Morire e non essere sepolti. I corpi adagiati in una cella frigorifera, in un obitorio o su una barella che nessun Comune sa dove collocare. Succede oggi, in Italia, soprattutto ai cittadini di fede islamica, per i quali il diritto alla sepoltura dipende dal luogo in cui si muore, dalla disponibilità di un sindaco o da una deroga concessa all’ultimo momento. Negli ultimi giorni del 2025, il decesso di tre persone ha riportato alla luce un tema che da anni resta ai margini della cronaca. La Regione non è competente. I Comuni sono autonomi. Lo Stato si limita a fissare le regole generali. Nel mezzo, il problema resta: i morti di fede islamica non trovano un luogo dove essere sepolti, mentre le istituzioni si rimpallano le responsabilità. L’ultimo rimpallo di responsabilità si registra in Lombardia. Dopo l’appello lanciato nei mesi scorsi da Abdullah Badinjki, assessore del Comune di Paullo, l’ufficio del presidente Attilio Fontana, interpellato da ilfattoquotidiano.it, ha risposto tramite la Direzione generale Welfare: Il riferimento è al DPR 285 del 1990, regolamento nazionale di polizia mortuaria. “La norma assegna ai Comuni la responsabilità della costruzione dei cimiteri attraverso i piani cimiteriali. La regione Lombardia non ha contezza degli spazi dedicati alle sepolture, perché parte integrante dei piani comunali definiti autonomamente dai sindaci”. Una risposta formalmente corretta, ma politicamente elusiva. La legge italiana prevede infatti che una persona possa essere sepolta esclusivamente nel Comune di residenza o in quello in cui è avvenuto il decesso. L’Islam, inoltre, vieta la cremazione e la tumulazione: il corpo deve essere inumato, con il volto rivolto verso la Mecca. Quando mancano aree dedicate, l’unica alternativa diventa il rimpatrio della salma. Anche quando la volontà del defunto e della famiglia è opposta. È da qui che nasce l’appello di Badinjki, che non contesta la norma statale, ma il suo effetto concreto. “Il richiamo al DPR 285/1990 è corretto, ma va collocato nel suo perimetro reale. Il regolamento individua nei Comuni i soggetti attuatori, ma non esaurisce il ruolo delle Regioni, che possono integrare la disciplina attraverso indirizzo, coordinamento e programmazione”, replica l’assessore. “La sepoltura non è un servizio tecnico: è un diritto fondamentale che la Regione è chiamata a garantire, intervenendo dove c’è una mancanza dei comuni. Questa non è una battaglia politica né ideologica”. Secondo Badinjki, ridurre la questione a un problema di competenze significa ignorare il nodo politico: “Affermare che la Regione non abbia responsabilità perché i piani cimiteriali sono comunali significa trasformare il DPR in una norma di esclusione. Quando emerge una criticità strutturale, il governo del sistema impone un’assunzione di responsabilità, non un arretramento”. Il dibattito istituzionale, però, ha conseguenze molto concrete. Negli ultimi giorni dello scorso anno, nel Sud-Est milanese, tre cittadini musulmani sono morti senza che fosse immediatamente disponibile un luogo di sepoltura. In un caso, la salma è stata rimpatriata solo grazie a una colletta della comunità, che ha raccolto tra i cinque e i seimila euro necessari. In un secondo caso, la sepoltura è avvenuta a San Donato Milanese esclusivamente perché il decesso è avvenuto nell’ospedale del Comune, uno dei pochi dell’area metropolitana di Milano ad aver adeguato il piano cimiteriale. Nel terzo caso, la salma è rimasta ferma per giorni prima di trovare posto a Bergamo, grazie a una deroga. “È inaccettabile che la morte diventi un problema logistico”, denuncia Badinjki. “Il diritto alla sepoltura non può dipendere dalla casualità di un ricovero o dal Comune in cui si muore”. Il problema non riguarda solo la Lombardia. Secondo i dati di Fondazione ISMU, in Italia vivono circa 1,7 milioni di musulmani; 368mila risiedono in Lombardia, pari al 26% e il problema è diffuso da nord a sud. “Parliamo di seconde e terze generazioni”, sottolinea Badinjki. “Continuare a considerare il rimpatrio come soluzione ordinaria è semplicemente irreale. A livello nazionale lo conferma Yassine Baradai, presidente dell’Ucoii. “Abbiamo casi di salme ferme nelle celle frigorifere da venti giorni, tra gli ultimi uno di questi giorni in provincia di Padova, perché non si sa dove seppellirle. Succede in tutta Italia”, racconta. “Non è una questione religiosa o ideologica: è il diritto al lutto. Un figlio deve poter piangere suo padre vicino a casa”. Il quadro normativo, osserva Baradai, già consentirebbe soluzioni: “Il DPR del 1990 prevede la possibilità di individuare spazi per i defunti di altre confessioni. I requisiti sono minimi, non servono lavori né costi aggiuntivi. Spesso manca solo la volontà politica”. La richiesta è sostenuta anche da una petizione pubblica, lanciata nel 2022 sempre da Badinjki , “Musulmani, la fatica di morire ed essere seppelliti in Italia”, che ha raccolto quasi 15 mila firme. Voci che non sembrano essere riconosciute. “Questo tema viene rimosso dal dibattito pubblico perché non porta consenso”, conclude Badinjki. “Ma è destinato a diventare esplosivo. Le seconde e terze generazioni sono già qui. Continuare a ignorarlo significa accettare che, nel 2026, in Italia si possa ancora morire senza sapere dove essere sepolti”. Un segnale che la domanda sociale esiste. Resta la risposta delle istituzioni. Per ora affidata a un rimpallo di competenze che, mentre si discute di chi deve fare cosa, continua a lasciare qualcuno senza un posto dove essere sepolto. L'articolo Sepoltura per i cittadini musulmani, ancora ostacoli in Italia. E in assenza di aree resta solo il rimpatrio della salma proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.

