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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party has called for a ban on face coverings such as the burka and niqab in public spaces, part of a wide-ranging proposal intended to combat what it described as “Islamic separatism”.
The draft law — presented to parliament on Wednesday by a trio of lawmakers from Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party — would also tighten scrutiny of funding for mosques and other Islamic educational and cultural activities, by imposing strict financial reporting requirements.
“The spread of Islamic fundamentalism . . . undeniably constitutes the breeding ground for Islamist terrorism,” an introduction to the draft legislation said, citing the need to combat “religious radicalisation and religious hatred”.
Galeazzo Bignami, leader of the rightwing Brothers of Italy in parliament and one of the bill’s backers, said the measures are intended to defend Italy from “all forms of extremism and any attempt to create parallel societies on Italian soil”.
Sara Kelany, a co-sponsor of the proposal, said Italy could not tolerate the “creation of enclaves where sharia law prevails over Italian law,” but would promote “a model of society based on integration, legality and the defence of western values”.
The proposals come amid growing tensions over the increasingly visible presence of the Islamic faith in Italy, as well as outcries over recent cases involving young Muslim women raised in Italy by migrant families who then tried to force them back to their parents’ countries for arranged marriages.
The draft proposes a prohibition on the use of any full-face Islamic veils in public places such as educational institutions, commercial establishments and offices, with proposed fines of between €300 and €3,0000 for violators.
It would also impose heavy fines on Muslim organisations that are found to have accepted donations from individuals or entities deemed to be “active in the propaganda of principles that conflict with the protection of fundamental freedoms and state security”.
The draft also cites the need to combat “cultural crimes” against vulnerable women by toughening existing laws against non-consensual arranged marriages, which would be punishable by prison sentences of four to 10 years, and a new ban on so-called virginity tests.
Italy’s national statistics agency, Istat, maintains no records of the religious affiliation of Italian citizens or the country’s foreign residents.
However, the country’s Islamic associations estimate that around 2mn Muslims live in Italy — many of them foreign workers and their families — while the US-based Pew Research Center estimated five years ago that Italy was home to nearly 3mn Muslims, around 5 per cent of the population.
Muslim groups said the Brothers of Italy’s punitive approach to Islamic veils would not promote religious harmony and instead risks alienating Muslims.
“Freedom of choice is a fundamental principle in a democratic society — no state should dictate how a woman should dress,” Yassine Lafram, president of the Union of Islamic Communities of Italy, said after the draft legislation was announced.
“Any legislative measures that impose blanket bans risk creating social tensions and discrimination rather than fostering integration and dialogue,” Lafram added.
The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly upheld the legitimacy of national curbs against Islamic veils — the so-called burka bans in countries such as France, Belgium and Austria — ruling that a ban on face coverings was justified on the grounds of social harmony.
Additional reporting by Giuliana Ricozzi
