Now, do you think they would let the pope open a cathedral in Mecca? Religion of peace my horses posterior.
Notwithstanding the simplifications of the media, strictly speaking there is no "Imam of Rome". Rome has about ten mosques, each of them having its own Imam. Sheikh Palazzi has been for some years the Imam of At-Tawbah Mosque, until in 1991 he was called to serve as Director of the Cultural Institute of the Italian Islamic Community. Abdel-Samie Mahmud Ibrahim Moussa, the Egyptian preacher of terrorism and anti-Jewish hatred, has been for some months the Imam of the Monte Antenne Mosque, the big structure depending on the Saudi regime, until he was fired.
Being Sheikh Palazzi's personal assistant, I can tell you: he is more around than he was before, and he also had a leading role in causing the direction of Monte Antenne Mosque to dismiss the fanatic pro-terror Imam, as you can see from the translations of the articles from Italian press I am attaching.
Until before 9/11, Sheikh Palazzi's warnings about the danger of Wahhabi fanaticism in Italy were more or less ignored, but today - with Berlusconi's government - we have a Minister of Interior, Giuseppe Pisanu, who takes the danger of extremism seriously, and who has recently proposed "an agreement between the government and the moderate Islamic organizations and leaders to fight against extremism". Pisanu is now going to create a Consultive Council of the Italian moderate Muslim organizations, and the consequence is that the Italian government is carefully listening to Sheikh Palazzi and taking advice from him.
I must also add that a supposed "fatwa against Sheikh Palazzi" was never issued by anyone. It simply does not exist.
Abu Ibrahim Kalim
Webmaster, Italian Muslim Association
http://digilander.libero.it/islamic/ mailto:islam.inst@flashnet.it
Ap.Biscom - (Italian branch of the Associated Press)
ISLAM/A.M.I.:
THE IMAM OF ROME MUST EITHER BE FIRED OR EXPELLED
Sheikh Palazzi: Scialoja must dissociate from him, or Pisanu must act
By Stella Prudente
Rome, June 8 (Ap.Biscom) - The imam of the Big Mosque of Rome must be immediately substituted, otherwise a decree of expulsion coming from the Ministry of Interior is needed. This is the opinion of the secretary general of the Italian Muslim Association (AMI) Sheikh Abdul Hadi Palazzi, immediately after the publication of an article on "La Repubblica" dealing with the contents of the sermon delivered yesterday by Abdel Samie Mahmoud Ibrahim Moussa. The young imam called for an Islamic war with words like: "O Allah, cause the Muslim fighters to win in Palestine, in Chechnya and in every other part of the world. O Allah, help us to annihilate the enemies of Islam. O Allah, grant victory everywhere to the Nation of Islam".
While commenting the news, Palazzi said: "The AMI Board of Governors took two decisions. First of all, in occasion of the next meeting of the Nation Council for Islam we will ask the Minister of Interior Giuseppe Pisanu to reflect about the opportunity of a decree of expulsion from Italy of the young Egyptian imam. It is unacceptable for a stranger to enter Italy in order to incite to terrorism, and to use the Mosque of Rome as his loudspeaker".
"The second request - Palazzi adds - is directed to the Italian branch of the World Muslim League, to its president Mario Scialoja and to its secretary Omar Camiletti, who declared their intention to accept the 'Agreement of the Council' (a project by Pisanu to form a consultive council by the Ministry of Interior in order to represent Islam in Italy) and their will to actively contribute to expel preachers of terror from the mosques of Italy".
The appointment of the Imam of Rome depends on an agreement between the World Muslim League and the University of al-Azhar. The University chooses the imam, and the Italian branch of the World Muslim League approves the appointment. "If the leaders of the League will publicly dissociate themselves from the imam of their mosque and publicly ask the University of al-Azhar to fire and replace him - the secretary of AMI says - this will concretely prove that the Italian section of the World Muslim League is disassociating from extremism and fighting it, thus cooperating with the project conceived by the Minister Pisanu.
Consequently, Palazzi says that formal declarations are not enough "I hope that the leaders of the Italian section of the World Muslim League can benefit from this opportunity, since it is clear that - in case that imam is not replaced soon - their determination in fighting extremism will surely become extremely doubtful".
