NextGen Day

The far-right coalition in power has proposed a contentious measure that has once again thrust Muslims and their places of worship into the spotlight of Italian politics.

The law’s potential to close hundreds of Islamic prayer halls has alarmed the nation’s 2.5 million Muslim population.

Politicians from the opposition are likewise outraged by the measure, which they see as unconstitutional and “unacceptable discrimination.”

The measure, put out by the Brothers of Italy party of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, will target places of worship that are not mosques or have never been formally authorized to be used for worship, such as the locations of numerous Muslim cultural organizations.

It’s ridiculous. According to Yassine Lafram, president of the Union of Islamic Communities and Organisations in Italy (UCOII), “It will go against the freedom of practicing a religion when the state should be creating conditions allowing people to exercise their right to practice any religion.”

There were 1,217 Muslim prayer rooms in Italy as of 2017, according to a UCOII research that was published at the time.

Only six of these were mosques, and they could be identified as such by their distinctive architectural elements like minarets; perhaps another 50 were permitted to be used for prayer.

According to the UCOII research, the remainder were largely categorized as cultural organizations but were also used as prayer spaces, most of which were set up in garages, warehouses, apartments, and basements.

The measure, which seeks to crack down on these locations, has a clause that would only permit prayers there if the relevant religious activities are subject to a contract with the Italian government.

As written, the legislation would mostly impact Italy’s Muslim population, the largest religious group in the nation, without a similar arrangement with the government.

It is unacceptable to discriminate.

Additionally, those supporting the draught bill have clarified that it is designed to outlaw such Islamic places of worship.

The bill’s preamble states that “over the past ten years, we have witnessed a widespread proliferation of associations of social promotion, which de facto have as their predominant or sole purpose the management of places of worship for the Islamic communities in buildings that do not meet the urbanistic, structural, and safety requirements needed for such use.”

The draught law is being discussed in the Chamber of Deputies’ environment committee, the lower house of Italy’s Parliament.

The bill’s author, a Brother of Italy legislator named Fabrizio Rossi, claimed that if it becomes law, cultural centers must get authorization before using their spaces for prayer.

According to the minutes of the first discussion in the parliamentary committee, he asserted that the bill would respect everyone’s right to exercise their religion by the Italian Constitution.

Rossi declined demands from Anadolu for an interview.

On the other hand, opposition MPs have denounced the measure as discriminatory and unconstitutional.

In a letter to the House speaker encouraging him to veto the draught bill, Greens and Left Alliance member Angelo Bonelli wrote: “There are many parishes and oratories in buildings which do not comply with urbanistic rules and, rightly so, are not shut down.”

“It’s an unacceptable form of discrimination.”

no other options

According to experts, obtaining permission to use a structure as a place of worship in Italy has always been a highly drawn-out, difficult, and expensive process.

Mosques have frequently been opposed by local governments and populations, which has put several projects around the nation in a state of bureaucratic limbo.

According to religious leaders and scholars, this is why Muslims in Italy were forced to open such cultural centers and utilize them as prayer rooms.

According to the draught law, it is true that they employed escamotage, according to Fabrizio Ciocca, a scholar at Rome’s La Sapienza University.

“But if you close all these centers, you must offer a credible alternative to Muslim communities.”

He emphasized that the over 1,000 associations in danger of closure serve as crucial community gathering places and educational institutions teaching Arabic or studying the Quran, the holy book of Muslims.

The Muslim community in the Rome neighborhood of Magliana, according to Sami Salem, an imam or leader of prayers, is prepared to work with Italian authorities to find a long-term solution.

“To build these centers, we made a lot of sacrifices. We are willing to cooperate with the authorities, he declared.

Lafram from UCOII claimed that his group has spoken to Italian politicians about the proposed bill.

He saw a silver lining in the possible crisis: a real dialogue about Islam and the condition of Muslims in Italy with the government.

“We would be the first to say we don’t want to pray in warehouses or such places as a matter of dignity,” he told Anadolu.

“However, the other side must offer a solution.”

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