In the cafeteria of Collegio di Milano, there is a bunch of kids who master switching from fluent Arabic to impeccable Italian. Those kids are Italian Muslims and Italian Christians born in Italy with an Arab background. They do not know how much weight religion will play in the process of their identity formation yet, and probably they will never comprehend why in the homelands of their parents, on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea, people can take the life of other human beings in the name of religion.
But, these kids' parents, who immigrated to Italy 20–-30 years ago, are aware of these issues. They are worried the injustice and violence carried out for absurd, sectarian reasons in some areas of the Arab World would either set hurdles in Italy or be an excuse for some Arab immigrants to isolate themselves from native Italians or be a reason to cut off the ties, which are already weak, between Arab Christians and Arab Muslims who live in Italy.
Heartbreaking Incident
"When people die, it is always a heartbreak. When it happens just after a religious celebration, [this] is a tragedy for all," said Ben Issa, a representative from the Casa della Cultura Islamica di Milano (the House of Islamic Culture of Milano) in front of more than 100 people who gathered in the conference hall of Collegio di Milano to be part of a historic event called "Thinking Another Egypt," a meeting of Egyptian Muslims and Christians in the name of brotherhood, religious dialogue, and solidarity toward the six Copts who lost their lives on January 6, 2010, in Nag Hammady, Egypt.
The meeting was without politicians or religious leaders. It was for ordinary families who wanted to send a message of peaceful coexistence among religions and build bridges at a historic moment when many cultural walls are being built. "It is the first time I see so many Egyptian Muslims and Copts spending an afternoon together here in Milano," said Paolo Branca, professor of Arab literature at Catholic University of Milano and passionate protagonist of interfaith dialogue.
"Thinking Another Egypt" took place Sunday 24 in the conference room of Collegio of Milano, a prestigious university that last semester offered to its students a one-semester course about Islam. Its general director, Stefano Blanco, said the course was favored by the students. Blanco prides himself for having attended the World Education Summit that was held in Doha last November.
The promoter of the meeting was Casa della Cultura Islamica. Its president, Mahmoud Asfa, has been awarded last year the Ambrogino d'Oro, a prestigious prize given every year by the mayor of Milano on behalf of the city to distinguished men and women who excel in their fields. Asfa was recognized for his work in interfaith dialogue. Associazione Italo–Egiziana (AIE — Italian–Egyptian Association) and Vita Magazine were the other two co-promoters of the event.
AIE is a nonprofit association whose president is Muslim and secretary manager is Coptic. They are both from Egypt, and they settled in Italy more than 25 years ago. Vita Magazine is a weekly known as a guide to the nonprofit world in Italy. It publishes Yalla Italia, a monthly supplement written by Italian young generations with Arab origins.
"Hassan and Morqos"
Two Yalla Italia contributors, Rassmea Salah and Hassan Bruneo, along with an 8-year-old Moroccan boy started the meeting by reciting a piece of Jannat Al-Atfal (Paradise of Children), one of the most famous short stories by Naguib Mahfouz. After the performance, Branca, Issa, and Shafik Rafaat of the AIE greeted the guests and made outreaching speeches to the communities.
The lights then were turned off and the projector beamed on a big screen showing the movie Hassan and Morqos, a comedy starring Egypt's icons Omar Sharif and Adel Imam. The characters they play, Mahmoud and Paulos, are ordered by a top police officer to temporarily change their identities. As a result, Paulos took the personality of a popular Muslim preacher called Shaikh Hassan. Mahmoud, on the other hand, camouflaged as Morqos, a Coptic businessman.
"The fiction of the movie can't be applied here in Italy," said Samira, an Egyptian woman living in Milano. "I think civil society has to do more to defuse Muslim–Coptic tensions, no matter where we live." Rania, a teenager originally from Alexandria, does not believe that there are tensions among Egyptian immigrants of different faiths in Italy. "But I think there are people who do a good job to exploit religion for bad means," she said. "Those are not people of faith, even if they show a religious[ly] correct behavior. I also reject the idea of those who claim the world would be a better place without religions. Every faith, when practiced in a sincere and natural way, brings harmony among people, not despite but mainly because of people’s difference."
Milan: A Model for Religious Harmony?