LIBERO
Editor, Vittorio Feltri
June 8, 2003
The moderate Imam Abdu Hadi Palazzi speaks:
PISANU MUST EXPEL THE IMAM OF THE MOSQUE OF ROME
By Dimitri Buffa
"Taking the declaration of that Imam of the mosque of Rome into due consideration one must say: even if 50 % only of what Magdi Allam wrote yesterday on the cover page of 'La Repubblica' is true, there only one solution left. Abdel Samie Mahmoud Ibrahim Moussa is an ideologue of suicide terrorism, and we, the moderate Muslims of Italy, ask the World Muslim League to fire him from the mosque, and ask the Italian Minister of Interior Pisanu to expel him from Italy as persona non grata".
Abdu Hadi Palazzi, secretary of the Italian Muslim Association (AMI), the oldest and the more moderate among the organizations which represent the Italian Muslims, does not hide himself behind a toe and does not resort to diplomacy. In this interview of his to "Libero" he explains why "isolating those crazy people is in the immediate interest of the honest Muslims",
- Could you foretold this u-turn of the imam of the biggest mosque of Europe, the only one to be recognized as an official Muslim place of worship in Italy?
"I could not, especially since, during the last months, some representatives of the Muslim World League, like Omar Camiletti, have chosen to take a moderate position, and declared to be ready to denounce the extremists. In any case, if a newly-appointed imam plays the extremist, the music is different, especially when that imam comes directly from the University of Cairo, where preaching fanaticism has become daily food.
- How does the music change?
"It changes in the sense that either the administration of the mosque fires him, or Pisanu must expel him from Italy. A preacher of armed jihad cannot be part of the civil society in a western country, and cannot hold a place of responsibility within it. We do not need other crazy people among the Muslims."
- If I am not wrong, that is also the reason why the government chose to exclude UCOII from the project of a National Council for the recognition of Islam."
"Surely. The government has serious reasons to suppose that some mosque or halls of prayer controlled by that organization are nest of extremism. That was the result of a long investigation by the former Deputy Minister of Interior Carlo Taormina, which among other things collected documents proving the existence of strict links between the Syrian leaders of UCOII and the Nada Management Group of Lugano, the Swiss financial holding which the U.S. State Department considers to be a relevant supporter of al-Qa'idah".
- The secretary of UCOII Piccardo claims that classifying his organization as "fundamentalist" is a "infamous lie"
"Mr. Roberto Hamza Piccardo has recently circulated a declaration of his which is nothing but an ideological justification for suicide bombing. In the past he openly praised the terrorists of Hamas and Hezbollah. In the name of UCOII, he also signed a press release were the then President of the Parliamentary Commission on Intelligence and today's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini of "planning the creation of a military dictatorship in Italy". He cannot pretend the Italian authorities to accept as a reliable counterpart a group make that kind of public declarations. One cannot go on making propaganda in support of suicide terrorism for years, and then hope that none is taking it seriously."
"La Repubblica"
Editor, Ezio Mauro
June 8, 2003
"ISLAM IN ITALY IS NOT EXTREME"
The Muslim community answers the imam of Rome
By Francesca Caferri
ROME - «It is a sensitive issue. If misunderstood, it can enflame the relations between the Islamic community and the rest of the country». This is the answer we hear from some representatives of the Muslim community in Italy the day after the publication on "La Repubblica" of the violent sermon delivered by the Egyptian Abdel-Samie Mahmoud Ibrahim Moussa, 32 years old, appointed as imam of the mosque of Rome, the biggest of Europe, only three months ago. «O Allah, destroy the houses of the enemies of Islam! O Allah, help us to annihilate the enemies of Islam! O Allah, grant victory everywhere to the Nation of Islam», said the preached immediately before the Friday prayer.
Enflamed words, to the point that none of the representatives of the Islamic community in Italy dares to approve them. Even so, their condemnation is heard, but not unanimously. This proves that the Friday sermon in Rome touched a very sensitive point: the relation between the different souls of the Muslim community in Italy - in total 1,000,000 persons - and the State which guests them.
