Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News: public prayer

Thursday, June 29, 2023

Italy set to pass law making Islamic worship much more difficult. (And it might affect Jews, too.)

Italy-- home of over 2.5 million Muslims-- is set to pass a controversial law that would ban prayers in public places and unauthorized worship buildings. According to Anadolu News Agency, if passed, the law could shut down thousands of Islamic prayer spaces amid the fact most of the prayers are being held in private spaces.

The bill, which was drafted by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, will target prayer spaces that are not in mosques or those that have never received formal approval to be used for worship.

According to a report published by the Union of Islamic Communities and Organizations in Italy (UCOII)in 2017, there were 1,217 Muslim prayer spaces in Italy, of which only six of these were officially mosques.

Approximately 50 others have obtained authorization for religious activities.

The remaining spaces, predominantly situated in garages, warehouses, apartments, and basements, are classified as cultural associations but are also used for prayers.

Proponents of the bill openly acknowledge their aim to prohibit these non-mosque Islamic worship spaces.

I did not read the text of the draft law itself. From the first report, it appears to apply to all religions that hold informal prayer services outside official houses of prayer. But from other media, including the second one quoted here, it appears that the law is deliberately meant to target Muslims, who are by far the largest religious community that regularly engages in ad-hoc prayer groups.

There is huge opposition when Muslims try to open up a new mosque which is why there are so few mosques in Italy for two and a half million Muslims. The "cultural associations" are the only way they can pray.

There are only about 30,000 Jews in Italy. If this law does not explicitly mention Muslims, that means that Jews who put together a minyan - during a charity dinner, when sitting shiva, at the airport - may also be breaking the law.

If true, this wouldn't be the first time that Jews are caught in the wake of anti-Muslim legislation. Some of the European regulations prohibiting religious slaughter also appear to be primarily aimed at Muslims, and religious Jews get caught in the wake.

But there is another important angle to this story.

While "progressives" claim that Israel is engaged in Jewish supremacism, a law like this would never happen in Israel. There are anti-Muslim laws throughout Europe but essentially none in Israel (besides things like anti-polygamy laws.) Israel has no limitations on mosques, although it does limit the volume of the Muslim call to prayer (as do many Muslim countries.)

Israel is more tolerant of Muslims than France (burkini bans), or Switzerland (minaret bans), or Belgium (halal slaughter bans) and now Italy. But no one complains about "Christian supremacism," when in fact that is often exactly what animates these laws.

It is the usual double standard for Israel - and much of it comes from these oh-so-liberal Western democracies that truly do discriminate against Muslims.

Instead of castigating Israel, they should learn religious tolerance from Israel.

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