https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Italy in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Italy’s far-right League has blocked a Muslim group’s attempt to turn a former hospital chapel in Bergamo into a mosque. https://www.thelocal.it/20181029/italy-league-chapel-mosque-bergamo Mon, 29 Oct 2018 13:14:26 +0100 italy-league-chapel-mosque-bergamo Chants of "Allahu akbar" rang out on Saturday at a solemn Catholic state funeral in the Italian city of Genoa for the victims of a bridge collapse, who included two Albanian Muslims. https://www.thelocal.it/20180818/imam-chants Sat, 18 Aug 2018 18:26:12 +0200 imam-chants Muslim immigrants living in Italy feel much less attached to the country than their counterparts in other EU nations. https://www.thelocal.it/20170925/how-do-muslim-immigrants-feel-about-life-in-italy Mon, 25 Sep 2017 17:41:12 +0200 how-do-muslim-immigrants-feel-about-life-in-italy Italy's Muslims fear a backlash from the London attacks could undermine their already fragile position in the country after one of the attackers was identified as half-Italian. https://www.thelocal.it/20170608/italian-muslims-fear-backlash-after-london-attacker-identified-as-half-italian Thu, 08 Jun 2017 10:49:48 +0200 italian-muslims-fear-backlash-after-london-attacker-identified-as-half-italian Pope Francis met briefly on Wednesday with a delegation of four British Muslim clerics and praised their contribution to dialogue between different faiths and cultures. https://www.thelocal.it/20170405/pope-francis-meets-british-muslim-leaders-praises-their-contribution Wed, 05 Apr 2017 16:40:52 +0200 pope-francis-meets-british-muslim-leaders-praises-their-contribution Florence's 30,000-strong Muslim community will soon have a new place of worship, the city's mayor promised on Tuesday evening. https://www.thelocal.it/20170315/florence-mayor-meeting-muslim-community-islamic-veil-ban-mosques Wed, 15 Mar 2017 11:34:20 +0100 florence-mayor-meeting-muslim-community-islamic-veil-ban-mosques The northern region of Liguria on Tuesday announced plans to ban the Islamic face veil from hospitals and other public institutions, in a bid to "defend women's freedom". https://www.thelocal.it/20170308/italian-region-bans-veiled-women-from-entering-hospitals Wed, 08 Mar 2017 10:46:24 +0100 italian-region-bans-veiled-women-from-entering-hospitals Italy's Muslim community signed a pact with the government on Wednesday pledging to "reject all forms of violence and terrorism", with prayers in mosques to be held in Italian. https://www.thelocal.it/20170202/italian-muslims-sign-anti-extremism-pact Thu, 02 Feb 2017 09:44:34 +0100 italian-muslims-sign-anti-extremism-pact A training course starting soon in northern Italy will teach imams and other religious leaders the workings of the Italian Constitution as part of efforts to improve integration in the country. https://www.thelocal.it/20170111/italys-imams-to-get-training-on-the-constitution Wed, 11 Jan 2017 10:07:03 +0100 italys-imams-to-get-training-on-the-constitution Italians overestimate both the size of the country's Muslim population and the rate at which it is growing, according to new research. https://www.thelocal.it/20161214/italians-overestimate-countrys-muslim-population Wed, 14 Dec 2016 12:17:01 +0100 italians-overestimate-countrys-muslim-population Councillors in the northern Italian region of Liguria on Tuesday evening approved a set of measures drastically restricting the freedom to build new places of worship. https://www.thelocal.it/20160928/anti-mosque-proposals-in-northern-italy-liguria Wed, 28 Sep 2016 16:50:55 +0200 anti-mosque-proposals-in-northern-italy-liguria The deputy of Al-Azhar's grand imam in Egypt said on Sunday the top Muslim cleric will bear a message of tolerance when he meets Pope Francis in Rome. https://www.thelocal.it/20160522/azhar-imam-to-urge-tolerance-in-historic-pope-meeting Sun, 22 May 2016 19:45:41 +0200 azhar-imam-to-urge-tolerance-in-historic-pope-meeting Florence leaders are trying to find a new home for Muslim worshippers as the city's central mosque can no longer cope with its 1,000-strong faithful. https://www.thelocal.it/20160407/florence-plans-mega-mosque-to-house-1000-strong-faithful Thu, 07 Apr 2016 13:43:48 +0200 florence-plans-mega-mosque-to-house-1000-strong-faithful A landmark agreement that will ensure Italian is spoken in Florence mosques was signed on Monday. https://www.thelocal.it/20160208/italy-mosques-tackle-home-grown-terror-with-italian-sermons Mon, 08 Feb 2016 17:41:47 +0100 italy-mosques-tackle-home-grown-terror-with-italian-sermons Italy's Interior Minister Angelino Alfano on Tuesday established a council for relations with the country's Muslims, an advisory body the government hopes will help the minority to better integrate. https://www.thelocal.it/20160119/italy-strives-to-integrate-muslims-and-shape-italian-islam Tue, 19 Jan 2016 17:47:47 +0100 italy-strives-to-integrate-muslims-and-shape-italian-islam The mayor of the northern town of Pontoglio has been told to remove road signs advising those entering to respect Christian values. https://www.thelocal.it/20160107/italian-town-must-remove-christians-only-signs Thu, 07 Jan 2016 10:11:08 +0100 italian-town-must-remove-christians-only-signs Italy's northeastern region of Lombardy has amended legislation in order to outlaw the burqa and niqab from public offices and hospitals. https://www.thelocal.it/20151210/lombardy-bans-the-burqa-and-niqab Thu, 10 Dec 2015 17:12:55 +0100 lombardy-bans-the-burqa-and-niqab Italy's Muslim community must stand up to terrorists and build bridges with Italian society at large after the recent terror attacks in Paris if it wants to avoid a backlash, the head of Italy's Muslim Union has told The Local. https://www.thelocal.it/20151123/italys-muslims-must-unite-against-terrorism-paris-islam Mon, 23 Nov 2015 11:30:14 +0100 italys-muslims-must-unite-against-terrorism-paris-islam Hundreds of Muslims rallied in Rome and Milan on Saturday to show solidarity with the victims of jihadist attacks, condemning violence in the name of religion and chanting "we are not the enemy". https://www.thelocal.it/20151122/muslims-rally-in-rome-and-milan Sun, 22 Nov 2015 09:58:31 +0100 muslims-rally-in-rome-and-milan A young model of Moroccan origin is determined to ignore insults and threats she has received on social media and pursue her dream of becoming Miss Italy. https://www.thelocal.it/20150824/muslim-model-defies-insults-to-pursue-miss-italy-dream Mon, 24 Aug 2015 12:55:40 +0200 muslim-model-defies-insults-to-pursue-miss-italy-dream