«No comment. The article published by 'La Repubblica' was not written in good faith"», that is the first answer coming from Hamza Roberto Piccardo, national secretary of the Union of the Islamic Centers and Organizations in Italy (UCOII), which represents in Italy the positions of the Muslim Brotherhood, the most extreme branch of Islam. We insist a bit, and Piccardo adds: «One must understand the imam: that is the typical Egyptian - not Italian - way of speaking. Egyptians are famous for their verbal excesses. The imam does not understand the Italian reality very well, and that is the reason why a journalist who understands well both the Italian and the Egyptian mentality should have never been provocative by asking questions which are conceived in order to gain a good title of your cover page. That is the way to exaggerate problems, and not to solve them». That is also the thought of many of those who yesterday assembled in another small mosque of Rome, the one of the Esquilino ward. «It is a provocation, an attempt to discredit Islam», says the imam Reeda, a local leader.
The judgment of Abdul Hadi Palazzi, secretary of AMI, the Italian Muslim Association, is quite opposite: «We asked the Minister of the Interior Giuseppe Pisanu (who during the last weeks launched from the columns of 'La Repubblica' a call for an agreement between the State and moderate Islam, ed.) to evaluate whether there is a ground to declare imam Moussa persona non grata and to expel him from Italy».
Other leading representatives of the Muslim community say that the words of the new imam reveal how necessary it is for the Muslims of Italy to have religious leaders who understand the reality of the country where they live, and can preach on the base of that understanding. «What Moussa says is simply unacceptable, especially in a place like Italy», says Zoheir Louassini, director of Arabroma.com, a site which express the positions of the Arab secular intellectuals. «Even in Cairo those talks are unacceptable, since their tone dates back to the Middle Age. At least in Cairo there exist a debate on those issues. Here they only damage coexistence between the immigrants and the country which is guesting them». This analysis is also shared by Yahya Sergio Pallavicini, vice president of CoReIs, Islamic Religious Community. «What we need - he says - is a team of Italian imams: that the only mean to free ourselves from ideology and fanaticism, from an Islam like the one which inspires the imam of Rome, very different from the one which inspires us».
LA PADANIA
Official newspaper of the "Northern League" Party
June 10, 2003
A moderate Islamic leader asks the imam of the mosque of Rome to be expelled from Italy
PALAZZI: "NO SPACE IN ITALY FOR PREACHERS OF TERRORISM"
ROME - Abdel Samie Mahmoud Ibrahim Moussa, the imam of the mosque of Rome who was discovered by Magdi Allam of "La Repubblica" while inciting to anti-Jewish hatred and to holy war during the Friday homily is causing a serious embarrassment for Muslims in Italy. Some of them defend him, like Reeda, the imam of a small mosque at the Esquilino ward, and accuse the newspaper edited by Ezio Mauro ["La Repubblica"] of "trying to discredit Islam", while others, like the secretary of UCOII Roberto Hamza Piccardo say: "No comment. The article published by 'La Repubblica' was not written in good faith".
The one who does not under evaluate the dangers of the sermon of that imam - which the Vice President of the Senate Roberto Calderoli defined "incitement to terrorism" - is Shaykh Abdu Hadi Palazzi, secretary of the Italian Muslim Association (AMI), a moderate Muslim organization, known for its anti-fundamentalist, pro-American and pro-Israeli stands. "Taking want that imam preaches into consideration - Palazzi says - the solution is simple: Abdel Samie Mahmoud Ibrahim Moussa is an ideologue of suicide terrorism, and we, the moderate Muslims, are asking the Italian branch of the Muslim World League to dismiss him, and to the Minister of Interior Giuseppe Pisanu to consider whether there exist the conditions for his expulsion from Italy".
- Could you suppose that such a call to holy war would come from the imam of the main mosque of Europe, the only one which the Italian government recognizes as an official seat of Islamic worship?
"No, it was a surprise. During the last months some representatives of the Italian branch of the Muslim World League, like Omar Camiletti, have chosen to take a moderate position, and declared to be ready to denounce the extremists. But if an organization which declares to be moderate guests in its mosque an extremist imam, then the situation is different: either the fire him, or Pisanu must expel him from Italy. A man who preaches suicide terrorism cannot have such a role of responsibility in a democratic western country. After Adel Smith and the imam-butcher of Torino Bouchta, Muslims in Italy surely do not need to import more fanatics."
