The Catholic conversion of Magdi Allam, a laic Muslim intellectual, deputy editor for Corriere della Sera and a controversialist who in recent years has assumed an increasingly harsh stance on radical Islam and Islam tout-court, has created a stir both in Italy and worldwide. Not so much for the act in itself (in a democratic and liberal society everyone had the right to believe in the religion of their choice), but more due to the approach of the conversion, and the clear political significance which this approach has taken on.
Magdi Allam was born in Cairo in 1952, and graduated in Sociology from La Sapienza University in Rome. He became a household name thanks to his post-September 11 articles in La Repubblica, and to his books which have aided Italian public opinion in understanding the phenomenon of Islamic terrorism, such as Diario dall’Islam (A diary from Islam), 2002. Moving to Corriere della Sera in 2003, he gradually shifted his objective towards Islam itself, drawing in sympathy from the right and criticism from the left (this was especially visible on the release of his latest book, Viva Israele (Long live Israel), which generated a debate that Reset took part in first hand.
Allam converted to Catholicism on Saturday 22nd March at the Easter vigil. What strikes first is the extremely high profile of the baptism, performed by Pope Benedict XVI himself at the Easter vigil in St Peters. It’s also striking that in an article on 23rd March where Allam explained the reasons for his conversion, he went back to attacking a ‘physiologically violent’ Islam. The issue is very delicate, because although on one hand the journalist is now among those stirring the conflict between the cultures rather than encouraging debate, on the other hand he was a victim of threats from Islamic fundamentalists for years. Threats which have forced him to use bodyguards and which are sure to intensify now that Allam has officially abandoned the religion of Muhammad for Christianity (according to fundamentalists apostasy is an extremely serious ‘sin’ and punishable with death, as happened in the infamous case of Afghan Abdul Rahman).
Confusion from the international press
Allam’s journey to Catholicism has been long and tormented, and perhaps it was also deducible from between the lines of many of his articles written in the last few years, where criticising society and Islam developed on parallel lines to neoconservative positions on foreign policies, excessive praise towards Benedict XVI and politically controversial initiatives (inviting Muslims to put up a nativity scene,
the demonstration for Christians in the Middle East, one-way support for Israel). News of the conversion has been reported by the main international media, mainly due to the Associated Press press release, which defined Allam as “Italy’s most prominent Muslim, an iconoclastic writer who condemned Islamic extremism and defended Israel”. The websites of the BBC, the New York Times, the Washington Post, French agency AFP, Spanish newspaper El País and Israeli paper Yediot Aharonot have all reported the news.
Even the important ‘political’ implications of this conversion did not escape the international press. Thus Reuters, and then French daily newspaper Le Monde remembered how Allam had once defended “the pontiff’s speech in 2006 in Regensburg, Germany, which many Muslims perceived as depicting Islam as a violent faith“. French agency Presse quoted Allam’s letter to their editor on 23rd March and have summarised the essence of this article as: “Former Muslim baptised by the Pope accuses Islam of violence”. British paper The Sunday Times stressed how, with the solemnity of the ritual and the decision to make the event public, “the Pope has risked a renewed rift with the Islamic world”, just as in the Regensburg speech where “Allam describes Islam as intrinsically violent and characterised by ‘hate and intolerance’”.
The Arab world becomes indignant, the Vatican keeps its distance
Among the reactions in the Arab world are those of Arabiya TV, which define Allam as “one of the most controversial Italian journalists”, and those of the international pan-Arab newspaper Al Quds al Arabi, which placed this title on their front page: “the Pope provokes indignation in Muslims for having baptised a former Muslim who supports Israel and is famed for his aversion to Islam”. On the Al Shark al Awsat website, which was quoted by La Repubblica, Tlemsani from Algeria wrote that ‘the water poured over Madgi’s head is like petrol thrown onto the fire of the clashes of cultures’. Up until now the Islamic world has reacted calmly, but also critically. In a recent letter sent to the Pope to promote world peace, signatures from 138 intellectuals and Muslim religious leaders criticise the approach of the conversion. Aref Ali Nayed, Head of the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in Amman, Jordan, and a key figure from the 138, has denounced "the Vatican’s deliberate and provocative act of baptising Allam on such a special occasion and in such a spectacular way", and asks the Holy See to ‘distance itself’ from the statements of the Corriere della Sera deputy editor.
