ISLAM-CHRISTIAN DIALOGUE

282 MOSQUE OF LODI 4th October 2000 To: Dr. Pagliarini FROM: G. Eid OBJECT: Mosque of Lodi Dear Mimmo, I don't know all the details of the issue learned from the newspapers; on the ba- sis of what has been read and knowing the environment of the other party I offer you my brief considerations, to give you a contribution to the understanding of the Italian Islamic reality. Free land from a public body: 1. On what basis is the mosque free? 2. It will create a precedent. 3. It creates discrimination against other faiths, non-Muslims. 4. Italian citizens do not receive anything free from the state 5. They can erect their place of worship like any other Italian institution with respect to the Regulatory Plan. There is no need for extraordinary rules. In Italy there is this freedom of worship that does not exist for non-Muslims, in countries where Islamic law is in force. 6. They are not poor: the UCOI union re- ceives billions of funds from Arab states, primarily Saudi Arabia, to support its aims. That's what their newspapers say. 7. To talk about reciprocity does not apply in this case because they are Italian ci- tizens: there is no Islamic counterpart. 8. Islam: there is no univocal Islam but there are various ways of applying Islamic law: the way in which it is implemented in Su- dan is not the same as its implementation in Tunis, but the construction of churches in Egypt, for example, is still regulated by an edict of the caliph Omar of the year 636. In a nutshell, Italian law must be applied without partisan charity. And then, if politicians decide to donate the land free of charge, then consider the impact it will have on the neighbourhood: there is a risk that it will turn into a souk, and I strongly recommend that the pact of donation provides for the representa- tion of the municipality in the council of the Islamic cultural institution that will be established: Councillors for Culture and that of sport. They can play a role in hel- ping to formulate activities that act as a glue for integration, bringing new immi- grants closer to the values of the Italian society. I suggest you to read in my book Islam: history, culture and faith the part concer- ning the role of the mosque, in addition to the aspect of prayer there are aspects of teaching, social, cultural, indoctrina- tion and rules on customs etc. That af- fects not a little the attitude of the indivi- dual but also the feeling of being part of Italian society? Islamic centres in Italy can certainly play a positive role in the integration of new immigration. But the opposite could also happen. It's worth checking how the centres already present in Milan work. And one has to ask, on the basis of the origin of the promoters, in addition to the ritual prayer: what integration do they propose? Are the customs and traditions, the social relations that apply in the cen- ter and the teaching going to help the pro- cess of integration or not? The answer to the following questions can help to under- stand the orientation of the centre and if all this brings a benefit to the city.