LONDON — Reza Pahlavi was in the United States as a student in 1979 when his father, the last shah of Iran, was toppled in a revolution. He has not set foot inside Iran since, though his monarchist supporters have never stopped believing that one day their “crown prince” will return.  As anti-regime demonstrations fill the streets of more than 100 towns and cities across the country of 90 million people, despite an internet blackout and an increasingly brutal crackdown, that day may just be nearing.   Pahlavi’s name is on the lips of many protesters, who chant that they want the “shah” back. Even his critics — and there are plenty who oppose a return of the monarchy — now concede that Pahlavi may prove to be the only figure with the profile required to oversee a transition.  The global implications of the end of the Islamic Republic and its replacement with a pro-Western democratic government would be profound, touching everything from the Gaza crisis to the wars in Ukraine and Yemen, to the oil market.  Over the course of three interviews in the past 12 months in London, Paris and online, Pahlavi told POLITICO how Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could be overthrown. He set out the steps needed to end half a century of religious dictatorship and outlined his own proposal to lead a transition to secular democracy. Nothing is guaranteed, and even Pahlavi’s team cannot be sure that this current wave of protests will take down the regime, never mind bring him to power. But if it does, the following is an account of Pahlavi’s roadmap for revolution and his blueprint for a democratic future.  POPULAR UPRISING  Pahlavi argues that change needs to be driven from inside Iran, and in his interview with POLITICO last February he made it clear he wanted foreign powers to focus on supporting Iranians to move against their rulers rather than intervening militarily from the outside.  “People are already on the streets with no help. The economic situation is to a point where our currency devaluation, salaries can’t be paid, people can’t even afford a kilo of potatoes, never mind meat,” he said. “We need more and more sustained protests.” Over the past two weeks, the spiraling cost of living and economic mismanagement have indeed helped fuel the protest wave. The biggest rallies in years have filled the streets, despite attempts by the authorities to intimidate opponents through violence and by cutting off communications. Pahlavi has sought to encourage foreign financial support for workers who will disrupt the state by going on strike. He also called for more Starlink internet terminals to be shipped into Iran, in defiance of a ban, to make it harder for the regime to stop dissidents from communicating and coordinating their opposition. Amid the latest internet shutdowns, Starlink has provided the opposition movements with a vital lifeline. As the protests gathered pace last week, Pahlavi stepped up his own stream of social media posts and videos, which gain many millions of views, encouraging people onto the streets. He started by calling for demonstrations to begin at 8 p.m. local time, then urged protesters to start earlier and occupy city centers for longer. His supporters say these appeals are helping steer the protest movement. Reza Pahlavi argues that change needs to be driven from inside Iran. | Salvatore Di Nolfi/EPA The security forces have brutally crushed many of these gatherings. The Norway-based Iranian Human Rights group puts the number of dead at 648, while estimating that more than 10,000 people have been arrested. It’s almost impossible to know how widely Pahlavi’s message is permeating nationwide, but footage inside Iran suggests the exiled prince’s words are gaining some traction with demonstrators, with increasing images of the pre-revolutionary Lion and Sun flag appearing at protests, and crowds chanting “javid shah” — the eternal shah. DEFECTORS Understandably, given his family history, Pahlavi has made a study of revolutions and draws on the collapse of the Soviet Union to understand how the Islamic Republic can be overthrown. In Romania and Czechoslovakia, he said, what was required to end Communism was ultimately “maximum defections” among people inside the ruling elites, military and security services who did not want to “go down with the sinking ship.”  “I don’t think there will ever be a successful civil disobedience movement without the tacit collaboration or non-intervention of the military,” he said during an interview last February.  There are multiple layers to Iran’s machinery of repression, including the hated Basij militia, but the most powerful and feared part of its security apparatus is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Pahlavi argued that top IRGC commanders who are “lining their pockets” — and would remain loyal to Khamenei — did not represent the bulk of the organization’s operatives, many of whom “can’t pay rent and have to take a second job at the end of their shift.”  “They’re ultimately at some point contemplating their children are in the streets protesting … and resisting the regime. And it’s their children they’re called on to shoot. How long is that tenable?” Pahlavi’s offer to those defecting is that they will be granted an amnesty once the regime has fallen. He argues that most of the people currently working in the government and military will need to remain in their roles to provide stability once Khamenei has been thrown out, in order to avoid hollowing out the administration and creating a vacuum — as happened after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.  Only the hardline officials at the top of the regime in Tehran should expect to face punishment.  In June, Pahlavi announced he and his team were setting up a secure portal for defectors to register their support for overthrowing the regime, offering an amnesty to those who sign up and help support a popular uprising. By July, he told POLITICO, 50,000 apparent regime defectors had used the system.  His team are now wary of making claims regarding the total number of defectors, beyond saying “tens of thousands” have registered. These have to be verified, and any regime trolls or spies rooted out. But Pahlavi’s allies say a large number of new defectors made contact via the portal as the protests gathered pace in recent days.  REGIME CHANGE In his conversations with POLITICO last year, Pahlavi insisted he didn’t want the United States or Israel to get involved directly and drive out the supreme leader and his lieutenants. He always said the regime would be destroyed by a combination of fracturing from within and pressure from popular unrest.  He’s also been critical of the reluctance of European governments to challenge the regime and of their preference to continue diplomatic efforts, which he has described as appeasement. European powers, especially France, Germany and the U.K., have historically had a significant role in managing the West’s relations with Iran, notably in designing the 2015 nuclear deal that sought to limit Tehran’s uranium enrichment program.  But Pahlavi’s allies want more support and vocal condemnation from Europe. U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal in his first term and wasted little time on diplomacy in his second. He ordered American military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last year, as part of Israel’s 12-day war, action that many analysts and Pahlavi’s team agree leaves the clerical elite and its vast security apparatus weaker than ever.  U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal in his first term and wasted little time on diplomacy in his second. | Pool photo by Bonnie Cash via EPA Pahlavi remains in close contact with members of the Trump administration, as well as other governments including in Germany, France and the U.K. He has met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio several times and said he regards him as “the most astute and understanding” holder of that office when it comes to Iran since the 1979 revolution.  