"It is sad that the intimate and personal act of a religious conversion is made into a triumphalist tool for scoring points," added Nayed to APCOM, “Such instrumentalisation of a person and his conversion is contrary to the basic tenets of upholding human dignity. It also comes at a most unfortunate time when sincere Muslims and Catholics are working very hard to mend ruptures between the two communities…It is sad that the particular person chosen for such a highly public gesture has a history of generating, and continues to generate, hateful discourse. The fundamental message of Allam’s most recent article is the very message of the Byzantine Emperor quoted by the Pope in his infamous Regensburg lecture. It’s not far from the truth to see this as another way of reaffirming Regensburg’s message”. No criticism has come from Italian Islamic representatives, such as Mario Scialoja from the Muslim League (“a free choice to be respected”), or Issedin Elzir, UCOII spokesperson who was often condemned by Allam (“The case has garnered more attention than it deserved, many people convert to Islam every day, just as others convert to Christianity”). In line with the position of the 138, Yahya Pallavicini, vice president of Coreis, is instead said to be shocked by “the high profile that the Vatican gave the conversion”.
We did no have to wait long for the Vatican’s response. Worried about compromising the already tense relations with the Muslim world, the Holy See has distanced itself from the words of the journalist: “To welcome a new worshipper to the Church clearly does not mean embracing all their ideas and positions, especially on political or social affairs”. Holy See spokesperson Father Federico Lombardi made an official statement on 27th March saying that Magdi Allam “is entitled to his own opinions, which remain his personal opinions without in any way becoming the official expression of the positions of the Pope or of the Holy See”.
The debate in Corriere della Sera
An honest debate on the issue was welcomed by the Corriere della Sera. First it allowed Allam explain to his reasons in a letter, where he revealed that he was now known as ‘Magdi Christian Allam’, and where he attacked a ‘physiologically violent and historically hostile’ Islam in which ‘the root of evil’ is inherent. The Milanese paper then conducted an interview with Dutch intellectual Ian Buruma, an expert of Islam in Europe, who openly criticised the ‘political’ nature of the Church’s gesture, undoubtedly intended to create ‘tension with the Islamic world’. Again on Tuesday 25th February articles from two authoritative lead writers were published in the paper which, beyond the cover of an agreeable, toned-down headline have challenged the approach of the conversion.
Vittorio Messori wrote that in Allam’s letter “there seems to be a resounding impatience which is not agreeable with the Church’s calling, because he finds the courage to also promote Jesus to Muslims. In reality there is no institution in the world which better and more intimately knows the Umma, and the community which worships Muhammad as the last of the prophets, more so than Catholicism. Its experience goes back thousands of years. What could seem like fear (and Magdi knows this full well) is actually prudence, charity towards the humble, the poor and the defenceless, who bear the burden of a provocative and aggressive attitude. The reality is not diplomacy, politics and fear”.
Writer Claudio Magris was even harsher: “The approach of this conversion and its communication have and clearly wanted to have an immediate political significance. Indeed in his letter regarding his spiritual rebirth, Magdi Allam does not just thank God for the grace he has been given, but contextually proposes a clear political direction, confirming the ‘physiologically violent nature of all Islam’ and the consequent need to fight against all Islam, which does not adhere to Christian charity and universal love for all brothers”. Magris did not restrain from criticising Benedict XVI either: “It has to be said that that the surprising fact was that Magdi Allam’s baptism was carried out the Head Pontiff, an Easter ritual which is usually reserved for public Baptism for new important Christians of the time, especially those who are anonymous and therefore represented by all. It would be a bit sinful if it was principally VIPS who strived for these Holy Waters”.
Magdi Allam defended his decision and that of Pope Benedict XVI in an interview in Libero (a daily paper which often takes on a ‘crusader’s tone’ on the clash of cultures). All that’s left to see now, as Messori pointed out in passing, is how will the public role of Magdi Christian Allam change? This was already objectionable from the fact that an authoritative paper such as the Corriere della Sera would delegate its position on Islam only through Allam – perhaps justified mainly due to the journalist’s affiliation to the Muslim world. But now that Allam is no longer part of this world, is it appropriate (and suitable for the paper) for a former Muslim, full of rage and of pride in his conversion, to maintain a near monopoly on the Islamic question in the most prestigious newspaper of the country?
Translation by Helen Waghorn