The attack in Alexandria emphasises a problem the seriousness of which goes far beyond the despicable act of terrorism seen as a threat involving the Islamic world’s cultural self-mutilation through the progressive annihilation of Eastern Christianity. And Alexandria is not an isolated case; in just two years the number of Christians present in Iraq, often members of some of the most ancient communities in the world, has halved. For those who kill in the name of purity the most serious provocation is the integration that takes place in the most natural way, without fear, the one on which the great strength of open societies is founded.