CZECH REPUBLIC: COMBATING EXTREMISM

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 PRAGUE 001382

SIPDIS

FOR R, P, AND EUR/NCE (FICHTE)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/25/2015
TAGS: PREL KDEM KPAO EAID PHUM KMPI EZ
SUBJECT: CZECH REPUBLIC: COMBATING EXTREMISM

REF: A. STATE 159129


B. IIR 6 824 0127 05

C. IIR 6 824 0112 05

Classified By: Political-Military Officer Brian
Greaney for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (S) Summary: Islamic extremism is rare in the Czech
Republic, and Islamic authorities here are keen to ensure
outside influences do not become a catalyst for indigenous
radicalism. The Czech authorities do monitor for potential
Islamic extremist activities. The U.S. Embassy provides
training, monitors the media for hate speech, conducts
outreach towards members of the Islamic community, and
promotes tolerance in all sectors of Czech society. End
summary.

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OVERVIEW
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2. (U) Muslims living in the Czech Republic make up a tiny
proportion of the population as a whole (less than 0.1
percent). The 2001 national census listed 3699 Czechs
Muslims, though the media report a possible ten thousand, and
the Islamic Center in Prague claims a total presence at any
one time of 20,000, including students and temporary visitors
to Czech thermal bath resorts. The largest Muslim communities
are in Prague, Brno, and spa towns, such as Teplice. Most
resident Muslims maintain a low profile, speak Czech well,
and dress as the Czechs do. There are few if any overt
manifestations of the Muslim religion anywhere in the
republic and Czech Muslim organizations are generally
moderate.


3. (S) Intolerance in relation to Islam in the Czech Republic
generally has more to do with Czech intolerance of immigrant
cultures than extremist Islamic preaching. In 2003 a petition
of 4,500 signatures from the population of Teplice blocked
plans to construct a mosque in the town. Another
mosque-building project in Orlova was blocked in 2004, both
by the local population and by the security services, when
they realized the benefactor had had ties to a suspect
Islamic NGO. In this case the local Czech Muslim population
cooperated with the security services. There is no evidence
of any extremist Islamic NGO activity in the Czech Republic.
Islamic authorities in the Czech Republic publicly argue
against extremist violence, calling it "contrary to the two
main sources of Islam, the Koran and Sunna."


4. (U) A notable exception to this general trend is the
statement of Samer Shehaden, a Czech-born Palestinian
employee of the Islamic Foundation in Prague, who stated in
an interview with Czech daily Lidove Noviny that he could not
denounce the September 11th attacks on the United States.
Karam Al-Badavi, the Imam of the Prague Mosque, distanced the
Czech Islamic Foundation from Shehaden, saying Shehaden was
only a volunteer translator there and, while he was entitled
to his personal views, "Islam denounces all these acts ... it
is one of the biggest sins which, according to our faith,
condemns the perpetrator to hell."

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GOCR ACTION IN RELATION TO EXTREMISM
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5. (S) The Czech Security Services are continuing to work
with both the U.S. Government and their EU partner services
to monitor the potential for Islamic extremist activities in
the Czech Republic. These services understand that, not only
is this country a growing center for western tourists, with
many potentially "soft targets," but the overt contribution
of Czech troops to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could
raise their profile with the extremists. The long-standing
and historical relationship between the Czech Republic and
Iraq has created an environment in which the security
services and police are attuned to the potential for
extremists returning to Europe from Iraq, as well as the
overall concern in Europe of homegrown Islamic extremist
terrorist cells. These security services and police units are
aware that illegal activities which are not solely
"terrorism" could easily be exploited by extremist groups,
such as: counterfeiting or money laundering, procurement
and/or forgery of documents (especially passports/visas),
weapons trafficking, etc. The Czech Security Services are
aware of the dangers of Islamic extremist groups, and
continue to take appropriate steps to monitor individuals and
actions, which could lend rise to such groups and coordinate
as necessary with their NATO and EU partners.

