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il caso burka a treviso visto dall'estero

Autore: Orma

Italy: Northern city ignores outcry and lifts burqa ban
AKI, 10 ottobre 2007

Treviso, 10 Oct. (AKI) - An Italian politician has provoked a national controversy by permitting women to wear the Islamic burqa in public despite laws opposing it. The prefect of Treviso, Vittorio Capocelli, who represents the interior ministry in the city, says women should be allowed to wear the garment for religious motives as long as they can be identified if requested, reported the Italian daily, Corriere della Sera.

The garment, which covers the whole body and the face, is usually worn over clothing and is mainly seen in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Three years ago, the anti-immigrant Northern League politician and deputy mayor, Giancarlo Gentilini, invoked a 1975 public order law and ordered police to arrest women wearing the burqa.

Italy's minister of equal opportunities Barbara Pollastrini and interior minister Giuliano Amato have strongly deplored Capocelli's decision and said that the use of it was unacceptable. Capocelli's decision has provoked condemnation and approval across the political spectrum, some calling it a "symbol of enslavement", while others called it a necessary step in freedom of religion. Northern League politicians Mario Borghezio said "the prefect of Treviso should put a burqa on his wife." while Roberto Calderoli also from the League, called the office of the prefect an "unnecessary institution."


'Suicide of civilisation' warning as Italian town permits burka
John Hooper, The Guardian,10 ottobre 2007

A row has broken out in Italy over the wearing of the burka after the prefect of a city in the north-east announced he was permitting it, despite legislation outlawing any clothing that stops the wearer being recognised.

Vittorio Capocelli, the prefect of Treviso, near Venice, made his ruling after meeting immigrants' representatives. He said women who sought to wear the burka for religious reasons were free to do so, but would have to reveal their features if asked to do so for the purposes of identification.

The burka covers the body from head to foot, with the exception of a small mesh at eye level.

The announcement by the prefect - the local representative of the interior ministry - also appeared to clear the way for the use of the equally controversial and more widely worn niqab, which leaves only the eyes visible.

Both garments, however, are apparently at odds with a 1975 law that bans the wearing of masks in public. It was originally introduced as part of a clampdown on terrorism and violent demonstrations.

In Treviso, moreover, the burka is the target of a specific ban. Three years ago, the city's mayor, Giancarlo Gentilini of the anti-immigrant Northern League, said he had introduced the bylaw because the garment was "a mask that can be permitted at carnival time, but not throughout the year".

In a front-page article in yesterday's Corriere della Sera, the paper's Egyptian-born deputy editor, Magdi Allam, attacked Mr Capocelli's counter-initiative as symptomatic of an attitude that was "leading us straight to the suicide of our civilisation". Were it endorsed at national level, he argued, Islamic women "could soon be going to school, taking jobs and going around freely, completely veiled".

Mr Capocelli's boss, Giuliano Amato, the interior minister in Italy's centre-left government, and the prime minister, Romano Prodi, have spoken out against the burka. Mr Amato said last month that it "offended the dignity of women".


Islam. Pollastrini: categorical no to burka
AGI, 9 ottobre 2007

(AGI) - Rome, Oct.9 - Minister for Equal Opportunities Barbara Pollastrini is "outraged and taken aback", and reasserted her "categorical no" to authorise Islamic women in Italy to wear a burqa, commenting the decision taken by Treviso prefect. "As I always said, I think that covering the face completely offends the dignity of women. Hence, my answer is a straightforward no to the burqa. In our country - she said - law n.152/1975, article 5, forbids to totally cover one's face in public. This norm must be enforced strictly and wisely. Besides, PM Romano Prodi and Interior Minister Giuliano Amato have always been clear on this. The veil is different, even though it must never be imposed, it must be a free decision of Islamic women".


Italy: Burqa decision sparks indignation
The Muslim News, 10 ottobre 2007

Rome, (ANSA): The decision by a northern Italian city official to allow Muslim women to wear the burqa has sparked consternation in the country, even though at least one minister supported the move.

