Many Italians were shocked to find pictures in their daily newspapers recently of Muslims kneeling in prayer on the piazzas in front of the cathedrals in Milan and Bologna during demonstrations in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
Predictably, politicians in the centre-right government criticised the protests with some, including the ministers for defence and European affairs, calling them a blasphemous provocation.
(Photo: Il Giornale says Milan square “transformed into a mosque”)
The government ministers noted that it would be impossible for Christians to pray in Mecca and one called on the Roman Catholic Church to take a harder stand and be less tolerant.
Critics of the demonstrations have found an unlikely ally in Yahya Pallavicini, the vice-president of CO.RE.IS, Italy’s Islamic Religiuos Community. The demonstrations were organised by another Islamic group, the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy (UCOII) and Pallavicini thinks they went over the top.
“We pray in our mosques and in our in mosques and our homes but using prayer during demonstrations in such a theatrical way after burning U.S. and Israeli flags creates disorder and leads to the stereotyping of Islam in Italy,” he told me in a phone conversation. “This is a manouevre to try to help fundamentalist positions.”
“This is a very misleading use of religion, this is the strategy of Hamas,” he said.
After some Catholics expressed outrage over the prayers in front of Milan’s cathedral, some Muslims apologised to the city’s archbishop, Cardinal Dionisio Tettamanzi. But Pallavicini urged the prelate not to accept their apology and to take a hard line instead against Muslims who abuse religion for political purposes.
Do you think Muslims crossed a red line by praying in front of these cathedrals or do you think they have a right to do so?
(Photo: Milan cathedral, 13 Jan 2001/Stefano Rellandini)
Here is an Italian video discussing the Muslim prayer protest in Milan. Footage of the protest runs from 0:54 to 1:26:
Trackback
2 comments so far
As long as they aren’t preventing people from entering the cathedrals, they should be allowed to continue. The arguement that Muslims shouldn’t be allowed to pray in Italy because Christians can’t do it in Saudia Arabia is rediculous. Using religion for political gain is despicable, but Muslims aren’t the only ones guilty of it.
- Posted by drewbieIt’s an obvious supremacist provocation. Especially since they diverted from their planned protest route to specifically go there. They are telling Italians they WILL take over Italy one day and turn these beautiful cathedrals into Mosques (just as the Hagia Sofia in Turkey was). Muhammed said they would conquer Rome and Constantinople and Muslims today surely intend to do so.
- Posted by Stephanie Anderson