- Why did the government choose to exclude UCOII from the project of a National Board for Islam in Italy?
"This happens since the government has serious reasons to suppose that some mosque or halls of prayer controlled by that organization are nests of extremism. That was the result of a long investigation by the former Deputy Minister of Interior Carlo Taormina, which among other things collected documents proving the existence of strict links between the Syrian leaders of UCOII and the Nada Management Group of Lugano, the Swiss financial holding which the U.S. State Department considers to be a relevant supporter of al-Qa'idah".
- The secretary of UCOII Piccardo claims that classifying his organization as "fundamentalist" is a "blatant lie".
"Mr. Roberto Hamza Piccardo has recently circulated a declaration of his which is nothing but an ideological justification for suicide bombing. In the past he openly praised the terrorists of Hamas and Hezbollah. In the name of UCOII, he also signed a press release were the then President of the Parliamentary Commission on Intelligence and today's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini of "planning the creation of a military dictatorship in Italy". How can this person today hope that the Italian authorities consider him a reliable counterpart? How can he hope to be free to make propaganda in support of terrorism, and then pretend that none takes that same propaganda seriously? Piccardo is also adding a further mistake to his raving declarations of the past. He says that the imam did not intend to say what he actually said, and that the Journalist Magdi Allam is guilty since he dared to translate into Italian what the imam said in Arabic. As one sees, Piccardo claims that certain things are acceptable when said in Arabic, but must not be translated into Italian. If the Ministry of Interior needed a proof that the 'Muslim Brotherhood, Piccardo is now offering that proof by himself. The UCOII militants claim to be loyal toward the State and to believe in democracy, but in reality the want to take control of the Muslim community in Italy, and to lead it to accept at least a claimed legitimacy of suicide terrorism".
L'OPINIONE DELLE LIBERTA'
Editor: Arturo Diaconale
June 11, 2003
Here is the integral text of the press releases circulated by the Board of Governors of the Italian Muslim Association on June 8, 2003, concerning the contents of the Friday sermon (khutbah) delivered by Dr. Abdel-Samie Mahmoud Ibrahim Moussa at the Mosque of Rome on June 6:
"We publicly express our total and convinced dissociation from what was declared by Dr. Abdel-Samie Mahmoud Ibrahim Moussa during his 28th homily in Rome. The contents of the homily, as narrated by the journalist Magdi Allam in the article published on June 7 on the Roman daily newspaper 'La Repubblica' are unfortunately authentic and confirmed by plenty of person who took part in Friday prayer at the mosque of Monte Antenne in Rome".
"We blame the decision of those who appointed to a position of responsibility - like that of imam of the mosque of the Capital - a young bachelor who has just completed his University classes, a man who does not abide by the traditional Sunni belief, but rather by militant extremism inspired by the 'Muslim Brotherhood' sect, a supporter of suicide terrorism according to the theories of Yusuf al-Qaradawi. We clearly understand that in Egypt anti-Sunni extremism is now raising in relevant sector of the once glorious and moderate University of al-Azhar as-Sharif, but frankly declare that such supporters of suicide terrorism must not be tolerated in a place of worship within the Italian territory, in a place of worship which is administrated by the Islamic Cultural Center of Italy, a Moral Entity according to the Italian law.
"During his homily Dr. Abdel-Samie Mahmoud Ibrahim dared to declare that 'A marriage between a Muslim and a Jewess is today it is forbidden', and this caused a serious shock among the listeners, who heard the open denial of a principle (the permissibility of marriages between Muslim men and women of the People of the Book) which is explicitly declared in the Qur'an, and unanimously accepted by the Sunni scholars of every time. He also made ambiguous affirmations concerning the so-called honor killing, without mentioning that Islam consider it a form of murder bereft of any justification.
