KEY MUSLIM ORGANIZATIONS IN THE NETHERLANDS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 003340 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958 N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PINR PTER SOCI SCUL KISL KPAO SUBJECT: KEY MUSLIM ORGANIZATIONS IN THE NETHERLANDS ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Muslim community in the Netherlands boasts an array of organizations claiming to represent Muslim interests. The Dutch media and government frequently look to spokesmen from these groups to express "Muslim" views on integration initiatives and other matters. Some post contacts have questioned how connected such groups actually are to the communities they claim to represent, but there is no question that they are an influential part of the ongoing Dutch debate on integration issues. The attached list illustrates the breadth of Islamic community organizations in the Netherlands and gives some indication of how they interact with one another; it is not intended to be comprehensive or exhaustive. END SUMMARY. ¶I. Contact Group for Muslims and Government -------------- (Contactorgaan Moslims en Overheid) (CMO): -------------- ¶2. (U) The CMO is an umbrella organization, founded in 2001, which gathers together 7 organizations of Turkish, Moroccan and Surinamese origin. The CMO claims to represent 80 percent (560,000) of the Dutch Muslim population, most of whom are Sunnis. The group acts as the main advisory body to the government on Islamic issues. The current leader of this umbrella organization is Ayhan Tonca; the leadership position rotates every two years between leaders of the included groups. ¶3. (U) The CMO includes the following organizations: - Islamic Foundation of the Netherlands (Islamitische Stichting Nederland / Hollanda Diyanet Vakfi) (ISN): The current leader is Cevdet Keskin. This group owns most of the Turkish mosques in the Netherlands, in the name of the Turkish government. Members include those working at the Turkish Embassy. The group is the Turkish Diyanet's representative in the Netherlands. - Turkish-Islamic Cultural Federation (Turks Islamitische Culturele Federatie) (TICF): This is the largest Turkish federation in the Netherlands. Ayhan Tonca is the head of the group. - Union of Moroccan Muslim Organizations in the Netherlands (UMMON) (Unie van Marokkaanse Moslim Organisaties in Nederland: The group, currently led by Driss Boujoufi and founded in 1978, an umbrella organization, which approximately 80 Moroccan mosques are affiliated. The board of the UMMON stresses that in political matters it takes a neutral position. - Milli-Gorus Northern Netherlands (Milli-Gorus Noord Nederland): Leader is Haci Karacaer (a former IV participant). Although it caters to a largely Turkish population, Milli-Gorus trains its own imams and is not connected to the Turkish Diyanet. The group's European Headquarters is in Cologne. - Dutch Islamic Federation (Nederlandse Islamitische Federatie) (NIF): A. Sahin is the leader of the group. This is the southern branch of Milli-Gorus. Embassy interlocutors have suggested relations between the north and south branches of Milli-Gorus are strained. - World Islamic Mission Netherlands (WIM): The group maintains control of some Surinamese mosques in the Netherlands, and is led by Nasr Joemman. - Islamic Center Netherlands Foundation (Stichting Islamitisch Centrum Nederland) (SICN): This is a Turkish- Islamic umbrella organization, which has approximately 50 member institutions, including primarily mosques and youth centers. The group's current leader is A. Kandemir. II. Contact Group for Islam (Contact Groep Islam) (CGI): -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The CGI was formed in 2004 in protest against the CMO. Hikmaty Mahawat Khan is currently the leader of this group. The founders of CGI, including Alevites, Shiites, and Ahmaddiyas claimed that CMO did not adequately represent them. The group claims to represent 20 percent of the Muslim community (150,000 Muslims). III. Islam and Burgerschap (Islam and Citizenship): -------------- -------------- ¶5. (U) This group, led by Mohammed Sini who some call the "grandfather of integration," was founded in 1999 by the Ministry of Justice. The goal at that time was to increase THE HAGUE 00003340 002 OF 002 dialogue about the compatibility of Dutch citizenship and Muslim values. Today the group sponsors various conferences, panels, and events to increase the discourse. IV. Foundation of Moroccans and Tunisians -------------- (Samenwerkingsverband Marokkanen en Tunesiers) (SMT): -------------- -------------- ¶6. (U) The SMT was founded in 1987 to act as a nationwide consultative organization to defend the interests of Moroccans and Tunisians in the Netherlands. Habib El Kaddouri currently leads it ¶V. FORUM: -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The Director of FORUM Institute of Multicultural Development is Sadik Harchaoui. The group is not a Muslim organization per se, but a national center of expertise in the field of multicultural development. Originally funded by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, today the organization receives considerable funding from the Ministry of Integration as well. The group sponsors various programs, speakers, and conferences on behalf of the Ministry of Integration. Blakeman