend to find expression 
 
through verbal assaults, rather than physical attacks. 
 
5.  (SBU) According to an Interior Ministry report, a few 
 
sympathizers of Muslim extremist groups can be found 
 
among immigrants in Austria. 
 
- Most prominent are sympathizers of the Muslim 
 
Brotherhood (Al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin), the Al-Gama'a al- 
 
islamiya, and the "Global Revolution" group (Hizb ut- 
 
tahrir al-islamiyya). 
 
- There are also some supporters of the "Active Islamic 
 
Youth" group (Aktiva Islamska Omladina). 
 
- Among Turks in Austria, there are also some supporters 
 
of Metin Kaplan.  Among Iranians, there are a few 
 
sympathizers of the Iranian People's Modjahedin 
 
(Modjahedin-e-Khalq). 
 
- Among Palestinians in Austria, there are also some 
 
supporters of Hamas. 
 
- Some representatives of the "Salafiyya Jihadiyya" can 
 
be found, as well. 
 
- The Interior Ministry estimates that, among the 
 
increasing number of Chechen asylum applicants in 
 
Austria, there are also some with ties to the terrorist 
 
scene in their home country. 
 
6.  (SBU) The Interior Ministry is particularly concerned 
 
that supporters of the Al-Gama'a al-islamiya in Austria 
 
could, in the course of the next years, develop new 
 
groupings with a terrorist orientation.  It also sees 
 
some tendencies toward radicalization of young Muslims 
 
due to the activities of the Aktiva Islamska Omladina. 
 
Finally, MoI is concerned that increasing support for 
 
Salafiyya groupings could promote the development of a 
 
fundamentalist Islamic parallel society with a growing 
 
potential for terrorist activity. 
 
7.  (SBU) The Austrian government relies on the 
 
islamische Glaubensgemeinschaft as its official 
 
interlocutor with the Muslim communities.  The IGG has 
 
reciprocated by committing itself to a sustained dialog 
 
with the Austrian state.  This serves as a vehicle to 
 
negotiate with official entities on issues of primary 
 
importance to its membership, and to Muslim immigrants in 
 
general, such as access to housing, jobs and education. 
 
However, some second- and even third-generation 
 
immigrants have clearly not integrated sufficiently to 
 
take full advantage of the benefits of Austrian residence 
 
and/or citizenship. 
 
8.  (SBU) The London Underground bombings came as a jolt 
 
to Austrian society.   In subsequent weeks, media have 
 
have been full of speculation about the danger of Muslim 
 
extremism in Austria.  Reports have shone a bright light 
 
on potentially extremist imams and questioned whether 
 
Austrian integration policies over the past decades have 
 
been effective in easing the conditions that provide 
 
fertile ground for extreme ideologies.  The government 
 
has debated new laws governing citizenship as well as 
 
expanded powers for the police and security services to 
 
monitor potential radicals.  Integration policies are in 
 
a period of transition, as federal, state and local 
 
officials debate standards and methods of compliance. 
 
9.  (SBU) Those integration policies aim increasing the 
 
access of immigrants to state services, especially 
 
education, and eliciting acceptance by immigrants of 
 
"Austrian values."   A variety of providers -- federal, 
 
state and local offices, as well as a host of NGOs - 
 
carry out the policies.  Decision-making is primarily at 
 
the state level, however, and levels of success in this 
 
area vary by region.  Much of the recent debate on state- 
 
supported integration revolves around closing loopholes 
 
that allow many immigrants to avoid programs like German 
 
language courses and to assure that family members, 
 
especially women, participate.  Female participation 
 
continues to be a problem.  Resistance on the part some 
 
of the more conservative immigrants raises the question 
 
in some minds whether these immigrants really want to 
 
integrate into Austrian society. 
 
10.  (SBU) The most experienced regional entity in 
 
integration matters is undoubtedly the state of Vienna. 
 
Vienna, like the other states, manages integration 
 
programs through a municipal department that assists 
 
immigrants in finding jobs and housing and gaining access 
 
to government services.  It provides assistance in 
 
negotiating bureaucracies as well as counseling to help 
 
resolve conflicts with Austrian neighbors.  It also 
 
distributes city money to NGOs working in the field of 
 
integration.  "Foreigner [or Integration] Advisory 
 
Boards," composed of civil society representatives, also 
 
exist in all municipalities with a high proportion of non- 
 
Austrian citizens to help governments maintain dialog 
 
with immigrant communities. 
 
