Muslims Protest In Italy Over Closure Of Mosques
MEO: Hundreds of Muslims in Italy offered Friday prayers near Rome’s Colosseum to protest at the closure of mosques and other places of worship.
Organisers said they had called the demonstration following the recent closure on administrative grounds of five makeshift mosques.
Worshippers knelt on prayer mats and tarpaulin on the pavement meters away from the ancient amphitheatre. Some held placards reading “Peace” and “Open the mosques”.
The Dhuumcatu Association, a rights group that organized Friday’s event, said the police have closed three improvised mosques in Rome in recent months. It also underlined the need for clear rules on setting up mosques in the European country.
Many Italian Muslims suspect local authorities are responding to a climate of mistrust caused by recent attacks in Europe by closing down the places of worship on the grounds of easily resolved problems, such as the number of toilets on a particular premises.
“We feel people are pointing the finger at us,” said Francesco Tieri, a convert to Islam who acts as a coordinator for a number of Islamic groups.
“There is no political will to recognise that we are here and that we are a peaceful community. “We are forced to rent places to pray – which for us is like breathing air, if we can’t do it we die.”
Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said in August that “mini mosques in garages” should not be allowed.
At least 1.6 million Muslims live in Italy, but there are only a handful of mosques officially registered with the government, with most worship rituals taking place in houses and Islamic cultural centers.