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EMBASSY-PROVIDED TRAINING
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6. (S) LEGATT is providing training to Czech security forces
on recognizing initial indicators of fundamentalist activity
that poses a security threat. The aim is to identify an
emerging problem before it becomes a security issue.

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MONITORING BY THE EMBASSY
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7. (S) Embassy Prague monitors hate speech as part of the
normal operations of its Public Affairs, PolEc and DAO
sections. The PAS daily Press Review, which is forwarded
daily to Washington, would include press reporting of
extremist hate speech if it were to emerge. DAO has issued
reports in IIR channels relating to public statements or
interviews by Islamic figures (Refs B,C). As described below,
Polec and PAS continue to cultivate contacts with Islamic
leaders. Discussions of the impact of global extremism on
their lives form a major part of these meetings.
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EMBASSY OUTREACH TO ISLAMIC LEADERS
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8. (C) In October the Ambassador will hold the Embassy,s
first Iftar at his residence in Prague. We are currently
working with representatives of the Muslim community to
identify the appropriate invitees. In August, in an effort at
outreach to the Islamic Community Embassy Officers met with
Mohammed Ali Silhavy, titular head of all Muslims in the
Czech Republic. On Sep 20, Embassy Officers met with Vladimir
Sanka of the Islamic Foundation of Prague to build links with
the Islamic community and to gain further knowledge of
Sanka,s own perceptions of extremism within the Czech Muslim
community. Also on Sep 20 Embassy Prague,s PAO met with
Muneeb Hasan, head of the Islamic Center in Brno, and members
of his management board. The PAO also toured their mosque,
and education and cultural facilities. The cumulative message
from all of these meetings is that the Islamic leadership in
the Czech Republic frowns on extremism, and has avoided
external links and speakers from organizations that might
promote extremist views. However the leadership does believe
that individuals are entitled to their own opinion, and does
not limit expression such as personal disapproval of the war
in Iraq by members of their community. The rise of global
Islamic extremism and in particular the terrorist attacks in
New York, Washington, Madrid and London, have made life more
difficult for Muslims in the Czech Republic. They feel that
they are constantly queried by the media and that the Czech
Government considers them a group of interest. The leadership
also feels that the terrorist attacks negatively affected
Czech public attitudes towards the Islamic community and let
to a rise in discriminatory behavior. The Embassy is
currently considering identifying potential candidates within
the Islamic community for IV program visits to the United
States.

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EMBASSY PUBLIC OUTREACH
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9. (C) Embassy Prague,s Public Affairs section has
identified important Czech links to the Arab world from its
Communist past that may provide useful outreach
opportunities. Prague-based universities, think tanks, and
training institutions may be an ideal forum for communicating
anti-extremist viewpoints. This may have a far greater impact
in the wider conflict than an exclusive focus on the tiny
Muslim community in the Czech Republic. Additionally the
Prague-based headquarters of RFE/RL is a natural platform for
projecting the voices of moderate Islam its radio services
beaming eastward.


10. (U) In a country that is 70-per cent atheist, where
Muslims make up less than 0.1 per cent of the population, and
whose tiny Muslim population is not radical, Embassy PublicAffairs has not
directly focused on Islamic extremism in its
general public outreach programs. Instead public affairs
outreach has focused on promoting tolerance within the wider
society as a whole. For example, the long running Summer
Institute partnership with Palacky University is intended to
develop new thinking and methodologies in addressing critical
issues for the modernization of Czech education. Embassy
Prague,s A/CAO delivered opening remarks this year, focusing
on combating intolerance and promoting multi-culturalism in
schools. This long-term approach addresses the problem of
intolerance towards several groups in Czech society and, in
the context of Islam, we hope that continuing improvement in
tolerance in Czech schools will lead to less of the
marginalization that has shown to promote extremism in other
countries.
CABANISS