Posted on 06/17/2005 11:42:40 AM PDT by an italian
By Rachel Sanderson ROME (Reuters) - Italy's justice minister, a member of the right-wing Northern League party, was accused of fuelling anti-Islamic sentiment in Italy on Sunday after saying he would fine women wearing the all-covering burka.
Roberto Castelli said an Italian law banning the covering of a person's face in public would be applied to women wearing the full-length religious robe that hides the head and face.
"To go around with your face covered is a crime, you can't do it," Castelli told reporters.
"Women who do so must be reported to the police and fined."
Castelli's outburst is the latest in a series to make headlines as overwhelmingly Catholic Italy comes to grips with a growing Muslim population some see as a blessing for the economy and others as a threat.
Opposition politicians demanded his resignation and that of other Northern League ministers, whose party has come to be defined by its anti-immigrant rhetoric.
They said the comments were irrelevant because it was rare to see a woman dressed in a burka on Italian streets and that Castelli was fanning hysteria.
"Northern League ministers are ... feeding a culture of fear and defensiveness against migrants of Islamic origin," said Paolo Cento, vice chairman of parliament's justice committee.
Italy, with a population of 57 million, is home to an estimated 1 million officially registered Muslims, making Islam the country's second-largest religion. But social services groups say the number is much higher and growing.
Some fear the nascent multiculturalism is already being met by a backlash, prompted in part by attacks against Italian troops and aid workers deployed in Iraq.
A judge last month ordered celebrated Italian writer and journalist Oriana Fallaci to stand trial on charges she defamed Islam in a recent trilogy written in response to the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities.
In the books, which sold more than 1 million copies in Italy, Fallaci complained Muslim immigrants had "multiplied like rats".
Castelli said Fallaci, who lives in New York, would not be found guilty because the government would change the defamation law to clear her, local news agencies ANSA and AGI reported.
How about hunting?
When in Rome...
Hey they could be carrying something funny under there. Skimpy Italian bathing suits designed by Donatella Versaci are far more trustworthy.
In a country full of push up bras, stilleto hells and short skirts, a burka would look strange.
I think a burka should be considered to be a mask, and prima facie evidence of criminal intent.
Yup and followed by a strip search!
"They said the comments were irrelevant because it was rare to see a woman dressed in a burka on Italian streets and that Castelli was fanning hysteria."
Italy had better take this seriously or else the Bella Figura will be history. All those gorgeous clothes and shoes hidden under a black enveloping bag enforced by the Sharia.
First I've heard of this. I like it.
First I have heard of this.
So Italy protects Islam from being "defamed"? How about Catholicism? I seem to recall the Vatican was upset with Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code; did the Italian government seek to try him?
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