DAR AL HARB-ITALY: THE CLIMATE OF DISTRUST OF MOSLEMS, SURVEY REVEALS THE UGLY TRUTH...

ISLAM: SANTELLI (FI), EVERYONE MUST FOLLOW OUR LAWS
(AGI) - Rome, Dec. 29 -

"The climate of distrust of Muslims which is shown in the survey published by the newspaper Il Giornale is not surprising and underscores what we have been saying for quite some time, meaning that the multicultural model followed by the left does not work and is a wall in the path of a proper integration process. Any foreigner living in Italy must follow our laws just like any Italian citizen, and this is the best example of integration that can be given, especially to the younger generations. I believe that the problem lies in the fact that those who are self-designated representatives of Islam in Italy are in reality the spokesmen for an extremist faction, who do not represent the Muslims who live in Italy but who unfortunately are given space in the media, and are the interlocutor of this government," said Jole Santelli from the Forza Italia party. (AGI)

Moslem Response:

ITALY: MOST MUSLIMS MODERATE SAYS COMMUNITY LEADER

Rome, 29 Dec. (AKI) - The president of the Confederation of Moroccans in Italy, Souad Sbai says the majority of some one million Muslims living in the country is moderate, responding to a survey published by a conservative paper on Friday which found most Italians don't trust Islamists. "I understand the fear Italians have of Muslims as shown by the survey published by Il Giornale," a Milan daily owned by the family of conservative former premier Silvio Berlusconi, Sbai told Adnkronos International (AKI). "But the reality is that moderates are still the majority."

Sbai, a leading member of the Italian government-appointment Consulta, a consultative body on Muslim affairs, was commenting a poll published by the newspaper, according to which two out of three Italians don't trust Muslims as they believe they are more likely to respect Sharia, Islamic law, rather than Italian legislation.

"It's not true that most Muslims prefer to obey Sharia rather than Italian laws, there is however a significant part of Muslims who are more visible to Italians because they incite hatred towards other religions" in the predominantly Catholic country, Sbai told AKI. "It is therefore understandable that Italians have this perception of the phenomenon."

The activist pointed her finger at the practice whereby anyone can be proclaimed an imam in Italy without any type of official training or control from authorities.

"In Italy we have self-styled religious leaders who are as important and on the same cultural level as muftis in Turkey or real imams in Morocco," she said. "Today more than ever it is urgent, as proposed by the Moroccan community, to train imams so that this situation will not get worse."

Pertinent Links:

1) ISLAM: SANTELLI (FI), EVERYONE MUST FOLLOW OUR LAWS

2) ITALY: MOST MUSLIMS MODERATE SAYS COMMUNITY LEADER