this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2024
505 points (96.3% liked)

World News

39346 readers
2937 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Bangladeshi residents and others in Monfalcone say decisions to prohibit worship at cultural centres and banning burkinis at the beach is part of anti-Islam agenda

The envelope containing two partially burned pages of the Qur’an came as a shock. Until then, Muslim residents in the Adriatic port town of Monfalcone had lived relatively peacefully for more than 20 years.

Addressed to the Darus Salaam Muslim cultural association on Via Duca d’Aosta, the envelope was received soon after Monfalcone’s far-right mayor, Anna Maria Cisint, banned prayers on the premises.

“It was hurtful, a serious insult we never expected,” said Bou Konate, the association’s president. “But it was not a coincidence. The letter was a threat, generated by a campaign of hate that has stoked toxicity.”

Monfalcone’s population recently passed 30,000. Such a positive demographic trend would ordinarily spell good news in a country grappling with a rapidly declining birthrate, but in Monfalcone, where Cisint has been nurturing an anti-Islam agenda since winning her first mandate in 2016, the rise has not been welcomed.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Cosmonauticus@lemmy.world 137 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (29 children)

Everyone likes to think of Italy as this land of the cultured and sophisticated with all the art, food, and architecture. But you'll find a lot of Italians are as racist and ass backwards as a toothless Klan member in Mississippi.

[–] Deestan@lemmy.world 74 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Italy literally invented fascism.

Hitler used to jerk off to pictures of Mussolini while building his movement.

[–] Gympie_Gympie_pie@sh.itjust.works 35 points 10 months ago (8 children)

Mussolini invented fascism, not Italy . Lots of Italians fell for it and supported it, the rest of the population - the vast majority - had to endure it and were straight up forced to live by its rules through persecution, imprisonment, violence, oppression, physical torture, displacement and homicide. Google the crimes of the Camicie Nere. Millions of Italians were killed because they wouldn’t accept the dictatorship. Look up the Partigiani fighters, they are the true heroes of the anti-fascist fight. Google the Fosse Ardeatine Massacre as one of many examples. Americans fancy themselves the saviours but they stepped in very very late when all the hard work had been done already by the Partigiani. Italy is historically a socialist country, so to say “Italy invented fascism” is just wrong.

[–] laughterlaughter@lemmy.world 12 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Was Mussolini part of the government when fascism was invented? Then yes. Italy invented fascism.

It's okay. It's history.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (7 replies)
[–] rustyfish@lemmy.world 31 points 10 months ago (3 children)

My GF is Italian. That’s pretty much how she describes Italy.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] circuscritic@lemmy.ca 13 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (4 children)

"Everyone likes to think of Italy as this land of the cultured and sophisticated..."

This is no big deal and it's kinda funny, but really it just sounds like you thought that, and then were shocked when you learned otherwise lol.

Because I honestly don't know anyone who believes that. While I'm sure there are people who do, it's not this massive common misconception that you're claiming.

load more comments (4 replies)
load more comments (26 replies)
[–] redcalcium@lemmy.institute 83 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

The decision to ban burkini is weird. You can't swim nude on Italy's beaches, but can't swim fully clothed either?

[–] Hubi@feddit.de 49 points 10 months ago (4 children)

I can see how banning the Burkini in indoor pools makes sense from a hygienic perspective, but banning them on public beaches is just to take something enjoyable away from a specific group of people.

[–] crossmr@kbin.social 29 points 10 months ago

France is pretty strict on that. Apparently men can't wear trunk style swimming bottoms. I'm not sure how they handle the burkini vs rashguard issue. I know rashguards are very popular with a lot of east asians because they worry about skin cancer.

[–] Linkerbaan@lemmy.world 27 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

People pee in the pool. I doubt a Burkini is going to make the hygienic difference.

[–] WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 points 10 months ago

Hard agree. Pools are gross—anyone getting in one knows that and accepts it. I’ll take a lady in a burkini over an unattended child any day.

[–] Akasazh@feddit.nl 16 points 10 months ago (15 children)

How is burkini different from a swimming suit that would warrant banking them from indoor pools?

load more comments (15 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] MacStache@sopuli.xyz 55 points 10 months ago (3 children)

I'm pretty sure that's against italian constitution. Freedom of religion is a fundamental freedom on EU level as well.

