Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09MILAN172
2009-08-12 10:23:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Milan
Cable title:  

2G,S - NORTHERN ITALIAN MUSLIMS WITHOUT A COUNTRY

Tags:  PHUM SMIG PGOV SCUL IT 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO0690
PP RUEHFL RUEHNP
DE RUEHMIL #0172/01 2241023
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 121023Z AUG 09
FM AMCONSUL MILAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1826
INFO RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 8890
RUEHFL/AMCONSUL FLORENCE PRIORITY 0216
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES PRIORITY 0211
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MILAN 000172 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR S/P GREG BEHRMAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/12/2019
TAGS: PHUM SMIG PGOV SCUL IT
SUBJECT: 2G,S - NORTHERN ITALIAN MUSLIMS WITHOUT A COUNTRY
- FOLLOW UP TO THE CAIRO SPEECH

REF: A. REF A: STATE 71325

B. REF B: ROME 437

C. REF C: ROME 438

D. REF D: ROME 439

E. REF E: ROME 877

Classified By: CG CAROL PEREZ FOR REASONS 1.4(B) AND (D)
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MILAN 000172

SIPDIS

STATE FOR S/P GREG BEHRMAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/12/2019
TAGS: PHUM SMIG PGOV SCUL IT
SUBJECT: 2G,S - NORTHERN ITALIAN MUSLIMS WITHOUT A COUNTRY
- FOLLOW UP TO THE CAIRO SPEECH

REF: A. REF A: STATE 71325

B. REF B: ROME 437

C. REF C: ROME 438

D. REF D: ROME 439

E. REF E: ROME 877

Classified By: CG CAROL PEREZ FOR REASONS 1.4(B) AND (D)

1.(C) Summary: Despite the largely positive response to the
President,s Cairo speech, the lingering question that
remains for some is &Now what?8 In an effort to continue
the dialogue begun as a result of that address, we met with
contributors to Yalla Italia, a monthly editorial project for
&2G,s8 or second- generation Italian Muslims, based in
Milan. The purpose of the meeting was to gain insight into
the social, political, and economic hurdles faced by 2G,s
and brainstorm on ideas of how we can help address the
difficulties of identity and integration. End summary.

LINK BETWEEN TWO WORLDS

2. (SBU) In response to Ref A request, we,ve begun to
canvass local contacts to gauge the response in Milan and
northern Italy to the President,s Cairo speech and to
brainstorm on ways forward. We recently met with
contributors to &Yalla Italia,8 a monthly magazine
supplement first published in May 2007 by a group of eight
young Italian Muslims of Arab origin and an Italian-Christian
editor-in-chief. Yalla Italia has a combined monthly
circulation and website viewership of over 200,000 and has 20
contributors, the majority of whom are women, and all of whom
are &2G,s8 (&second generation8 immigrants). Their aim
is to introduce Italians to the cultures of the Muslim
members of their community and to assist Muslim immigrants in
the navigation of their dual identities. Their work is
getting international notice in newspapers like the New York
Times and on Muslim-oriented websites like Euro-Islam.info,
which receives 50,000 unique hits per month.

3. (C) The theme of the meeting, and of previous encounters
with immigrant civil society groups (see Refs B, C, and D),
is the plight of the 2G,s. According to the director of
Yalla Italia, one of the greatest frustrations of these
second generation immigrants is the bureaucratic disaster
that is the Italian citizenship process. For most, their

parents arrived in Italy in the early 1970s at a time when
their migration was more about expanding their horizons than
escaping their circumstances. Their children were born and
raised in Italy but can not apply for citizenship until they
are 18 years old. These 2G,s may have citizenship in an
Arab nation through their parents but they are not citizens
in the only country they have ever called home. According to
the GOI provisions on nationality, once this type of
application for citizenship is begun, the GOI sets no
required completion date for the process. Among those
working for Yalla Italia, including one writer who received
his citizenship 3 years after submitting his application, the
shortest completion time in their experience has been between
2 and 4 years, with some waiting as long as 10 to 12 years to
obtain their citizenship.
NO MAN,S LAND

