In recent weeks we have yet again witnessed the controversy behind the mosque on Viale Jenner in Milan. The issue is always the same, and concerns whether or not Milanese Muslims have the right to a place to practise their religion, and therefore not having to pray on the pavements or in garages. The relocation of the mosque to the Vigorelli Velodrome turned into a show of political propaganda with regards to popular consensus, with the aim of giving into people’s fears. As usual the local committees have mobilised to challenge any kind of ‘large presence’ of Islamic beliefs on their own land, fearing drops in the value of houses and shops. And so the mosque has also become synonymous with urban decay, after being given the label of ‘terrorism’.
This is the general picture of the state of Muslim integration in Italy. The news of the mosque in Viale Jenner deserves serious consideration because it is not an isolated case, and what makes it really significant is that the prefect of Milan managed the move. Unfortunately Islam in the Belpaese continues to only be an issue of law and order. Islam is hardly discussed as something spiritual and cultural, and more interest is given to the darker parts of its history: arrests of Imams who encourage violence, denouncing women wearing the burqa, investigations into supposed cases of polygamy, etc. The essence of the problems lies within the reciprocal intolerance.
Point one. Those who oppose the presence of mosques close to their homes have forgotten Article 19 of the constitution: “Everyone is entitled to freely profess religious beliefs in any form, individually or with others, to promote them, and to celebrate rites in public or in private, provided they are not offensive to public morality”. People really need to remember that there are ten thousand Italian citizens who converted to Islam. The democracy of this country is at stake, and should be measured with regards to rights for minorities and not by the power held by the majority. We must not forget that Muslim immigrants are not ‘passing migratory birds’; in Italy they pay their taxes, send their children to school, pay mortgages on their houses and primarily they are tourists when visiting the countries where they are from for holidays.
Point two. Milanese Muslims, who are mainly immigrants, need to look unto themselves and examine the extremely harsh history of the mosque on Viale Jenner. For years it has been not so much a place of worship but more a free trade zone to recruit young fighters to send them to die in Bosnia, Chechnya and Afghanistan; to gather funds to finance attacks in Algeria and Egypt and to create an isolated ‘ghetto’ within the city. Even if no penal responsibility has been put on the leaders, the moral responsibilities of all those who in the past have played a part in this will not be forgotten. Therefore is it right that they are distancing themselves from this history.
It would be further damaging and misleading to try and import the original Islam into the context of ‘new Italian’. The outline of priorities needs to change, for example I do not think that wearing the veil in Europe takes precedence. As far as I know, the veil is not the sixth pillar of Islam and therefore it is not mandatory such as praying or Ramadan. We need to find new answers because the questions are now also new, and we cannot move on with old answers. Mosques need to develop their religious and cultural duties, such as teaching Italian to immigrant families, and especially to women. There is a need for more transparency and for communication in asking that Friday sermons are translated from Arabic to Italian, to give non-Arab immigrants and Italian converts the chance to understand.
In conclusion, it is better to speak about acceptance rather than the integration of Muslims in Italy. The biggest challenge is not to integrate Islam into the Italian way of life, but to re-integrate it. For more than two decades it was the official religion of Sicily, and as I have often said, Muslims are not arriving in Italy, they are coming back!
Amara Lakhous is an Italian-Algerian writer and anthropologist. He is author of Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio and has lived in Rome since 1995.
Translation by Helen Waghorn