[–] 100_kg_90_de_belin@feddit.it 18 points 10 months ago

Municipalities in Italy have been pushing an anti-Muslim agenda since at least 9/11 as part of the right-wing identity politics agenda.

Mosques and cultural centers are seen as radicalization centers.

They know that any court would shoot down shit like this as unconstitutional, but Italian law is slow as molasses and their goal is signaling to xenophobes and racists.

[–] mods_are_assholes@lemmy.world 17 points 10 months ago (1 children)

That's nice, since when have fascists ever cared? I mean like in all of human history?

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] FooBarrington@lemmy.world 13 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Who knew electing fascists would lead to fundamental freedoms of minorities being removed?

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Jaysyn@kbin.social 42 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Christofascists are gonna fash.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 34 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (4 children)

Bigotry aside, that seems like a wildly unenforceable law: What are they going to do? Go house to house to make sure people aren't praying the wrong way?

[–] theinspectorst@kbin.social 50 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (4 children)

I mean, bigotry and unenforceability aside, it's also pretty unambiguously illegal.

Italy is a signatory to the ECHR which creates an explicit right to privacy (Article 8) and freedom of religion (Article 9).

The Italian constitution itself also specifies a right to religious equality before the law (Article 8).

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] BreakDecks@lemmy.ml 12 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Not defending this at all, but the ban only covers praying at "cultural centers", which I assume doesn't include people's private residences.

They truly could enforce against public Islamic worship illegal, depending on how broadly "cultural centers" is defined, and I expect fascists to define it to cover all of public life.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] Reddfugee42@lemmy.world 21 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I am stunned, stunned I tell you, that a culture famous for its misogyny is also backwards in nearly every other possible way.

[–] raspberriesareyummy@lemmy.world 20 points 10 months ago (4 children)

now come on - don't judge all Italians based on piece of shit Berlusconi and other fascists.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] Hadriscus@lemm.ee 18 points 10 months ago (3 children)

The amount of hate and ignorance ITT is staggering. Do better Lemmy, please

[–] stoly@lemmy.world 15 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Lemmy has passed it's golden moment now that enough regular Redditors made if over.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] fastandcurious@lemmy.world 13 points 10 months ago (37 children)

Why us there so much muslim hate in Europe, I just don’t get it

[–] Neon@lemmy.world 43 points 10 months ago (1 children)

a lot of islamic terror attacks in the past have made people bitter.

and i mean a lot of them

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] GONADS125@feddit.de 38 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

I think it just might have to do with the history of Islamic terror attacks..

Such as the London bombings and bridge attack, Charlie Hebdo attack and the more recent stabbings in France, the Madrid train bombings which killed 193 people, the November 2015 Paris attack in which 130 were murdered, the 2016 Atatürk Airport attack in Turkey which left 45 dead, the 2016 Brussels bombings, just to name a few...

I'm not suggesting that all or even most Islamic individuals are dangerous/terrorists. But there is a long, bloody history of Islamic extremism throughout Europe.

I'm also not suggesting this justifies these bans in Italy whatsoever. I share this because it's essential context to answer your question.

[–] theinspectorst@kbin.social 18 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Muslim immigrants will have de facto faced as much (if not far more) hostility and prejudice before any of those events.

What changed is that by the late 20th century, it had become politically unacceptable for right-wing parties to be perceived to be preying on overt racism towards their countries' brown-skinned citizens. But the War on Terror at the start of the 21st century created a new organising framework for nativists, whereby they could incite hatred against exactly the same brown-skinned people as before, but claim they were targeting them for their religion and not their skin colour. At the heart of it is still the same prejudice towards those who are different, it's just that the aspect of difference they choose to focus on today is more politically acceptable than the one they used to focus on.

From the perspective of a brown-skinned Muslim immigrant, the ideological hoops the far-right jump through are likely irrelevant. These people were targeted by nativists before, and they get targeted by nativists now.

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] bleistift2@feddit.de 24 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

We don’t have black people to discriminate against, so we make do with browns after discriminating against Jews fell out of fashion.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (34 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›