4. (C) Young Italians across the board are finding it
difficult to gain employment in Italy,s current economy.
That said, according to those in the Yalla Italia group, that
challenge is even greater for 2G,s as they are not citizens
and it is difficult for those of Arab descent to receive work
visas. In addition, as laid out in official GOI materials,
an employer interested in hiring a non-Italian citizen faces
a daunting and arduous process that includes multiple
documentation requirements and applications. Thus, while
these 2G non-citizens may have excellent skills and an
extensive Italian education, they feel they cannot utilize
either in a meaningful way. Yalla,s director stressed that
as a result of this economic marginalization, many 2G,s have
to rely more and longer upon their parents, who are often far
more traditional in their practices. Our Yalla contacts
noted that many of those 2G,s who are in contact with the
publication express a frustration that they have no place in
the Italian community.

5. (C) One of the strong concerns of the meeting
participants is that this type of &rejection8 by the
broader Italian community breeds discontent and may lead
2G,s away from integration and toward more extremist margins
of society that would welcome their talents with open arms.
As one Yalla contributor told us, the 2G,s human capital
goes untapped in Italy and their alternatives are limited
despite their education and ambition.
A FRIEND IN THE UNITED STATES

6. (C) While they may feel shunned by the government in the
country of their birth, those with whom we met universally

MILAN 00000172 002 OF 002


praised President Obama,s speech in Cairo. Some, like a
blogger on the Yalla staff, see it as a new direction for the
U.S. government toward a stronger relationship between Islam
and America. Those portions that seemed to resonate most
strongly with the group were the references to the historic
co-existence and cooperation between Islam and the West and
the &forgotten8 contributions of Islam to nations outside
the Middle East. Each of the Yalla group described suffering
indignities they attribute to media-driven misperceptions
following September 11th. There was a sense of vindication
when the President called for an end to using the word Muslim
as a synonym for terrorist. There was also hope that since
President Obama could make a distinction between the majority
of Muslims who practice their faith and culture in peace and
the minority of violent extremists, others can begin to as
well. The speech renewed the faith of the contacts we spoke
with that the United States will lead other nations toward
better relations with the Muslim world. They are looking to
the United States to set an example of tolerance and
acceptance for Italy to follow.
A COMMUNITY IN NORTHERN ITALY

7. (C) With one-third of the country,s land mass and roughly
half its population, northern Italy is also home to the
nation,s greatest concentration of immigrants. Over 62% of
the country,s legal immigrants reside in the region, giving
the 2G,s we spoke with a community, if not a country.
However, strength in this case does not necessarily come in
numbers. Though anti-immigrant rhetoric is evident across
party lines these days, the country,s most openly
anti-immigration political party, the Northern League, is
firmly rooted in the north. The League,s rhetoric appeared
to find resonance with voters in recent European and local
elections even beyond their usual strongholds in the north
(Ref E). With recent election successes and vigorous
campaigning expected leading up to the spring 2010 regional
elections, we expect anti-immigrant rhetoric to continue to
expand north of the Po River.
COMMENT: NOW WHAT?

8. (C) While the members of the group were impressed with the
President,s use of Arabic words and references to Islamic
history in the Cairo speech, the director of Yalla Italia
expressed a concern that &the wind is different but the
direction is the same;8 that the same challenges face this
administration that did the last and that the eloquent words
may be forgotten when it is time to act. Of the broader
engagement themes the President mentioned, our contacts
expressed a need for increased opportunities for longer and
more substantive cultural, educational, and professional
exchanges. One example of our efforts to support such
exchanges is with the International Visitor Leadership
Program (IVLP). Currently, the opposition leader of the
Democratic Party at the Milan City Council is traveling in
the United States as part of an IVLP focused on immigration
and integration issues. He wrote an article on immigrant
assistance centers in the United States, which was published
recently in the left-leaning La Repubblica (Italy,s
second-largest daily newspaper). He is calling for a similar
center in Milan managed by and for immigrants. This may be
the type of change of direction that 2G,s seek, but that
would require the support of local governments ) no
guarantee in Milan or other major northern cities.
Meanwhile, we will continue to work with local contacts to
seek logical programming ideas within the President,s three
areas of engagement.
PEREZ