Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09STRASBOURG27
2009-11-06 15:31:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Strasbourg
Cable title:  

STRASBOURG AND ISLAM: MOVES FORWARD; DISCRIMINATION STILL

Tags:  PGOV PINR PREL FR 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO1456
PP RUEHMRE RUEHSR
DE RUEHSR #0027/01 3101531
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 061531Z NOV 09
FM AMCONSUL STRASBOURG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0192
INFO RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0143
RUEHMRE/AMCONSUL MARSEILLE PRIORITY 0005
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEHSR/AMCONSUL STRASBOURG 0203
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 STRASBOURG 000027 

SIPDIS

STATE ALSO FOR EUR/WE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/6/2029
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL FR
SUBJECT: STRASBOURG AND ISLAM: MOVES FORWARD; DISCRIMINATION STILL
EXISTS

CLASSIFIED BY: Vincent Carver, CG, Strasbourg, State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)
SUMMARY
- - - - - -
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 STRASBOURG 000027

SIPDIS

STATE ALSO FOR EUR/WE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/6/2029
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL FR
SUBJECT: STRASBOURG AND ISLAM: MOVES FORWARD; DISCRIMINATION STILL
EXISTS

CLASSIFIED BY: Vincent Carver, CG, Strasbourg, State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)
SUMMARY
- - - - - -

1. (C)Strasbourg City Hall takes an pro-active approach toward
the Muslim communities in the city, including via political and
financial support for the construction of a new Grand Mosque.
Our Muslim interlocutors are split along generational lines when
they discuss discrimination - with young people generally
perceiving little or no anti-Muslim sentiment in this eastern
French city while their elders complain of informal
discrimination. There apparently are limits to Strasbourg's
"official" tolerance, with a Deputy Mayor telling us that the
city will "never" authorize the prayer to call to be broadcast
from minarets. END SUMMARY

NOT ONE HOMOGENEOUS GROUP
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2. (C) While French government institutions do not identify
citizens and residents according to their faith, the Strasbourg
City Hall told us it estimates that Muslims make up
approximately ten percent of Strasbourg's population, with the
vast majority being first- and second-generation Moroccans.
Those from (or with parents from) Algeria and Tunisia follow,
with Turks being the fourth largest component. Almost all are
Sunni. City Hall noted to us that one must talk of
"communities," rather than one homogenous Islamic group.
According to Olivier Bitz, Deputy Mayor for Religious Affairs,
there are 24 identifiable groups within these communities - some
self-identified by national origin, others simply affiliated by
neighborhood. In any case, Bitz stressed that his role is to
ensure that all citizens and residents of Strasbourg are able to
practice their religion and remain free from discrimination
based on religion.

CITY FINANCIAL SUPPORT
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3. (C) Bitz explained that City Hall recognizes the
post-September 11 realities, including regarding mainstream
French questioning of the role of Islam in France. One way to
combat discrimination, he said, is to "get the prayer groups out
of the cellars." This is a major reason why Mayor Ries (whose
principal deputy is a Muslim woman of Moroccan parents)

supports, both politically and financially, the construction of
a new Grand Mosque. (Note: the current "Grand Mosque" is
anything but "grand" in its aging building at the end of a
dead-end street.) While Islam is not one of the religions
covered by the 1905 Concordat (which remains law in Alsace and
Lorraine),City Hall extends similar financial subsidies to
Islamic religious projects, including for the current
construction of the Grand Mosque, as it goes for Protestant,
Jewish, and Catholic institutions. Thus far, Bitz added, Ries'
political opponents have not publicly questioned such subsidies,
although some opponents had blocked earlier efforts to construct
a new mosque.

"TOLERANCE," UP TO A POINT
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4. (C) After some probing, Bitz acknowledged that there remain
"some concerns" about potential extremists. He said the
"appropriate French authorities" monitor some imams' sermons and
examine any foreign financing of the construction of the Grand
Mosque. He noted, too, that the state keeps close watch on
Mohamed Latreche, head of the Party of Muslims in France (PMF)
and a long-time resident of a Strasbourg suburb (who was one of
the protagonists behind relatively small yet vocal anti-Israel
and anti-Zionist protests in Strasbourg during the Gaza
confrontation). Bitz admitted that, while eventually the Grand
Mosque would add a minaret to the Strasbourg skyline, the
authorities "would never" permit the prayer to call to be
broadcast from it, even as church bells continue to ring
throughout the city.

MUSLIMS: SPLIT ALONG GENERATIONAL LINES
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5. (SBU) In our admittedly unscientific sampling of opinions of
Muslims living here, we have found that those, generally aged 50
and over and mainly born outside France, view Strasbourg society
as discriminatory against them. Driss Ayachour, President of
the Regional Council of Muslims, and Said Aalla, President of
the current Grand Mosque, have told us that Muslims face a
difficult opponent - informal discrimination, not from current
city officials, but from regular citizens. Younger people,
however, have told us that they have experienced little or no
discrimination, including in education, employment, and business
contracts. (We note that some of the media report that the
number of Muslims among the prison population in this part of
France is disproportionately large; otherwise, possible
discrimination based on religion is not a widely covered topic
in the regional media.)

STRASBOURG 00000027 002 OF 002



COMMENT
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6. (C) City authorities have taken a more positive and
pro-active approach over the past few years toward Muslims
living here. These authorities want to "demystify" their Muslim
residents for the rest of the citizens. One major way has been
their support for the construction of the Grand Mosque. Leaders
of other major religions here - Catholic, Lutheran, other
Protestant, and Jewish - also support the construction as a
method of further integrating Muslims into Strasbourg society.
That said, Bitz' comments about surveillance demonstrate that
the State also remains aware that extremists could threaten the
relative spirit of tolerance in this city. And while older
generations of Muslims may feel discrimination, we also note
that some non-Muslims living here, when speaking privately to
us, acknowledge mistrust of their Muslim neighbors. One new
Grand Mosque is a great step forward - on a lengthy path toward
dispelling the religious-based discrimination that still exists
here.
CARVER