Bangladeshi residents and others in Monfalcone say decisions to prohibit worship at cultural centres and banning burkinis at the beach is part of anti-Islam agenda

The envelope containing two partially burned pages of the Qur’an came as a shock. Until then, Muslim residents in the Adriatic port town of Monfalcone had lived relatively peacefully for more than 20 years.

Addressed to the Darus Salaam Muslim cultural association on Via Duca d’Aosta, the envelope was received soon after Monfalcone’s far-right mayor, Anna Maria Cisint, banned prayers on the premises.

“It was hurtful, a serious insult we never expected,” said Bou Konate, the association’s president. “But it was not a coincidence. The letter was a threat, generated by a campaign of hate that has stoked toxicity.”

Monfalcone’s population recently passed 30,000. Such a positive demographic trend would ordinarily spell good news in a country grappling with a rapidly declining birthrate, but in Monfalcone, where Cisint has been nurturing an anti-Islam agenda since winning her first mandate in 2016, the rise has not been welcomed.

  • Cosmonauticus@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    9 months ago

    Everyone likes to think of Italy as this land of the cultured and sophisticated with all the art, food, and architecture. But you’ll find a lot of Italians are as racist and ass backwards as a toothless Klan member in Mississippi.

    • bruce965@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      9 months ago

      As an Italian, I would say that’s not the case, not “a lot of Italians are racist”. I’ve had interactions with a few racist people of older generations, but I would say that they are the exception, thankfully.

  • redcalcium@lemmy.institute
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    9 months ago

    The decision to ban burkini is weird. You can’t swim nude on Italy’s beaches, but can’t swim fully clothed either?

    • Hubi@feddit.de
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      9 months ago

      I can see how banning the Burkini in indoor pools makes sense from a hygienic perspective, but banning them on public beaches is just to take something enjoyable away from a specific group of people.

      • Akasazh@feddit.nl
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        9 months ago

        How is burkini different from a swimming suit that would warrant banking them from indoor pools?

        • Hubi@feddit.de
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          edit-2
          9 months ago

          You usually use the public shower before entering the pool and wearing a burkini in there kinda defeats the point. For the same reason you’re not allowed to wear anything other than regular swimwear.

  • Reddfugee42@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    9 months ago

    I am stunned, stunned I tell you, that a culture famous for its misogyny is also backwards in nearly every other possible way.