Naturalized Islamic Fundamentalists: Hesse Court Reverses

UNCLAS FRANKFURT 000531 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM SCUL KISL GM SUBJECT: Naturalized Islamic Fundamentalists: Hesse Court Reverses Verdict against Milli Goerus Members Sensitive but unclassified; not for internet distribution. ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: On January 18, the Hesse Administrative Court in Kassel ruled in favor of four naturalized Germans of Turkish origin after the state stripped their citizenship for not having reported being members in the fundamentalist Islamic group Milli Goerus (IGMG). Striking down an earlier finding that the men should have revealed their IGMG membership during the naturalization process (due to its alleged anti-constitutional tenets),the state court ruled that the four were not necessarily committing fraud. Hesse state authorities denounced the verdict -- the latest roadblock to deporting hardliners -- as an "invitation" to fraudulent naturalization. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) As in other German states, the Hesse Office for the Protection of the Constitution has monitored Milli Goerus/IGMG activities since the 1990s. Hesse authorities argue that, while the IGMG officially endorses co-existence and integration, in practice it supports the creation of an authoritarian Islamic theocracy (for instance, preaching a subservient role for women). Court: Cannot Assume Citizens Know a Group is Hardline - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (U) Under Germany's constitution, revoking German citizenship is only possible if the person does not end up stateless (which would have been the case here),except where citizenship is obtained via "malicious fraud." The court held that the four men (all of whom had served as board members in local IGMG bodies) did not commit such fraud. Even if Milli Goerus is anti-constitutional -- the court left the question open -- the state could not expect naturalization applicants to make such an assessment of IGMG (or other organizations) without asking them specifically. Reaction of Hesse Authorities - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. (SBU) The Hesse Ministry of Interior responded with "shock" at the verdict and called it naive to assume that the four men -- local leaders within Milli Goerus -- did not know about state monitoring of the organization. Hesse Interior Minister Volker Bouffier (CDU/Christian Democrats) called the verdict practically an invitation to obtain German citizenship via fraud. Since the judges have ruled out an appeal at the state level, the ministry can only raise the issue at the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig. A MinInt contact told us they have not yet received the Kassel court's official verdict and detailed justification, the basis upon which the Ministry will decide its next steps. COMMENT: The Difficulty of Deporting Hardliners - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶5. (SBU) In Germany, states hold most of the cards in policy towards Muslim immigrants -- whether housing, education, naturalization, or public security. This case, along with a recent series of deportations of alleged extremists, represents the cutting edge of state efforts to exclude fundamentalists while embracing "mainstream" Muslims -- efforts that frequently run into the wall of extensive legal protections for the accused. The case also points out conflicting views of Milli Goerus as either an authentic representative of devout Muslims (it participates indirectly in the federal government's "Integration Dialogue") or a threat to the German constitutional order (the view of conservative German states such as Hesse). ¶6. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Berlin. POWELL