In recent days Trump has escalated his threats to intervene, including potentially through more military action if Iran’s rulers continue their crackdown and kill large numbers of protesters.  On the weekend Pahlavi urged Trump to follow through. “Mr President,” he posted on X Sunday. “Your words of solidarity have given Iranians the strength to fight for freedom,” he said. “Help them liberate themselves and Make Iran Great Again!” THE CARETAKER KING  In June Pahlavi announced he was ready to replace Khamenei’s administration to lead the transition from authoritarianism to democracy.   “Once the regime collapses, we have to have a transitional government as quickly as possible,” he told POLITICO last year. He proposed that a constitutional conference should be held among Iranian representatives to devise a new settlement, to be ratified by the people in a referendum.  The day after that referendum is held, he told POLITICO in February, “that’s the end of my mission in life.”  Asked if he wanted to see a monarchy restored, he said in June: “Democratic options should be on the table. I’m not going to be the one to decide that. My role however is to make sure that no voice is left behind. That all opinions should have the chance to argue their case — it doesn’t matter if they are republicans or monarchists, it doesn’t matter if they’re on the left of center or the right.”  One option he hasn’t apparently excluded might be to restore a permanent monarchy, with a democratically elected government serving in his name.  Pahlavi says he has three clear principles for establishing a new democracy: protecting Iran’s territorial integrity; a secular democratic system that separates religion from the government; and “every principle of human rights incorporated into our laws.” He confirmed to POLITICO that this would include equality and protection against discrimination for all citizens, regardless of their sexual or religious orientation.  COME-BACK CAPITALISM  Over the past year, Pahlavi has been touring Western capitals meeting politicians as well as senior business figures and investors from the world of banking and finance. Iran is a major OPEC oil producer and has the second biggest reserves of natural gas in the world, “which could supply Europe for a long time to come,” he said.  “Iran is the most untapped reserve for foreign investment,” Pahlavi said in February. “If Silicon Valley was to commit for a $100 billion investment, you could imagine what sort of impact that could have. The sky is the limit.”  What he wants to bring about, he says, is a “democratic culture” — even more than any specific laws that stipulate forms of democratic government. He pointed to Iran’s past under the Pahlavi monarchy, saying his grandfather remains a respected figure as a modernizer.  “If it becomes an issue of the family, my grandfather today is the most revered political figure in the architect of modern Iran,” he said in February. “Every chant of the streets of ‘god bless his soul.’ These are the actual slogans people chant on the street as they enter or exit a soccer stadium. Why? Because the intent was patriotic, helping Iran come out of the dark ages. There was no aspect of secular modern institutions from a postal system to a modern army to education which was in the hands of the clerics.”   Pahlavi’s father, the shah, brought in an era of industrialization and economic improvement alongside greater freedom for women, he said. “This is where the Gen Z of Iran is,” he said. “Regardless of whether I play a direct role or not, Iranians are coming out of the tunnel.”  Conversely, many Iranians still associate his father’s regime with out-of-touch elites and the notorious Savak secret police, whose brutality helped fuel the 1979 revolution. NOT SO FAST  Nobody can be sure what happens next in Iran. It may still come down to Trump and perhaps Israel.  Anti-regime demonstrations fill the streets of more than 100 towns and cities across the country of 90 million people. | Neil Hall/EPA Plenty of experts don’t believe the regime is finished, though it is clearly weakened. Even if the protests do result in change, many say it seems more likely that the regime will use a mixture of fear tactics and adaptation to protect itself rather than collapse or be toppled completely.  While reports suggest young people have led the protests and appear to have grown in confidence, recent days have seen a more ferocious regime response, with accounts of hospitals being overwhelmed with shooting victims. The demonstrations could still be snuffed out by a regime with a capacity for violence.  The Iranian opposition remains hugely fragmented, with many leading activists in prison. The substantial diaspora has struggled to find a unity of voice, though Pahlavi tried last year to bring more people on board with his own movement.  Sanam Vakil, an Iran specialist at the Chatham House think tank in London, said Iran should do better than reviving a “failed” monarchy. She added she was unsure how wide Pahlavi’s support really was inside the country. Independent, reliable polling is hard to find and memories of the darker side of the shah’s era run deep. But the exiled prince’s advantage now may be that there is no better option to oversee the collapse of the clerics and map out what comes next. “Pahlavi has name recognition and there is no other clear individual to turn to,” Vakil said. “People are willing to listen to his comments calling on them to go out in the streets.”

The main rival to Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is incarcerated in a high-security prison just outside Istanbul, but that’s not stopping him from vowing to win the presidency from his cell. In written replies to questions from POLITICO, the democratically elected Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu struck a defiant tone from the notorious Silivri jail, and insisted he was still the legitimate electoral candidate who could end Erdoğan’s 25-year dominance of Turkish politics. The popular mayor’s arrest last March triggered massive nationwide protests and international condemnation. Turkey’s opposition views his imprisonment as a politically motivated maneuver by Erdoğan, an Islamist populist strongman, to remove his most effective secular opponent in the NATO nation of 88 million people. The 55-year-old, who faces a potential jail term of more than 2,300 years, replied via his lawyers and political advisers to a series of questions sent by POLITICO. The rare remarks signal İmamoğlu is confident in the groundswell of his support and is determined to remain a political force from behind bars. “What we are living through today is not a genuine legal process; it is a strategy of political siege,” he wrote. “President Erdoğan’s aim is not only to shape the next election. It is to erase my candidacy now and in the future, and to push me completely out of politics. The reason is clear: They know that in a free and fair election, I can defeat President Erdoğan at the ballot box, and they are trying to prevent that.” POLITICAL TIDE TURNS The sweeping crackdown against İmamoğlu — along with many other mayors from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) — came amid signs that the country’s political tide was shifting dramatically to the secularists. The Islamists were defeated by an unexpectedly high margin in municipal elections in 2024, and the authorities moved to charge İmamoğlu on multiple counts, just as he was about to be nominated as the CHP’s official presidential candidate. Despite his detention, more than 15 million Turks still voted in a CHP primary to name him as the official challenger — a highly symbolic public outpouring, as he was the only candidate. İmamoğlu and members of his team were charged with corruption, extortion, bribery, money laundering and even espionage. The sheer scale of the case revealed its weakness, İmamoğlu explained. He complained of “1,300 inspections at Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality that produced no concrete findings; a 3,900-page indictment based largely on rumors and witnesses whose credibility is contested; a demand for prison sentences totaling up to 2,352 years; and a maximum trial duration set at 4,600 days.” The next election isn’t expected until 2028, but İmamoğlu is still seen as posing a particular risk. He has defeated Erdoğan’s party allies in Istanbul mayoral elections three times; crucially, his party won in traditionalist, religious quarters of Turkey’s biggest city, which the Islamists had long seen as their political bastions. Erdoğan himself used the mayoral office in Istanbul as a springboard to win national power years ago. FIGUREHEAD BEHIND BARS Despite his incarceration, İmamoğlu continues to campaign online through platforms like X, Instagram and TikTok, with help from his team. According to Soner Çağaptay, İmamoğlu has little chance of being allowed to take on Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a free and fair race. | Adem Altan/AFP via Getty Images But can a candidate really run a serious presidential campaign from prison, while Erdoğan controls all the vital levers of state? İmamoğlu’s main campaign account on X, which has nearly 10 million followers, was blocked in Turkey in May. The incarcerated mayor fully acknowledges the limits imposed on him but insists a campaign without his physical presence or podium speeches can succeed. “What defines a campaign is its ideas, its values, and the shared will of citizens. We have all of these on our side … Everyone is aware that my arrest is unjust. Even a significant portion of Justice and Development Party (AK Party) voters consider my detention unfair and see it as a grave blow to justice,” he wrote. He also stressed the importance of the CHP primary in demonstrating the swell of popular support for him beyond the traditional party base. “The presidential primary on March 23, 2025 demonstrated this clearly. Although I was detained, around 15.5 million citizens voted to support my candidacy. Only 2 million of that number were CHP members; the other 13.5 million came from every segment of society,” he explained. “The campaign launched by my party to demand trial without detention and early elections has gathered 25.1 million signatures. All of this reflects a demand that transcends party lines: a demand for justice, merit, and dignity.” Yet the legal fate of his candidacy now rests with a judiciary that has a poor record of independence. Last February, Istanbul’s chief prosecutor’s office opened an investigation alleging that İmamoğlu’s diploma from Istanbul University had been forged; one day before his arrest, the university annulled the diploma. Under Turkey’s constitution, presidential candidates must be over 40 and hold a university degree. Another hearing is expected later this month. According to Soner Çağaptay, an expert on Turkey at the Washington Institute think tank, İmamoğlu has little chance of being allowed to take on Erdoğan in a free and fair race, as the president will use the advantages of incumbency and state institutions to block his candidacy, stigmatize him and weaken support for the CHP. “Even though İmamoğlu can declare his candidacy virtually from a jail cell, there is no way this will be legally allowed — because for Erdoğan this would be a mortal political threat if this were a free and fairly contested race,” he said. FOREIGN POLICY FLOP In his responses, İmamoğlu took aim at Erdoğan’s “aggressive” foreign policy and his close relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, linking both to the erosion of rights at home. İmamoğlu took aim at Erdoğan’s close relationship with Donald Trump. | Pool photo by Evan Vucci via Getty Images “It is clear that President Trump’s presidency has opened a turbulent era … Diplomacy has increasingly shifted from institutions to leader-to-leader dealings, squeezed between rapid bargains and gestures that rarely lead anywhere,” he wrote. He argued Erdoğan was seeking the legitimacy he had lost domestically in Washington, but questioned whether Ankara was really getting what it wanted. “We must ask what the concrete gains of this alleged success are. Despite claims that relations with Washington are improving, Türkiye still has not returned to the F-35 [U.S. stealth fighter] program and [associated] sanctions have not been lifted,” he wrote. “Our neighbor Greece continues, in violation of agreements, to militarize the Aegean islands. The alliance among Greece, Israel, and Southern Cyprus against Türkiye strengthens and extends steadily. Israel is pursuing provocative policies towards Kurds in various regional countries. The Gaza peace plan, struck with a ‘real-estate-dealer mentality,’ has still not ended Palestinians’ suffering and hunger. What is the government doing in response?” he asked. İmamoğlu also insisted that Erdoğan’s security-driven policy had narrowed the space for democratic politics at home. “Fundamental rights are restricted, pressure is placed on elected officials, and media and civil society are silenced, justified by ‘security’ and geopolitical importance. Over time, the idea that freedoms can be pushed aside ‘for stability’ becomes normalized.” If elected president, İmamoğlu said, rebuilding ties with Europe would be one of his top priorities, alongside fulfilling the democratic criteria to be a candidate EU member. “As the CHP, our goal of full EU membership remains intact. In the short term, we will work to modernize the Customs Union to include services, agriculture, public procurement and digital trade, and to align with European standards,” he wrote. MISSING THE CITY İmamoğlu said he is maintaining a strict routine in prison despite the bleak short-term prospects. He writes, reads and follows the news as closely as possible — not only for personal resilience, but out of a sense of public duty. “That responsibility does not end at the prison gate … I am treated within the official framework, but I believe detention should never be normalized in a democracy. Especially when it is used as a tool of political containment. The issue is not the conditions, but the principle: Detention and prolonged legal uncertainty must not become instruments of politics.” What he misses most is his family; his wife Dilek, his children, parents and friends. A large share of visitation requests are rejected without justification. “I also miss the ordinary rhythm of the city, walking freely in the street, direct contact with people, and sharing unplanned moments,” he wrote. He added that he keeps up his strength, knowing he is still part of a democratic movement larger than his personal circumstances. “That is what truly determines everything, not the walls around me.”

U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran’s government on Friday that Washington was “locked and loaded” and ready to intervene if the authorities kill protesters in nationwide demonstrations against the clerical regime’s economic mismanagement. Trump’s threat of U.S. intervention comes six months after American forces attacked Iranian nuclear facilities, and the president began the week by saying he would back an Israeli attack on Iran if the country rebuilt its atomic capabilities. “If Iran shots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network. Ali Shamkhani, political adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, warned Trump to back off. “The people of Iran are well acquainted with the experience of Americans coming to the rescue, from Iraq and Afghanistan to Gaza. Any hand of intervention that approaches Iranian security with pretexts will be severed by a regret-inducing response. Iran’s national security is a red line, not fodder for adventurist tweets,” Shamkhani wrote on X. Protests have been taking place in several Iranian cities since December 28, driven by people angered by soaring living costs and opposition to the country’s clerical regime. Local media reported six or seven deaths.

