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.

  • Gympie_Gympie_pie@sh.itjust.works
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    9 months ago

    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
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      9 months ago

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

      It’s okay. It’s history.

      • Gympie_Gympie_pie@sh.itjust.works
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        9 months ago

        What does that even mean…

        Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini invented fascism. Indeed, it’s history. Whathttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_fascism

        • laughterlaughter@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Correct. They were part of the government at the time, therefore Italy invented fascism.

          Just like Britain invented the first tank. Not “some dude in the government.”

    • iegod@lemm.ee
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      9 months ago

      Mussolini invented fascism, not Italy

      If this is the case you’re gonna have to give back a lot of things that are attributed to “Italy”. I think it’s well understood what is meant when someone claims something is from a region/area/country. It was an Italian and it took a country to back it. It’s Italian.

    • Cosmonauticus@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      So if any italians are like Israel. A country with a rich history of strife and oppression but basically ignore it because it’s easier to blame others (in this case brown ppl/immigrants) as the cause of all their problems slowly sliding back to the ideals (in this case racism and fascism) they supposedly rejected.

      • Sp00kyB00k@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        You are missing the point. The Dutch has Nazi’s too, but also a lot of resistance. There is good and bad all around, even within people. If you want to label it as one thing, that would be shortsighted.

      • Gympie_Gympie_pie@sh.itjust.works
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        9 months ago

        Those are the Partigiani, but countless other Italians have been killed because they were against fascism, even before the Partigiani movement formed.