IRAN SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM OPPORTUNITIES IN SWEDEN

C O N F I D E N T I A L STOCKHOLM 000506

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/16/2018
TAGS: IR KDEM KPAO PREL SW
SUBJECT: IRAN SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM OPPORTUNITIES IN SWEDEN

REF: A. STATE 33385

B. 07 STOCKHOLM 00735

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Robert Silverman for reasons 1.4(b)and
(d).


1. (C) Summary: Post has reached out to members of the
Iranian community in Sweden over the past year. Post has not
yet identified recipients for the Iran Small Grants Program,
however, we continue to vet different groups and intend to
nominate several candidates in the Fall. Iranian Swedes are
the best integrated and most successful Muslim immigrant
group in Sweden, and probably among the best integrated in
Europe. Thus, we intend to finalize our choices and seek
Department support soonest. End Summary.

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BACKGROUND: IRANIAN COMMUNITY IN SWEDEN
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2. (C) Swedish contacts converge on an estimate of at least
70,000 Iranians in Sweden, the third largest Muslim immigrant
group in the country, after immigrants from Iraq and the
Balkans. Unofficial estimates of the total number of Muslims
in Sweden range from 350,000 to 450,000 (Note: The Swedish
government does not provide official figures for
religious/ethnic composition. End Note). The Swedish
Statistics Bureau estimates that Kurds make up the majority
of Iranian immigrants in Sweden.


3. (C) Embassy contacts in the Muslim community indicate that
the Iranians are the best integrated Muslim group in Sweden.
A number of Iranian Swedes are highly successful businessmen
and the Swedish Parliament includes one Iranian-born member,
Reza Khelili Dylami. Post contacts also indicate, however,
that many ethnic Iranian Swedes describe feeling isolated
from Swedish society and that success varies significantly
among the three different waves of Iranian immigrants. The
first wave was mainly political activists opposed to the Shah
who arrived to Sweden in the 1970s. Post contacts estimate
they compose roughly five percent of the current Iranian
community and that this group fills the ranks of the
Mujahadeen e-Khalq (MEK). The second group, wealthy elite
Iranians, arrived from the late 1970s to the early 1980s and
have enjoyed significant financial success in Sweden. The
third wave, middle class economic migrants, arrived in the
late 1980s. Members of this last group are less successful,
tend to be employed in the service sector, and continue to
drive a stream of migrants arriving to Sweden for family
reunification.

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IRAN SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM OPPORTUNITIES
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4. (C) INITIAL OUTREACH TO THE IRANIAN COMMUNITY IN SWEDEN:
Over the past year, as part of the Embassy program of Muslim
engagement, Emboffs began reaching out to members of the
Iranian community in Sweden. This included inviting Iranian
participation in post-sponsored roundtables on Muslim
integration in Sweden and meeting privately with prominent
community members, including Masoud Kamali, Professor of
Ethnic Relations at Sweden's prestigious Uppsala University
and an advisor to Social Democratic Party leader Mona Sahlin;
Leili Falsafi, an author and diversity consultant; and Idriss
and Loghman Ahmedi, members of the youth wing of the
Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI).


5. (C) FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES: Many Iranian Swedes do not
belong to organized Iranian political or social groups.
Contacts assert that members of the Iranian community are
wary of officially organizing on the basis of their ethnicity
or religion because they believe it will hinder their
integration into Swedish society (ref B). Nevertheless,
Post's initial outreach and research has identified some 70
Iranian groups operating in Sweden. Many of these
organizations focus on social and cultural bonds, rather than
political affiliation.


6. (C) Post has started to identify organizations that could
be potential recipients of the Iran Small Grants program. We
are requesting additional time to nominate candidates,
however, in order to further develop contacts and fully vet
these organizations. Many of the groups that are politically
active are aligned with MEK. Post contacts also warn that
many of the other organizations, social and political, have
been infiltrated by Iranian government intelligence
organizations.
SILVERMAN