di Luca Grandicelli La Corte di appello di Torino ha disposto la cessazione immediata del trattenimento di Mohamed Shahin, l’imam di Torino incarcerato il 12 novembre 2024 nel Cpr di Caltanissetta. La magistratura ha infatti accolto le istanze dell’avvocato della difesa, richiamandosi direttamente alla direttiva europea che stabilisce come il trattenimento dei richiedenti protezione internazionale debba rappresentare un’eccezione e non una regola, ed escludendo inoltre la sussistenza di una concreta e attuale pericolosità. Di fatto, ristabilendo un principio elementare dello Stato di diritto, ovvero che la privazione della libertà personale non può fondarsi su presupposti politici, né su valutazioni generiche o preventive. L’incarcerazione si è basata infatti sulle motivazioni descritte nel decreto d’espulsione, che vedevano Shahin come portatore di un’ideologia fondamentalista e antisemita e come figura di rilievo in ambienti dell’Islam radicale, con presunti legami con soggetti indagati per terrorismo, accuse da lui sempre respinte. La Corte d’appello di Torino ha ridimensionato tali elementi, chiarendo che i contatti richiamati erano sporadici e risalenti nel tempo, limitati a un’identificazione del 2012 e a una conversazione del 2018 tra terzi, e che erano stati adeguatamente chiariti dallo stesso Shahin nel corso della convalida. Di tutto questo sono state consapevoli migliaia di persone che nelle ultime settimane si sono riversate nelle piazze, di Torino e non solo, per protestare contro quello che è parso un palese esercizio strumentale del diritto per fini puramente politici. Mohamed Shahin, padre di due figli, incensurato, vive da oltre vent’anni in Italia ed è considerato un punto di riferimento per la comunità musulmana e per il dialogo interreligioso nella città e provincia di Torino. Per lui si sono mobilitate non solo persone comuni, i fedeli delle comunità musulmane italiane, ma anche voci autorevoli (e insospettabili) come il vescovo Derio Olivero, Presidente della Commissione della Cei per l’Ecumenismo e il Dialogo, che in un video diffuso sui social ha espresso solidarietà e chiesto la sua liberazione immediata. E poi associazioni per i diritti umani, intellettuali e sindacati. L’episodio conferma dunque, e per ora, come l’Italia sia ancora un paese in cui i magistrati esercitano il proprio ruolo nella più totale libertà e autonomia, nonostante i tentativi e piani dell’esecutivo di delegittimarli, controllarli e indirizzare l’esercizio delle loro funzioni su linee politiche di governo. Vale la pena dunque ricordare alla Presidente del Consiglio Giorgia Meloni, che si chiede come “si fa a difendere la sicurezza degli italiani se ogni iniziativa che va in questo senso viene sistematicamente annullata da alcuni giudici”, che la magistratura serve proprio a questo scopo: a evitare che il potere esecutivo eserciti unilateralmente azioni arbitrarie, a garantire che la sicurezza non diventi un alibi per comprimere diritti fondamentali e a ricordare che, in uno Stato di diritto, la legge non è uno strumento di repressione del dissenso politico; che la separazione dei poteri, quello esecutivo da quello giudiziario, non è un intralcio all’azione di governo, ma la condizione stessa della democrazia. Il caso Shahin non è quindi una sconfitta dello Stato, ma una sua riaffermazione, che trova la sua forza non quando reprime, ma quando accetta di essere limitato dal diritto. Un concetto, quest’ultimo, che su certi versanti a destra non è evidentemente di casa o si estende solo “fino a un certo punto”. IL BLOG SOSTENITORE OSPITA I POST SCRITTI DAI LETTORI CHE HANNO DECISO DI CONTRIBUIRE ALLA CRESCITA DE ILFATTOQUOTIDIANO.IT, SOTTOSCRIVENDO L’OFFERTA SOSTENITORE E DIVENTANDO COSÌ PARTE ATTIVA DELLA NOSTRA COMMUNITY. TRA I POST INVIATI, PETER GOMEZ E LA REDAZIONE SELEZIONERANNO E PUBBLICHERANNO QUELLI PIÙ INTERESSANTI. QUESTO BLOG NASCE DA UN’IDEA DEI LETTORI, CONTINUATE A RENDERLO IL VOSTRO SPAZIO. DIVENTARE SOSTENITORE SIGNIFICA ANCHE METTERCI LA FACCIA, LA FIRMA O L’IMPEGNO: ADERISCI ALLE NOSTRE CAMPAGNE, PENSATE PERCHÉ TU ABBIA UN RUOLO ATTIVO! SE VUOI PARTECIPARE, AL PREZZO DI “UN CAPPUCCINO ALLA SETTIMANA” POTRAI ANCHE SEGUIRE IN DIRETTA STREAMING LA RIUNIONE DI REDAZIONE DEL GIOVEDÌ – MANDANDOCI IN TEMPO REALE SUGGERIMENTI, NOTIZIE E IDEE – E ACCEDERE AL FORUM RISERVATO DOVE DISCUTERE E INTERAGIRE CON LA REDAZIONE. SCOPRI TUTTI I VANTAGGI! L'articolo Libero l’imam di Torino: alla destra che contesta, ricordo che la legge non serve a reprimere il dissenso proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.

In Austria, d’ora in avanti, le ragazze con meno di 14 anni non potranno più indossare l’hijab a scuola. La decisione è stata approvata dal Parlamento di Vienna a larga maggioranza. Secondo il governo guidato dal conservatore Christian Stocker del Partito popolare austriaco, il divieto mira a proteggere le ragazze dall’oppressione. Il partito dei Verdi, all’opposizione, ha votato contro il bando del velo islamico, affermando che si tratta di una misura incostituzionale. La decisione è stata già contestata da attivisti e gruppi per i diritti umani, che parlano di discriminazione e denunciano il rischio di creare divisioni all’interno della società austriaca. Alle ultime elezioni politiche, il partito di estrema destra Fpo aveva sfiorato il 30%. L'articolo Austria, il parlamento approva il divieto per le ragazze sotto i 14 anni di indossare l’hijab a scuola proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.

