Italian Muslims gathered in the country’s major cities to show their opposition against terrorism and the terror attacks in Paris. In Rome, hundreds took part in a demonstration at a rain soaked central square, with the slogan “Not In My Name” in their hands. Italian Islamic Confederation said it he hopes the demonstration will help people understand that Islam is not a religion of terrorism.
an estimated 1.7 million Muslims in the country and that Islam is the second most practiced religion after Catholicism. The Islamic community in Italy is fractured between the 50,000 Muslims who are Italian citizens who worship at the 110 recognized houses of worship, and the various refugees and Islamic cultural groups who gather at some 700 unofficial venues.
The various groups often have little to do with each other. In fact, on Saturday when Muslim marches against the attacks in Paris were held in Rome and Milan and a few other cities, the total number of marcher countrywide barely topped 1,000 which is surprising considering the considerable population.
In US, Muslims of Washington, DC organized a gathering of Americans of different faiths to come together on the steps of Lincoln Memorial and make the statements of condemnations against terrorism and Islamic State.