"We have already said several times, and we reiterate it now, that the use of the burqa is unacceptable," said a spokesman for Interior Minister Giulio Amato.

A 1975 law, introduced amid concern over homegrown terrorism in the country's cities, forbids Italians from appearing in public wearing anything which covers their faces.

Apart from this law, which appears to apply to the burqa, many politicians on both sides of parliament said the garment was also a humiliating imposition.

"I am indignant. Covering up women's faces is an offence to their dignity," said Equal Opportunities Minister Barbara Pollastrini.

The burqa used by Islamic traditions such as the Afghan one covers the entire head and body of the woman, leaving only a small grill of cloth in the area of the eyes to allow the wearer to see. Vittorio Capocelli, the prefect of Treviso in the Veneto region, decided on October 5 that it was acceptable for Muslim women in the city to wear the garment as long as they were ready to remove it and identify themselves to police when required.

A day later Family Minister Rosy Bindi, a prominent Catholic politician, indicated her agreement, saying that it was right to be "respectful of the veil" as long as women wore it of their own free will.

The apparent green light for the burqa drew a stinging editorial from Egyptian-born writer and journalist Magdi Allam in Tuesday's edition of Corriere della Sera, Italy's best-selling daily.

"If the prefect's decision sets a legal and administrative precedent on a national level, Islamic women could soon be going to school completely covered, be getting hired in workplaces and circulating freely all over Italy," he wrote. Centre-left MP Maura Leddi filed a formal request for Amato to explain to parliament why the Treviso prefect had authorised the use of the burqa.

The prefect appeared to have based his decision on a 2004 police department circular indicating that wearing the burqa was legitimate because it was an "external sign of religious faith".

The circular says that wearing the covering is not a crime and so women should be allowed to wear it in the street or in a mosque. But it also says that it should not be worn in places such as banks or post offices because of the possible "alarm" this would cause to other people. In such situations police can and should identify the wearer.

Italy now has 1.2 million Muslims, making Islam the second religion after Catholicism. The Union of Islamic Communities in Italy, one of the largest Muslim associations, says it manages about 160 mosques.

Both the previous centre-right government and the current centre-left one have opted for a strategy of promoting a model of 'Italian' Islam which has integration, moderation and tolerance as its cornerstones.

A 16-member Islamic Council was set up in 2005 with the objective of advising the Italian government on Islam-related affairs and to form a bridge to the country's growing Muslim population.

One of the Council's members, former ambassador Mario Scialoja, said that the decision by Treviso's prefect to allow the burqa was "inopportune".

Souad Sbai, head of an association of Moroccan women in Italy and a member of the Islamic Council, agreed. "Italy is becoming fundamentalist. It's time to say stop," she said.


Italian Prefect In Burqa Row
EURSOC Four, 10 ottobre 2007

From the Guardian, a report that a prefect in the North-Eastern city of Treviso has caused a storm by permitting immigrant women to wear the burka, provided they remove material covering their face if authorities request that they identify themselves.

"[wearing the burqa] is a custom based on precise cultural and religious aspects, hence it can be worn as long as the woman when requested allows herself to be identified,' Prefect Vittorio Capocelli was quoted as saying by the local paper La Tribuna. The Mayor of the town, Gian Paolo Gobbo, of the Northern League begs to differ, arguing it is a "disguise"

The burka and the niqab were believed to be forbidden under a 1975 law which outlaws the wearing of masks - the law dates to a period of terrorist outrages and violent demonstrations, the newspaper observes.

The Guardian reports:

"In a front-page article in yesterday's Corriere della Sera, the paper's Egyptian-born deputy editor, Magdi Allam, attacked Mr Capocelli's counter-initiative as symptomatic of an attitude that was "leading us straight to the suicide of our civilisation". Were it endorsed at national level, he argued, Islamic women "could soon be going to school, taking jobs and going around freely, completely veiled".