Cittadini di San Salvario, quartiere multietnico al centro di Torino, rappresentanti religiosi e civici, nessuna bandiera, neanche quelle palestinesi. Con un presidio alla moschea di via Saluzzo, giovedì sera, una parte della società civile di Torino ha manifestato solidarietà a Mohamed Shahin, imam su cui pende un provvedimento di espulsione per le frasi pronunciate nel corso di una manifestazione per Gaza il 9 novembre. In questi giorni, cattolici e valdesi impegnati nel dialogo interreligioso, la sezione dell’Anpi del quartiere, la Cgil e altri ancora hanno chiesto la revoca del decreto firmato dal ministro dell’Interno Matteo Piantedosi in persona dopo l’interrogazione della deputata torinese di Fratelli d’Italia, Augusta Montaruli. Shahin è al momento nel Centro di permanenza per il rimpatrio (Cpr) a Caltanissetta, lontano da famiglia e avvocati. Una serie di personalità legate alla rete torinese del dialogo cristiano-islamico, tra cui il vescovo di Pinerolo Derio Olivero (presidente della Commissione Cei per l’ecumenismo e il dialogo), rappresentanti della Chiesa valdese (con il pastore valdese Francesco Sciotto) e il coordinamento dei centri islamici, ha scritto una lettera al presidente della Repubblica Sergio Mattarella. Hanno ricordato sì che, nel corso della manifestazione, l’imam ha affermato di ritenere gli attacchi di Hamas “non una violenza, ma una reazione ad anni di oppressione”, ma anche che “l’imam aveva già rettificato e cui aveva fatto seguito un comunicato congiunto” dei rappresentanti delle diverse comunità religiose cittadine (cattolici, valdesi, ebrei e musulmani) contro l’intolleranza e per la pace. La rete del dialogo interreligioso e anche l’Anpi sottolineano come l’eventuale espulsione di Shahin metta a rischio anni di dialogo e progettualità a cui l’imam partecipa in prima persona: “La moschea di via Saluzzo è sempre stata aperta e collaborativa – si legge nella nota del circolo Anpi del quartiere –. Ha ospitato iniziative che hanno coinvolto tutte le comunità religiose e laiche”. “Come la maggior parte dei centri culturali islamici della Città di Torino, la moschea di via Saluzzo è sempre stata aperta e collaborativa, ospitando iniziative che hanno coinvolto tutte le comunità, laiche e religiose, testimoniando concretamente e giorno dopo giorno l’impegno sincero della sua direzione, dell’imam e di tutti i fedeli nel senso del rispetto delle leggi, della pace e della cooperazione civile e interculturale”, si legge nella lettera della rete del dialogo. Conferma Sergio Velluto, presidente del concistoro della chiesa valdese (il consiglio dei fedeli) e componente del comitato interfedi della città: “La cosa stupisce perché era molto conosciuto. Pochi mesi fa c’è la giornata delle moschee aperte, dove siamo stati accolti dall’imam Shahin. Da anni gestisce una delle moschee più integrate e attive nel dialogo interreligioso. Proprio la sua moschea aveva chiesto di diffondere la Costituzione italiana scritta in arabo ai suoi fedeli. Lui ha espresso opinioni sue, ma arrivare a deportare una persona come lui per delle opinioni è preoccupante”. L’imam italiano Gabriel Iungo (in passato finito nell’occhio del ciclone per aver rilanciato una vignetta sulle stragi del 7 ottobre), in un lungo post di Facebook ha denunciato un paradosso: “‘Per ragioni di sicurezza’ legate a dichiarazioni problematiche – pure rettificate – andrebbe a discapito proprio di quella sicurezza che si vorrebbe tutelare, in un quartiere ed in periferie dove figure come la sua operano da anni, in stretta collaborazione con istituzioni e forze dell’ordine, come riferimenti educativi essenziali anche per arginare criminalità e disagio giovanile”. Ha ricordato inoltre come, nel corso di tante manifestazioni a sostegno della causa palestinese, la sinagoga di Torino non sia mai stata “oggetto di aggressioni o episodi antisemiti” anche per il “fatto di avere come ‘vicini di casa’ comunità islamiche responsabili, moderate e moderatrici”, prive di “predicatori d’odio, facinorosi o estremisti violenti”. “Al di là di eventuali violazioni, che spetta all’autorità giudiziaria verificare – premette la Cgil in un comunicato –, chiediamo il rientro immediato a Torino di Shahin e l’immediata revoca del provvedimento di espulsione. Stigmatizziamo l’uso di strumenti amministrativi finalizzati alla gestione dell’immigrazione che troppo spesso sono utilizzati come strumenti di razzializzazione del dissenso, effetti del clima che il decreto sicurezza ha generato nel nostro paese”. Le autorità di polizia ritengono Shahin “una minaccia concreta, attuale e grave per la sicurezza dello Stato”, è scritto nel decreto firmato da Piantedosi. Secondo quanto riportato, Shahin è un esponente della Fratellanza musulmana in Italia e questo lo metterebbe a rischio nell’Egitto guidato dal generale Al-Sisi, che ha preso il potere con un golpe un anno dopo l’elezione, nel 2012, di Mohammed Morsi, leader dell’organizzazione. Sempre secondo quanto riportato dal provvedimento, Shahin avrebbe “intrapreso un percorso di radicalizzazione religiosa connotata da una spiccata ideologia antisemita” e risulta “in contatto con soggetti noti per la visione violenta dell’Islam”: i suoi comportamenti sarebbero quindi una “minaccia sufficientemente grave per la sicurezza dello Stato” e si teme che “agevoli in vario modo organizzazioni o attività terroristiche”. Un punto di vista diverso rispetto a quello delle persone impegnate nel dialogo tra fedi. Già due anni fa, l’8 novembre 2023, le autorità negarono a Shahin la cittadinanza italiana per “ragioni di sicurezza dello Stato”. Di fronte a questo quadro, però, agli avvocati dell’imam risulta soltanto un procedimento pendente per un blocco stradale. L'articolo Vescovo, pastore valdese, Anpi, Cgil, cittadini in piazza: Torino si mobilita contro l’espulsione dell’imam decisa da Piantedosi. Lettera inviata a Mattarella proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.