11.  (SBU) The Muslim population in Austria is not as 
 
well established as in Germany and is predominantly 
 
working-class.  Few models exist of economically 
 
successful, integrated Muslim members of Austrian 
 
society.  It is difficult to reach this audience largely 
 
uninvolved in political, cultural or business 
 
organizations -- with the one exception of the IGG. 
 
12.  (SBU) The Embassy has cooperated with the official 
 
Islamic community (IGG) in the past.  However, subsequent 
 
to the Iraq War, the IGG has made it clear on various 
 
occasions that it is presently uninterested in 
 
cooperating with the Embassy on public programming.  In 
 
an unfortunate coincidence, the Embassy's 2004 Iftar 
 
reception fell on the day that U.S. troops began an 
 
offensive against Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah, leading 
 
to an extremely strained atmosphere. 
 
13.  (SBU) The de facto refusal of the IGG to continue 
 
the interaction with the Embassy makes it difficult to 
 
attract moderates who favor dialog -- who seem to be wary 
 
of risking isolation in the community if they cooperate 
 
in programming with the American Embassy.  Post continues 
 
to seek out those willing to cooperate on projects they 
 
believe in despite contrary pressure from the IGG. 
 
14.  (SBU) Still, Post's efforts to make contacts outside 
 
the state-sponsored representative group for Islam have 
 
led to some openings.  Presently, the Mission is planning 
 
a number of events and outreach activities to underscore 
 
our commitment to dialog with Austria's Muslims: 
 
- Public Affairs (PA) is presently planning the visit to 
 
Vienna and Graz of Dr. Mohamad Bashar Arafat, a previous 
 
participant in a number of Department of State-supported 
 
programs, to speak on Muslim experience in America and to 
 
take part in programs on Muslim identity in the West.  PA 
 
is actively working with a range of partners for this 
 
visit, including an Austrian Catholic NGO, Pro Oriente, 
 
dedicated to interfaith dialog, the theological faculty 
 
of the University of Vienna and an Egyptian organization 
 
in Graz, and with individual Muslims who are receptive to 
 
a USG-sponsored speaker.  PA is also working to identify 
 
imams who would be interested in hosting Dr. Arafat at 
 
their mosques to offer Friday prayers or to lecture on 
 
issues of interest to their membership. 
 
- A PA program offering partial scholarships to Austrian 
 
secondary school students to spend a year in the U.S. 
 
has proven highly successful in past.  This year, PA has 
 
negotiated with the partner organization that organizes 
 
these exchanges to target specifically students in the 
 
Muslim immigrant community and to increase joint support 
 
for these students in FY06.  If successful in attracting 
 
Muslim high school students, we will investigate ways to 
 
increase funding for this program. 
 
- In 2005, PA initiated a series of briefings by Embassy 
 
officers for high school classes around Austria.  PA 
 
recently contacted schools in immigrant districts of 
 
Vienna to offer presentations on diversity and tolerance. 
 
- The Embassy again plans to host an Iftar meal, which 
 
will serve to demonstrate American respect for religious 
 
diversity, remind Austrian Muslims that we are still 
 
committed to dialogue, and to advertise for upcoming 
 
programming of particular interest to them. 
 
- If Dr. Arafat's visit is successful, Post intends to 
 
target other cities with relatively smaller, but vibrant 
 
Muslim communities with similar programming. 
 
- PA plans to sponsor a visit by a cultural group with 
 
whom second-generation Muslims in Vienna might be able to 
 
identify ion order to raise awareness among immigrant 
 
youth that the Embassy is interested in them.  We will 
 
follow up with events on the model of an earlier PA- 
 
supported integration program featuring youth 
 
advocates/social workers from New York City. 
 
- PA is exploring the feasibility of opening "mini 
 
American Corners" in Vienna district libraries that serve 
 
high percentages of Muslim residents.  Material would 
 
focus on themes of tolerance, equality, and integration 
 
and could serve as a focal point for Embassy programs in 
 
neighborhoods that have yet to see an Embassy officer.