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Italy's Muslims In Uphill Battle For Recognition
by Gunther Kern
ROME (AFP) - Italy's Muslims count for less than one percent of the total population but their place in a society founded on Catholic traditions is being disputed in an often ferocious crusade by church and would-be government officials alike.
Bologna Archbishop, Cardinal Giacomo Biffi, and opposition Northern League leader Umberto Bossi have become the most visible and outspoken opponents of Muslim rights in Italy, playing up fears of the unknown "other" and fanning a them-and-us mentality, avidly reflected by some media.
Biffi claims that immigration of Muslims will fast alter Italy's national identity, a fear apparently shared by more than a third of his compatriots. Preference should rather be given to Catholic immigrants, possibly from the Philippines or Latin America.
But his rather unevangelical admonitions are going down badly even with Catholic help groups who regret his closeness to xenophobic rightists in Italy and other European countries.
With more than 500,000 Muslims and Islam now replacing other Christian denominations than Catholicism as Italy's second spiritual creed, the construction of more mosques and Islamic cultural centers is fast becoming a highly charged issue as some politicians turn up their rhetoric ahead of crucial legislative elections.
There are three mosques - in Milan, Rome, which has Europe's largest, and Catania, Sicily - with some 100 houses of worship springing up throughout the country, more than 200 of those in apartments, workshops or rather more unfit structures.
But while individual Muslims may chose to keep a low profile or not, as a group they have undoubtedly become more visible as the media jump on controversial issues, like polygamy, mixed marriages, or whether Muslim women can be allowed to wear a veil in pictures carried by official documents.
Garden equipment manufacturer Castelgarden in the labor-starved northern Venice region however sees no problems in employing a substantial number of Muslims and has converted a storeroom for prayers. The company cafeteria also features special menus acceptable to Muslims.
"Some people break off to smoke a cigarette, we do the same to pray," goes a saying among Muslim employees who follow strict prayer rules that are potentially disruptive of the work process.
Abdellah Redouane, secretary general of the Islamic Cultural Center in Rome, advises critics, who argue that Christians in Muslim countries do not enjoy the rights granted to the followers of Islam in Italy, to see the right officials.
"Muslims in Rome wanted a mosque and they knocked on the right doors," he told AFP.
Construction of a mosque was first proposed by then Saudi king Faisal in 1973, but 11 years passed before the foundation stone was laid on municipal land. After financial contributions from 23 Islamic countries, ranging from Algeria to Yemen, it was opened in 1995.
The prospect that Muslims would be praying at the heart of Roman Catholicism, even in a more nondescript neighborhood away from the historic center, caused what Redouane diplomatically called "some legitimate reservations."
"People thought it would disrupt their lives; loudspeakers blaring several times a day; masses of people for Friday prayers, but many of these reservations have proved unfounded," he said.
Five years after the mosque was opened, just off Rome's well-heeled Parioli district, a few dozen people come to the center when visits are organized Wednesdays and Saturdays, mostly high school students.
Since the 1970s, migrants have headed to Italy mostly for economic reasons and various ethnic groups relate differently to Islam because traditions and cultural backgrounds differ.
"When they are praying, there is unity, but in everyday life, Bangladeshis will meet among themselves, as will Pakistanis, or Albanians," argued Redouane.
On the other hand, young Muslims born in Italy, who go to Italian schools, have problems speaking Arabic; they watch Italian television and local culture dominates.
"Young people who were born here are more Italian than anything else," he said. "Of course they are Muslims, but they are also Italian nationals; and politicians who use the immigration issue as a springboard for their campaign should realize that those they condemn today will be tomorrow's voters."
Without naming Biffi or opponents of Muslim integration, Redouane warned of "statements wrapped in a theological discourse.
"We do not understand that a theologian who normally has a moral and religious responsibility to foster tolerance, understanding and cooperation can say things that lead in the other direction," he said.
"We regret, but we also understand that because most of the time these statements are made for political, and sometimes, electoral purposes. If we want to build this country, we must absolutely go beyond stereotypes and clichés."
Calls by Redouane and other Islamic officials for a skeleton agreement between their community and the Italian state that already exist with other religions were rejected by the opposition's post-fascist leader Gianfranco Fini, as coming too early, and difficulties in finding proper representatives of the Muslim population.
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