Protests have broken out over plans to build a mosque right next to the Tower of Pisa. The protest comes a week after the removal of a Tunisian national by Italian authorities, who allegedly was planning an attack on historical landmark monument.
Twenty-six-year-old Bilel Chahoui, was arrested last Thursday after he posted on social media he was planning on attacking the monument.
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Local politician and one of the protest’s biggest leaders, Gianluca Gambini, states the majority of Pisans are against the mosque and warned it might become a center for radicalization. Gambini said: “According to a recent poll, 57 percent of Pisans are against the mosque.
Close to 1,800 signatures were collected on a petition to prevent the building of a Mosque, an Islamic place of worship, near the Tower of Pisa in Italy. They are forcing a referendum will need to approve and pass a vote before any construction can begin. This will be a first in the city’s history.
Magdi Allam, the journalist and politician who initiated the petition, called the support an “Italian revolution.”
The mayor of Pisa has defended the project and said that blocking it would contradict the freedom of worship promised in the Italian constitution.
You know this sounds very familiar to me, wanting to build mosques near historical landmarks. If my memory serves correct New York had a similar battle on their hands when Muslims wanted to build a mosque at ground zero, the 911 aftermath site.
Not only did Americans protest but they defeated the action citing “We the People” and claiming the insensitivity of the gesture against all those who died in the attack at the hands of radical Islam. Can you imagine visiting the site where your loved one lost their life and looking over only to see a mosque.
This certainly makes me say hmmm and scratch my head.