SPANISH MUSLIMS VIEWS ON U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 000699

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2015
TAGS: SOCI KPAO KISL SP
SUBJECT: SPANISH MUSLIMS VIEWS ON U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

REF: MADRID 645

Classified By: Political Officer Ricardo Zuniga for Reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. This message is the second of two cables
discussing Spain's large and growing Muslim community and is
based on Poloff's discussions with leading members of the
Muslim community in Madrid (Reftel). Poloff recently met
with three prominent members of the Muslim community--Yusuf
Fernandez, the Spokesman for the Islamic Federation of Spain;
Ebraheem A.S. Alzaid, the Director of the Islamic Cultural
Center in Madrid; and Mustapha El M'Rabet, the President of
the Association of Moroccan Workers and Immigrants in Spain
(ATIME). The following is a glimpse of these leaders views
of U.S. foreign policy and U.S.-Spanish relations. The
Muslim leaders all disagreed with U.S. policy in Iraq,
Palestine, and the Middle East in general. They were all
clear in making a distinction between their rejection of USG
policies and their admiration for the U.S. people. According
to the community leaders, the U.S. Embassy can help the local
Muslim community by working on Islamophobia issues, hosting
events with Muslim mosques, and having the new Ambassador try
to reach out to Zapatero to revive U.S.-Spanish relations.
They welcomed the Embassy's outreach efforts to the local
Muslim community. Sadly, these meetings revealed that even
moderate Muslim leaders eagerly accepted conspiracy theories
placing the USG in the worst possible light. END SUMMARY.

//DISAGREEMENT WITH U.S. POLICY TOWARDS THE MIDDLE EAST//


2. (U) Spanish Muslims almost universally disagree with USG
foreign policy in Iraq, Palestine, and the Middle East in
general. The community leaders all stated that the top U.S.
priority should be to resolve the Israeli/Palestinian
dispute. M'Rabet was hopeful that the Iraqi elections would
help the Iraqi people, but he was skeptical that "democracy
could enter via tanks." M'Rabet said the death of U.S.
soldiers in Iraq did not bring him any joy; when he sees
American deaths, he sees young, innocent kids. Fernandez
asserted that the only solution in Iraq is total U.S.
withdrawal of troops. Alzaid pointed out that many of the
worshipers at the M-30 mosque were against U.S. policies in
Iraq and Afghanistan. (NOTE: The Islamic Cultural Center
and the M-30 mosque are housed in the same Madrid complex.
The M-30 mosque receives its name from its proximity to a
major Madrid highway.) M'Rabet cautioned against any future
U.S. military action in Iran.

//U.S. PEOPLE DISTINCT FROM U.S. POLICIES//

3, (U) Alzaid, a Saudi national who lived in the United
States prior to September 11, believes that U.S. foreign
policy towards the Muslim world in the wake of the 9/11
attacks has been unjust. He said that the U.S. was "a good
example of liberty and tolerance to the rest of the world,"
but he believes that people now have more fear of the U.S.
than respect. He believes that Americans are generally more
open than Europeans and pragmatic in their relations with the
rest of the world rather than viewing relations through the
lens of hundreds of years of history like many Europeans.


4. (U) All of the Muslim leaders were clear to make the
distinction between their rejection of U.S. policy and their
admiration for the people of the U.S. Both M'Rabet and
Fernandez pointed out that "millions of people did not vote
for Bush," and Fernandez insisted that Spanish Muslims are
not anti-American. He singled out former Attorney General
John Ashcroft and his "disregard for the rights of Muslims"
as an example of how U.S. policies had changed for the worse
after September 11. He added that European Muslims have a
generally bad image of U.S. government policies based on
episodes such as Yusuf Islam's (Cat Stevens) not being
allowed to enter the U.S. on a United Airlines flight and the
visa problems of Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan who wanted to
teach at Notre Dame University.

//U.S. - MOROCCO RELATIONS//


5. (U) M'Rabet told Poloff that he is worried about the
future of Morocco and does not have confidence in King
Mohamed VI and his advisors. He said that many of the
initial changes made when Mohamed VI inherited the throne
from Hassan II were simply an illusion. The new king may
have changed advisors and re-named policies, but the
political and economic situation has not improved under his
watch. He said that the King still has too many powers and
the government too few powers. The economic situation has
not improved, and M'Rabet sees continuing immigration from
Morocco to Spain. He believes that Moroccans could benefit
from political institutions similar to European institutions.
He pointed out that the authoritarian Japanese government
during World War II had made a successful transition to
democracy after the war. M'Rabet believes that there is no
forum for open debate in Morocco and that the political
parties are not well developed. This has led to increased
alienation from politics among young Moroccans and the
increased acceptance of the Islamist parties. He does not
know what the U.S. can do to help Morocco, but he does
believe that the first step towards more open democracy in
Morocco is more effective political parties.

//U.S. - MUSLIM RELATIONS//


6. (U) M'Rabet expressed hope that President Bush and the
next Ambassador will work with Zapatero to improve bilateral
relations. Fernandez asked Poloff why the U.S. does not have
a unit working on Islamophobia issues, while the State
Department covers anti-Semitism issues. He believes that the
British government has done a better job than the U.S. of
working with their Muslim community. All of the Muslim
leaders were concerned about the portrayal of Muslims on
television and in films.


7. (U) Alzaid said that the U.S. needs the Islamic world
and the Islamic world needs the U.S. He would like to have
American commentators and media not treat the whole Muslim
world as if they were the same as the 19 September 11
hijackers. He would be open to the Islamic Cultural Center
co-hosting an event or a joint activity against terrorism at
some later date. His center has a grand exposition room that
could be used for events by the U.S. Embassy, and he would
like to see future student exchanges between Spanish Muslims
and American students.


8. (U) All three leaders welcomed enhanced Mission outreach
to Spain's Muslim community. Post has organized a Muslim
outreach group to coordinate and promote increased contact
with the Islamic community. This includes sending community
leaders invitations to special events, organizing visits by
Citizen Diplomats, and hosting meetings between the Charge
and Muslim leaders. Alzaid's previous travel to the U.S.
made him respect the tolerance of the U.S. people. M'Rabet
was well-informed and articulate, and would be a good
candidate to visit the U.S. in the future. He has many
contacts with journalists in the U.S., and he respects the
role of the free press in the U.S.

//CONSPIRACY THEORIES LINGER//


9. (C) Poloff had good discussions with all of the Muslim
leaders he met. Fernandez, as the spokesman for the more
established Islamic Federation, is known as being a moderate
Muslim, but he surprised Poloff towards the end of the
interview with his readiness to accept conspiracy theories
regarding the 9/11 attacks. He supported the notion that a
missile hit the Pentagon rather than a plane, and he drew a
diagram of the Pentagon, claiming the angle would be too
difficult for a plane to fly into the building. He also
expressed his doubts about Mohammed Atta's ability to captain
a jet plane and gave Poloff the listing of a couple of web
sites in the U.S. and France that pose doubts on the USG
version of events of September 11.
MANZANARES