Muslims feel under siege as Italian Right sets up town vigilante groups
Richard Owen in Padua
Leandro Comacchio, a Northern League leader, is outside a suburban supermarket in Padua collecting signatures for a referendum to stop the construction of a mosque. The campaign, he claims, is not aimed at Muslims. It is, rather, a protest against the “permissive” centre-left council which, he alleges, is giving away council land for construction of the 2,300sq ft mosque.
He contends that the council tolerates unchecked immigration, which has in turn exacerbated street crime, urban decay and drug dealing.
Immigration, and the perceived crime spree, has become a key issue in the city once best known for its ancient university and elegant piazzas – so much so that Northern League supporters have set up vigilante groups. “We have formed citizen street patrols, together with residents’ associations,” Mr Comacchio said. “A minimum of four people, but often up to ten, all with phosphorescent jackets carrying the Lion of St Mark, the symbol of Veneto.”
Mr Comacchio does not like the term vigilantes, prefering instead “concerned residents” who call the police when necessary.
Muslims at the provisional mosque in a derelict supermarket on the other side of town are feeling under siege. The mosque, which has to close by next month because the owner is reclaiming the site, is next to Via Anelli, a dilapidated immigrant housing estate, around which the authorities erected a metal fence – the Wall of Padua – in an attempt to contain drug dealing and prostitution two years ago.
Maher Selmi, a Moroccan student who is the mosque’s spokesman, said that there was worrying prejudice against foreigners as Italy shifted to the Right.
In national elections last month a centre-right coalition led by Silvio Berlusconi, which included the separatist Northern League and the “postFascist” Alleanza Nazionale, swept the board. Gianni Alemanno, also of Alleanza Nazionale, was elected Mayor of Rome this week.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3864162.ece