Talking about difference, compared to 30 years ago, Milan now experiences a new model of harmonious citizenship that in other countries seems difficult. "If we look at the numbers of Arab immigrants in Italy" said Paolo Branca, "I can't help thinking that the opportunities to promote best practices and train great Arab–Italian communicators and cultural mediators could be unlimited. But, I regret finding both Coptic and Muslim communities not to interact. They keep to themselves instead of mixing with others; they consider their neighbors as competitors, not like potential collaborators; they tend to think that their social borders are defined by religion issues and religious language. It took me 25 years to gather in one place Muslims and Copts to talk and spend quality time together."
Indeed, based on government figures, there are more or less 70,000 Muslims living in Milano, 25,000 of whom are Egyptians. In 1970, there were only 3,390 Muslims living in the city. The Muslim population of Milano grew from 0.2 percent to 5.2 percent in 3 decades. Regarding Copts, Milano hosts 10,000 of them. "Muslims and Copts do not interact," said Branca. "They keep a safe distance. Every time I encourage their religious leaders to experiment new forms of coexistence and cooperation, they play the zero-sum game, or, as we say in Milano, one destroys in the night the work that another one had done during the day."
Future Horizons
"Thinking Another Egypt" was a wonderful event. Hend, a Christian woman, said she was moved by the harmonious atmosphere. "Despite the differences," she said, "we felt like we were Egyptians."
And for the future? "We have to repeat this format in another city with many immigrants, and then we have to reach out to the press," said Antonio Cuciniello, an Italian cultural mediator who worked in Egypt for four years.
Indeed, only one Italian newspaper, Il Sole 24 Ore, covered the event. This is typically the kind of news that the Italian press tends to ignore. For the last four years, for instance, a Muslim man and woman are used to pay the respect of the Muslim population of Milano to the Italian Jewish community remembering the Yom Ha Shoah, which is held every year. The Italian press keeps forgetting the Muslim testimonials commemorating the Shoah for the last four years, along with Jewish people of Milano.
Martino Pillitteri is the Media and External Relations Manager of VITA Group, Milano, Italy. He graduated from the Faculty of Communication Arts at Marymount Manhattan College in the United States of America. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the project "Yalla Italia," a monthly publication written by Arab-Italians of second generation published within the weekly magazine VITA
But, these kids' parents, who immigrated to Italy 20–-30 years ago, are aware of these issues. They are worried the injustice and violence carried out for absurd, sectarian reasons in some areas of the Arab World would either set hurdles in Italy or be an excuse for some Arab immigrants to isolate themselves from native Italians or be a reason to cut off the ties, which are already weak, between Arab Christians and Arab Muslims who live in Italy.
Heartbreaking Incident
"When people die, it is always a heartbreak. When it happens just after a religious celebration, [this] is a tragedy for all," said Ben Issa, a representative from the Casa della Cultura Islamica di Milano (the House of Islamic Culture of Milano) in front of more than 100 people who gathered in the conference hall of Collegio di Milano to be part of a historic event called "Thinking Another Egypt," a meeting of Egyptian Muslims and Christians in the name of brotherhood, religious dialogue, and solidarity toward the six Copts who lost their lives on January 6, 2010, in Nag Hammady, Egypt.
The meeting was without politicians or religious leaders. It was for ordinary families who wanted to send a message of peaceful coexistence among religions and build bridges at a historic moment when many cultural walls are being built. "It is the first time I see so many Egyptian Muslims and Copts spending an afternoon together here in Milano," said Paolo Branca, professor of Arab literature at Catholic University of Milano and passionate protagonist of interfaith dialogue.
"Thinking Another Egypt" took place Sunday 24 in the conference room of Collegio of Milano, a prestigious university that last semester offered to its students a one-semester course about Islam. Its general director, Stefano Blanco, said the course was favored by the students. Blanco prides himself for having attended the World Education Summit that was held in Doha last November.
The promoter of the meeting was Casa della Cultura Islamica. Its president, Mahmoud Asfa, has been awarded last year the Ambrogino d'Oro, a prestigious prize given every year by the mayor of Milano on behalf of the city to distinguished men and women who excel in their fields. Asfa was recognized for his work in interfaith dialogue. Associazione Italo–Egiziana (AIE — Italian–Egyptian Association) and Vita Magazine were the other two co-promoters of the event.