"Mr Capocelli's boss, Giuliano Amato, the interior minister in Italy's centre-left government, and the prime minister, Romano Prodi, have spoken out against the burka. Mr Amato said last month that it "offended the dignity of women"."

Mr Amato's spokesman added last night that the burqa was "unacceptable", while a prominent Italian Muslim said that Islam did not oblige women to wear the covering. Another Muslim woman, Souad Sbai, who heads the Association of Moroccan Women in Italy, said, "It is a scandal. There's a law from 1975 and it is valid for everyone,' she said, adding that any decision to allow the burqa were 'dangerous, because if implemented many [Muslim] women would be forced to wear it.'"


Official's pro-Burqa stance stirs controversy
Monsters and Critics.com, 9 ottobre 2007

Treviso, Italy - Remarks by a top official in the northeastern Italian city of Treviso that women should be allowed to wear burqa-type garments for religious reasons has drawn sharp criticism including Muslim leaders, the Treviso-based daily La Tribuna reported on Tuesday.

'It [wearing the burqa] is a custom based on precise cultural and religious aspects, hence it can be worn as long as the woman when requested allows herself to be identified,' Prefect Vittorio Capocelli was quoted as saying by the paper.

The comments by the prefect, who is responsible for public order in Treviso, were condemned by Mayor Gian Paolo Gobbo, a member of the anti-immigration Northern League party.

'The burqa is a disguise. It means not showing one's face, disguising oneself so as not to be identified,' Gobbo said in an interview with private broadcaster Radio 24.

Treviso is not new to controversy over the burqa, the garment worn by women in some Muslim cultures that covers the whole body and the face.

In 2004 police stopped three women for wearing the burqa in Treviso, a traditional Northern League stronghold, but where many immigrants working in nearby industries also live.

The police action was based on legislation - introduced in 1975 when Italy was in the grips of left - and right-wing terrorism - prohibiting people from concealing their face in public without good reason, such as a motorcyclist wearing a helmet.

Interior Minister Giuliano Amato has spoken out against the burqa, and on Tuesday the ANSA news agency quoted his spokesman Fabrizio Forquet as saying that wearing the garment was 'unacceptable.'

A leading member of Italy's Muslim community Mario Scialoja described allowing women to wear the burqa as 'inopportune,' adding that there was no obligation in Islam for women to wear the garment, but that it was a custom of 'some Muslim populations.'

Souad Sbai, who heads the Association of Moroccan Women in Italy and sits on a government-appointed body for matters regarding Islam, was more vocal in her response.

'It is a scandal. There's a law from 1975 and it is valid for everyone,' she said, adding that any decision to allow the burqa were 'dangerous, because if implemented many [Muslim] women would be forced to wear it.'

Last year a rightwing lawmaker was placed under police escort after saying she received death threats from an imam for criticising the wearing of face veils by Muslim women.

Some 1 million Muslims, most of them immigrants, are estimated to live in overwhelmingly catholic Italy.


Why nun allowed but not Muslim woman, asks Italian minister
The Muslim Weekly, 10 ottobre 2007

Italian interior minister Giuliano Amato last Thursday rejected calls for banning the Muslim veil in public places. "If we are going to ban the veil in public places, it immediately begs the question: why should a nun be allowed to wear her habit and not a female Muslim," he told newspaper La Stampa, reported AFP.

The minister said that the Italian constitution guaranteed freedom of religion. The Italian minister said that any true ban had to be applied on all citizens in the European country. "If a Muslim woman is ill in hospital, she must not wear the veil -- whereas a nun would be allowed to," he said. However Amato said that he was against the wearing of the full-face veil, and in particular the burka.

A debate has been raging about the veil wearing in Italy. Recently, the veil has become a sign of terror and a sign of anti-integration to the Italian society specially in Milan where the right-wing Lega Nord party has campaigned against the face-veil.

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