“Pensavo che quello che stava succedendo a Gaza avrebbe comportato fatalmente un rigurgito generale in tutto il mondo di antisemitismo. E allo stesso modo ritenevo che sarebbe prima o poi riemersa pure la questione dell’antiislamismo. Sono stato colpito dalla violenza con la quale si è attribuito all’Islam la giornata del 7 ottobre 2023. L’opinione pubblica ha esteso la responsabilità da Hamas nel suo complesso a tutto l’Islam. Una mancanza di analisi che colpisce in un mondo che poi pretende di essere libero”. A denunciarlo lo storico Franco Cardini, autore di “Grazie Islam! Quelle poche, piccole cose che l’occidente moderno deve al mondo musulmano”, edito da Paper First, presentando il volume all’Auditorium del Centro islamico culturale d’Italia, alla Grande Moschea di Roma. Un’iniziativa alla quale hanno partecipato anche Shady Hamadi del Fatto Quotidiano, i professori Marco Di Branco e Antonio Musarra della Sapienza e il segretario generale del Centro Islamico, Abdellah Redouane. “L’Islam è stato parte integrante della cultura occidentale. Affermare invece che sia estraneo al suo patrimonio storico, culturale e spirituale, così come parlare di civiltà inferiori e superiori, o di una esclusività giudeico-cristiana dello stesso Occidente, significa rinnegare secoli di presenza islamica in Europa, dalla penisola iberica ai Balcani. Si riaffacciano oggi stereotipi islamofobi e processi di demonizzazione dei musulmani, anche a causa di una letteratura poco informata, portata avanti da seminatori d’odio”, ha accusato Redouane. “L’Occidente ha tante virtù, ma quando sento autori, intellettuali, giornalisti fare ‘l’elogio della paura‘, sconvolge proprio quello che in me è profondamente occidentale. Quello di cui non si ha mai abbastanza non è la paura, ma il coraggio, la capacità di controllare la paura”, ha aggiunto Cardini. “Ricorrono i dieci anni dalla strage del Bataclan. Da allora è cambiata la narrazione del Medio Oriente. Nel 2014 mi trovavo a Beirut e una notte si fecero saltare in aria due terroristi, ammazzando 60 persone. Nel 2013 in Siria era arrivato l’Isis, tutti ricordano le immagini dei giornalisti decapitati dagli uomini vestiti di nero. Queste uccisioni e la strage dei libanesi si parlano, nel senso che i libanesi accorrono in tv e dicono ai giornalisti ‘anche i nostri sono morti, dove sono i loro volti e i loro nomi?’. La risposta al terrore del Bataclan quanti morti ha fatto in Siria e in Iraq? I giornali scrivevano ‘bastardi islamici‘ e parlavano di ‘risposta giusta al terrorismo islamico’. Il terrorismo è stato usato per portare avanti le peggiori agende in Medio Oriente“, ha accusato Hamadi. E ancora: “Si è portato avanti un discorso culturale basato su slogan e su una macchina dell’odio, senza alcun argomento e senza conoscere nulla del contributo culturale dell’Islam”. “Io ho cercato di impegnarmi per sottolineare come la nostra cultura sia in realtà profondamente unitaria, dove gli elementi di somiglianza sono più forti di quelli di differenza”, ha ricordato Cardini. Così nel suo volume si ricorda: “L’Islam ci appartiene. Ha le nostre stesse profonde radici: la cultura ellenistico-mediterranea e il monoteismo abramitico; i suoi profeti sono i medesimi dell’ebraismo e del cristianesimo. La sua scienza e la sua filosofia, certo originali, restano impensabili senza le nostre. L’Islam è l’Occidente dell’Oriente. I fondamenti della sua cultura, radicati in quella ellenistica passata a Roma e a Bisanzio, sono arrivati alla nostra esattamente come le merci provenienti dall’Asia profonda giungevano in Europa. All’Islam, attraverso l’Asia Minore, il Delta Nilotico, l’Africa sahariana, il Maghreb e la penisola iberica, dobbiamo i fondamenti della nostra matematica, della nostra logica, della nostra astronomia, della nostra cartografia, della nostra geografia, della nostra fisica, della nostra medicina. Le nostre università medievali sono nate nell’XI-XII secolo come “studia” monastici e diocesani vivificati dall’esempio che proveniva loro dalle città musulmane, in molte delle quali esisteva una “bait al-Hikmah” dove s’imparava a pagamento: l’innovazione delle “universitates” medievali, corporazioni professionali dove la scienza si trasmette come una merce. Dante ci rammenta che Avicenna e Averroè sono padri del nostro sapere al pari di Platone e di Aristotele, d’Ippocrate e di Galeno. Il Saladino è il nostro grande eroe cavalleresco. E non ci sono guerre, non ci sono atrocità, non ci sono fanatismi che tengano”. L'articolo “Rigurgiti d’odio contro i musulmani. Ecco perché dobbiamo dire grazie all’Islam”, alla Moschea di Roma il libro di Franco Cardini proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.