AIE is a nonprofit association whose president is Muslim and secretary manager is Coptic. They are both from Egypt, and they settled in Italy more than 25 years ago. Vita Magazine is a weekly known as a guide to the nonprofit world in Italy. It publishes Yalla Italia, a monthly supplement written by Italian young generations with Arab origins.
"Hassan and Morqos"
Two Yalla Italia contributors, Rassmea Salah and Hassan Bruneo, along with an 8-year-old Moroccan boy started the meeting by reciting a piece of Jannat Al-Atfal (Paradise of Children), one of the most famous short stories by Naguib Mahfouz. After the performance, Branca, Issa, and Shafik Rafaat of the AIE greeted the guests and made outreaching speeches to the communities.
The lights then were turned off and the projector beamed on a big screen showing the movie Hassan and Morqos, a comedy starring Egypt's icons Omar Sharif and Adel Imam. The characters they play, Mahmoud and Paulos, are ordered by a top police officer to temporarily change their identities. As a result, Paulos took the personality of a popular Muslim preacher called Shaikh Hassan. Mahmoud, on the other hand, camouflaged as Morqos, a Coptic businessman.
"The fiction of the movie can't be applied here in Italy," said Samira, an Egyptian woman living in Milano. "I think civil society has to do more to defuse Muslim–Coptic tensions, no matter where we live." Rania, a teenager originally from Alexandria, does not believe that there are tensions among Egyptian immigrants of different faiths in Italy. "But I think there are people who do a good job to exploit religion for bad means," she said. "Those are not people of faith, even if they show a religious[ly] correct behavior. I also reject the idea of those who claim the world would be a better place without religions. Every faith, when practiced in a sincere and natural way, brings harmony among people, not despite but mainly because of people’s difference."
Milan: A Model for Religious Harmony?
Talking about difference, compared to 30 years ago, Milan now experiences a new model of harmonious citizenship that in other countries seems difficult. "If we look at the numbers of Arab immigrants in Italy" said Paolo Branca, "I can't help thinking that the opportunities to promote best practices and train great Arab–Italian communicators and cultural mediators could be unlimited. But, I regret finding both Coptic and Muslim communities not to interact. They keep to themselves instead of mixing with others; they consider their neighbors as competitors, not like potential collaborators; they tend to think that their social borders are defined by religion issues and religious language. It took me 25 years to gather in one place Muslims and Copts to talk and spend quality time together."
Indeed, based on government figures, there are more or less 70,000 Muslims living in Milano, 25,000 of whom are Egyptians. In 1970, there were only 3,390 Muslims living in the city. The Muslim population of Milano grew from 0.2 percent to 5.2 percent in 3 decades. Regarding Copts, Milano hosts 10,000 of them. "Muslims and Copts do not interact," said Branca. "They keep a safe distance. Every time I encourage their religious leaders to experiment new forms of coexistence and cooperation, they play the zero-sum game, or, as we say in Milano, one destroys in the night the work that another one had done during the day."
Future Horizons
"Thinking Another Egypt" was a wonderful event. Hend, a Christian woman, said she was moved by the harmonious atmosphere. "Despite the differences," she said, "we felt like we were Egyptians."
And for the future? "We have to repeat this format in another city with many immigrants, and then we have to reach out to the press," said Antonio Cuciniello, an Italian cultural mediator who worked in Egypt for four years.
Indeed, only one Italian newspaper, Il Sole 24 Ore, covered the event. This is typically the kind of news that the Italian press tends to ignore. For the last four years, for instance, a Muslim man and woman are used to pay the respect of the Muslim population of Milano to the Italian Jewish community remembering the Yom Ha Shoah, which is held every year. The Italian press keeps forgetting the Muslim testimonials commemorating the Shoah for the last four years, along with Jewish people of Milano.
Martino Pillitteri is the Media and External Relations Manager of VITA Group, Milano, Italy. He graduated from the Faculty of Communication Arts at Marymount Manhattan College in the United States of America. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the project "Yalla Italia," a monthly publication written by Arab-Italians of second generation published within the weekly magazine VITA
