Illegal Mosques Rise Across Italy as Radical Imams Deride Women

An imam expelled from Italy over extremism continues to issue threats from afar against the former mayor of Monfalcone. Similarly inflammatory rhetoric comes from a Venice-based imam operating an illegal mosque. The majority of Muslim prayer sites in Italy have been established without authorisation. A law is now in the works to regulate their operation — although the Muslim community views this as a targeted attack.

English NAGYVILÁG POLITIKA 2025. JÚLIUS 3. 11:54

Zulfiqar Khan, an imam expelled from Italy on national security grounds for openly supporting jihad and Hamas, continues to attack Anna Maria Cisint, the former mayor of Monfalcone and a Member of the European Parliament representing the right-wing League party, who has regularly spoken out about extremism within the Muslim community in her city.

The imam referred to Cisint as “satanic” and issued a threat from afar: “We have not forgotten Monfalcone!” According to Khan, Cisint is wrong to call attention to radical fundamentalists because “not all radicals or fundamentalists are evil — some of them are good.”

“But members of the League, yes, they are evil people. There is something satanic in them,”

– said the expelled imam, who also took issue with the president of the League party, Matteo Salvini calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a friend of Italy.

Although the imam’s speech starts by seemingly ritual language, it swiftly devolves into ideological and personal attacks that leave little doubt about his true intent: to intimidate and strike out, the MEP said, in response. Ms. Cisint also recalled that Khan’s successor at the IQRRA mosque in Bologna has similarly questioned Italian culture and promotes a view of women incompatible with Western values.

Ms. Cisint called for “immediate and decisive action.”

“We need strong counter-measures now, before the fundamentalist worldview propagated by Khan and others like him takes root elsewhere, in other mosques across Italy and Europe. Before words of hate turn into concrete acts. Before the radicalisation already underway in our country accelerates into what the latest French report has described as a real attempt to overthrow democracy. We will not retreat — not one step,”

– she declared, according to Gates of Vienna news site.

In Venice, serious concerns have also been raised over a radical imam who preaches in an illegal mosque. Arif Mahmud holds services in a mosque that has been set up in a former supermarket building, despite the city council’s recent decision that the building cannot be used for cultural or religious purposes.

Mahmud makes shockingly derogatory remarks about European women and culture. “I try to explain to Italians why Muslims do not shake hands with women. They are incapable of understanding this Islamic rule that protects female honour,” he says, going on to criticise Italian women for not respecting these same Islamic laws.

“They are nothing more than a place for a man to ejaculate. If necessary, they are used. If not her, then someone else. Exactly the way you use a public toilet: when a man needs one, he goes to the first one available,” the imam said, openly degrading Italian women.

The Venice-based imam also attacked Ms. Cisint after she visited the illegal mosque and called attention to extremist elements. He accused her of nothing less than „pure racism.”

Illegal Mosques Spreading in Rome as Well

Currently, there are more than fifty Muslim prayer sites in Rome. Over recent years, the situation has not improved but has instead crystallised into a parallel reality that runs separate from the state, the Italian il Tempo reports.

Prayer rooms have been set up in garages, basements, warehouses, former shops and industrial halls — places where hundreds of Muslim worshippers gather every Friday. These are facilities established outside any urban planning framework, often failing even minimum safety requirements and operating beyond the reach of regulatory oversight. Although the authorities have been aware of them for years, the situation remains unresolved, the paper notes.

In Rome, just as in most of the country, the majority of prayer sites are located in buildings not intended for such use.

These are places rented from private individuals and then repurposed, often in the outskirts, where property is cheaper and inspections are less rigorous.

In May 2024, Italy’s Chamber of Deputies approved what has been dubbed the “anti-mosque law”, which now awaits debate in the Senate. The bill was submitted by the parliamentary group leader of the Brothers of Italy party (Fratelli d’Italia). The proposed legislation would address the urban planning compatibility of premises used by associations promoting social causes. In essence, it states that only religious organisations with formal agreements with the Italian state may receive benefits associated with using premises for worship. For most Muslim prayer sites in Italy, this would mean only one thing: closure.

The Muslim community has described the proposal as an “unjust, unconstitutional, and discriminatory law” whose “clear intent is to crack down on our community.” The issue has been dragging on for decades. Although Italy’s Muslim community is estimated to number between two and three million, it has never managed to reach an agreement with the state — largely due to the lack of a single, officially recognised representative body.

English NAGYVILÁG POLITIKA

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Islam, italy, radical imams