"Moreover, for what concern the practice of suicide bombing, Dr. Abdel-Samie Mahmoud Ibrahim openly expressed his open solidarity with Hamas and with al-Qa'idah's militiamen in Chechnya, and stated to consider 'Islamically acceptable' the deeds of those kamikazes who commit suicide in order to assassinate innocent civilians. He also declared that the obligation of abstaining from involvement terrorism only involves regular immigrants in Italy. All those declaration of his are in blatant opposition to Sunni Islam. According to Islam there are cases is which a defensive war is lawful, on condition it is declared by a State which sends its soldiers to fight against other soldiers. As for suicide and terrorism by guerrilla groups who intend to kill innocent civilians, their are forbidden by Islam and regarded as capital sins.
"Consequently the A.M.I. Board of Governors:
1) Restate that the extremist beliefs voice by Dr. Abdel-Samie Mahmoud Ibrahim are in contrast with the Sunni faith which is accepted by the wide majority of Muslims in Italy, are diametrically opposed to the attempt to integrate the Muslim minority within the Italian society, and represent a serious threat to public order in Italy.
2) Ask Dr. Mario Scialoja, in his position of director of the Italian branch of the Muslim World League to prove in practice the intention of his organization to adhere to the 'Agreement for a moderate Islam', by immediately firing Dr. Abdel-Samie Mahmoud Ibrahim from the position of imam of the mosque of Monte Antenne.
3) Ask the Minister of Interior Giuseppe Pisanu to evaluate the opportunity to declare persona non grata and to expel from Italy Dr. Abdel-Samie Mahmoud Ibrahim, thus applying - starting from the main mosque of Italy - the principle according to which "The mosques of Italy must be completely freed from preachers of violence, for those who enroll people for the holy war and from the agents of foreign interests". This last request will be officially transmitted to the government during the next meeting of consultation between the delegation of AMI, the Interior Department for Civil Liberties and Immigration and the Interior Central Direction for Religious Affairs.
LIBERO
Editor, Vittorio Feltri
June 12, 2003
After the speech calling for holy war in Rome, the Minister of the Interior warns the Muslim community
THE GOVERNMENT CRACK DOWN UPON THE IMAM WHO PREACHES VIOLENCE
By Dimitri Buffa
"The mosques of Italy must be completely freed from preachers of violence, for those who enroll people for the holy war and from the agents of foreign interests". Thus spoke the Minister of Interior, Giuseppe Pisanu. Yesterday he was compelled to apply that principle to the imam of the mosque of Monte Antenne in Rome, Abdel-Samie Mahmoud Ibrahim Moussa.
"Last week - the Minister said - inside the mosque of Rome people heard a violent Friday homily supporting the so-called holy war. We have no integral transcription, but the summary which was published by the press is surely alarming. Afterwards, we heard that the imam Mohamed Ibrahim Moussa declared to totally respect the Country which is guesting him and its laws, but that declaration of his is surely not enough. I am sure that the administrators of the Mosque of Rome will solve the problem, and am compelled to repeat that the mosques of Italy must be cleaned from preachers of violence".
If Pisanu raises his voice, moderate Muslims also speak very clearly, in order to avoid being confused with those who support suicide bombers. During the past days the Board of Governors of the Italian Muslim Association (AMI) officially asked Pisanu to expel from Italy the imam of the mosque of Rome.
Last Sunday this decision was communicated to "Libero" by the secretary of AMI, Shaykh Abdu Hadi Palazzi. Today he says that the request will be officially transmitted to the government during the next meeting of consultation between the delegation of AMI, the Interior Department for Civil Liberties and Immigration and the Interior Central Direction for Religious Affairs. The distance between the different Muslim organizations of Italy is clearly emerging, as it never happened before.
"The just cannot be called to pay together with the sinner. - Palazzi says to "Libero" - The biggest mosque of Europe cannot become a nest for a small group of pro-terror fanatics. During the '70's the old Communist Party found the courage to dissociate itself from the Red Brigades which were active among the workers of Fiat [Italy's main car corporation]. Today we - the moderate Muslims - must do the same toward those who use the mosques to recruit militants for al-Qa'idah". Among other things, the document issued by AMI says: "..the contents of the homily, as narrated by the journalist Magdi Allam in the article published on June 7 on the Roman daily newspaper 'La Repubblica' are unfortunately authentic and confirmed by plenty of person who took part in Friday prayer at the mosque of Monte Antenne in Rome...".