BRUSSELS — Wednesday’s election in the Netherlands should surely go down as one of the best days Europe’s centrists have enjoyed in years. Geert Wilders, the far-right populist who touted leaving the EU on his way to a shock victory in the 2023 election, lost nearly a third of his voters after 11 chaotic months for his Party for Freedom (PVV) in coalition.  At the same time, the fervently pro-European liberal Rob Jetten surged in the final days of the campaign and stands a good chance of becoming prime minister. At 38, he would be the youngest person to hold the office since World War II and the first openly gay candidate ever to do so.  “Many in the Brussels bubble will welcome the rise of a mainstream, pro-governing and reform-oriented party,” said one EU diplomat, granted anonymity because the subject is politically sensitive. “The Dutch have a lot to contribute to the EU.” But even as they exhale with relief at the end of the Wilders interlude, the inhabitants of Europe’s dominant liberal center-ground — those Brussels officials, diplomats and ministers who run the EU show — would be well advised not to celebrate too hard. If previous years are any guide, the final shape of the next government and its policy plans will not become clear for months. Who knows what will have happened in Ukraine, the Middle East, or in Donald Trump’s trade war with China in that time? “It is essential for European cooperation that a new government is stable and able to make bold decisions, given the current geopolitical challenges that Europe is facing,” the same diplomat said. Even when the new coalition finally begins its work, this election should worry Europe’s liberal centrists almost as much as it delights them. JETTEN INTO EUROPE  Jetten’s Democracy 66 party has never done so well at a Dutch election: Assuming he gets the job he wants, he’ll be the party’s first prime minister. This week he told POLITICO he wanted to move the Netherlands closer to the EU.  Last night, officials in Brussels privately welcomed the prospect of the Dutch and their highly regarded diplomats returning to their historic place at the center of EU affairs, after two years in which they lost some influence. It was always going to be tough for the outgoing PM Dick Schoof, a 68-year-old technocrat, to follow the long-serving Mark Rutte, an EU star who now runs NATO. Domestic divisions made his job even harder.  But pro-European spirits also rose because the disruptive Wilders had wanted to keep the EU at arm’s length. Jetten’s position could hardly be more different. In fact, he sounds like an EU federalist’s dream.  “We want to stop saying ‘no’ by default, and start saying ‘yes’ to doing more together,” Jetten told POLITICO this week. “I cannot stress enough how dire Europe’s situation will be if we do not integrate further.”  STAYING DUTCH In Brussels, officials expect the next Dutch administration to maintain the same broad outlook on core policies: restraint on the EU’s long-term budget; cracking down on migration; boosting trade and competitiveness; and supporting Ukraine, alongside stronger common defense. One area where things could get complicated is climate policy. Jetten is committed to climate action and may end up in a power-sharing deal with GreenLeft-Labor, which was led at this election by former EU Green Deal chief Frans Timmermans.  How any government that Jetten leads balances climate action with improving economic growth will be key to policy discussions in Brussels. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been trimming climate measures amid center-right complaints that they are expensive for consumers and businesses. But she wants to secure backing for new targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.  Elsewhere, housing and migration — two areas often linked by far-right politicians — were central issues in the Dutch campaign. Both will continue to feature on the EU’s agenda, too.  For many watching the results unfold in Brussels, the biggest concerns are practical: Will the next Dutch government be more stable than the last one? And how long will it take to for the coalition to form? Seven months passed between the last election in November 2023 and Schoof taking office as prime minister in July 2024. “This is a historic election result because we’ve shown not only to the Netherlands but also to the world that it’s possible to beat populist and extreme-right movements,” Jetten told his supporters. “I’m very eager to cooperate with other parties to start an ambitious coalition as soon as possible.”  WILDERS Beneath the rare good news of a pro-European triumph and a far-right failure lurk more worrying trends for EU centrists.  First of all, there’s the sheer volatility of the result. Most voters apparently made up their minds at the last moment.  Wilders went from winning the popular vote and taking 37 of the 150 seats in the Dutch lower house in 2023 to a projected 26 seats this time. Jetten’s D66 party, meanwhile, went from just nine seats two years ago to a projected 26, according to a preliminary forecast by the Dutch news agency ANP. The center-right Christian Democratic Appeal took just five seats in 2023 but now stands to win 18, according to the forecast. With swings this wild, anything could happen next time. Most major parties say they won’t work with Wilders in coalition now, making Jetten the more likely new PM if the projections hold. But Wilders says he is a long way from finished. “You won’t be rid of me until I’m 80,” the 62 year-old told supporters. In fact, Wilders might find a period in opposition — free from the constraints and compromises required in government — the perfect place to resume his inflammatory campaigns against Islam, immigration and the EU.  Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen and Nigel Farage had all been written off before storming back into their respective political front lines. “We had hoped for a different outcome, but we stood our ground,” Wilders wrote on X. “We are more determined than ever.”  TIMM’S UP  The other cloud on the pro-European horizon is the fate of Timmermans.  His center-left ticket was expected to do well and had been polling second behind Wilders’ Freedom Party in the months before the vote. But per the preliminary forecast, GreenLeft-Labor will fall from 25 seats to 20. Timmermans — who also stood in 2023 — resigned as leader.  It wasn’t just a defeat for the party, but also in some ways for Brussels. Timmermans had served as the European Commission’s executive vice president during von der Leyen’s first term, and was seen by some, especially his opponents, as a creation of the EU bubble.  Others point to the fact the center-left is struggling across Europe.  “It’s clear that I, for whatever reason, couldn’t convince people to vote for us,” Timmermans said. “It’s time that I take a step back and transfer the lead of our movement to the next generation.” Jetten’s pro-Europeanism could also come back to haunt him by the time of the next election. If he fails to deliver miracles to back up his optimistic pitch to voters, his Euroskeptic opponents have a ready-made argument for what went wrong. Recent history in the Netherlands, and elsewhere, suggests they won’t be afraid to use it.  Eva Hartog, Hanne Cokelaere, Pieter Haeck and Max Griera contributed reporting.

Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders has restarted his parliamentary election campaign after briefly suspending it following security threats. “After all these years, I no longer know the feeling of personal freedom. The impact of all that on yourself and your family is often difficult to explain to people who haven’t experienced it themselves,” Wilders, who has lived under armed protection for decades, wrote Wednesday in a post on social media. “But now elections are coming up, it’s campaign time and I feel a great responsibility for the Netherlands and all PVV voters,” he added, announcing several upcoming debates he plans to attend.  Wilders is the leader of the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) and is a longtime critic of Islam and immigration. He has received several death threats in the past — including, he says, from the Taliban, al Qaeda and the Islamic State. He paused his campaign last week after reports that he — along with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and other politicians — was targeted by a suspected Islamist terror cell in a foiled attack.  Wilders’ PVV is currently leading the race according to POLITICO’s Poll of Polls ahead of the Oct. 29 parliamentary elections. The PVV came out on top in the last Dutch election in November 2023 and joined the governing coalition, but Wilders and his party pulled out in June over disagreements on migration policy.