Palazzi says, "...we oppose the decision to appoint as imam of the mosque of the Capital a young bachelor who has just completed his University classes, a man who does not abide by the traditional Sunni belief, but rather by militant extremism inspired by the "Muslim Brotherhood" sect, a supporter of suicide terrorism according to the theories of Yusuf al-Qaradawi."
For the moment being the direction of the mosque keeps silent, but someone is reflecting on an important point: "the journalist Magdi Allam does not usually attend prayers in the mosque on Fridays. Someone should have informed him about the shocking contents of that specific prayer. Those who want to inform the public opinion about the danger represented by that imam are probably within the board of the mosque itself."
In other words, that imam is opposed by Italian Muslims who cannot digest that kind of extremist preachers coming from the University of Cairo, who cannot agree upon supporting suicide terrorism. Since they are not able to directly fire him, it was necessary to create a scandal, and to put the Egyptian authority at stake.
L'OPINIONE DELLE LIBERTA'
Editor: Arturo Diaconale
June 17, 2003
PALAZZI: "WE NEED AN ACT AGAINST THOSE WHO INSTIGATE TO TERROR"
The AMI secretary general explains the nature of the organizations which want to represent Islam in Italy.
By Dimitri Buffa
"What had to be done as finally been done", says Sheikh Abdul Hadi Palazzi to "L'opinione" will commenting with satisfaction the dismissal of the extremist imam from the mosque of Rome. But the lesson must also be taught to others, i.e. to the ambiguous preacher belonging to UCOII. The legislator must do its job, too: changing into penal crimes (and punishing) deeds like incitement to suicide terrorism, to the so called "holy war" or armed jihad, and every attempt to voice "understanding" or emulation toward suicide bombers who act in Israel or in any other part of the world.
- Imam Moussa, the one who incited to terror and to hatred against Jews was fired. Are you satisfied?
The result is extremely positive. The celerity with which the Islamic Cultural Center of Italy fire an imam who incites to violence and ethnic hatred must surely be praised. One must also add that that celerity was basically caused by those factors: the firm stand of the Minister of Interior Giuseppe Pisanu and the mobilization of the moderate Muslims, of those who do not want to have anything in common with the fanatical and extreme positions voiced by a pro-terrorist preacher. It is a moral and a material victory, a fruit of the agreement between the Italian government and the moderate Muslim organizations, a relevant precedent in a strategy to counter and oppose militant extremism.
- Can one claim that there is a positive aspect in what happened?
What happened surely contributed to clarify the nature and the orientation of those organizations which want to represent Islam in Italy. AMI immediately asked for the dismissal of the imam and eventually his expulsion from Italy. The Italian branch of the World Muslim League (LMM) and the Islamic Religious Community (CoReIs) declared that what Abdel Samie Mohammad Ibrahim Moussa said is unacceptable. On the contrary, the so-called Union of Islamic Communities and Organizations in Italy (UCOII), i.e. the Italian branch of the 'Muslim brotherhood', openly defended the pro-terrorist imam, and considered the journalist Magdi Allam 'guilty' of translating into Italian what the imam said in Arabic. By doing so, they destroyed by themselves their mask of pseudo-moderation.
- So it is a step forward toward the solution of the problem related to pro-terrorist propaganda inside thew mosques of Italy?
It is a step forward, at least for what concerns the big mosque of Rome. But it is the first step only. We must not forget that most of mosques and halls of prayer in Italy is controlled by the 'Muslim brotherhood' network, and that the Italian branch of that sect is at least theoretically supporting suicide terrorism. They declare to approve terrorism in Israel and in Chechnya, but claim not to be intentioned to extend terrorism to Italy. That is surely not enough.
- What else is needed?
First of all we need a regular cooperation between the Ministry of Interior and the moderate Muslim organizations in order to identify and neutralize those who spread the ideology of terror. That is already happening. Apart from the involvement of the executive power, one also needs the intervention of the legislator. We need the Parliament to pass an act changing incitation to suicide terrorism into a specific penal crime, and the abuse of a religious position or of a place of worship for that incitement as an aggravating circumstance.