According to various media reports, Meloni’s potentially explosive observation came at a political event held by the far-right Brothers of Italy in Rome, where she reportedly said that “there is no place for Islamic culture in Europe”.
“I believe that there is a problem of compatibility between Islamic culture and the values and rights of our civilization,” Meloni was reported to have said.
“The Islamic cultural centers in Italy are financed by Saudi Arabia where Sharia is in force. In Europe there is a very Islamization process distant from the values of our civilization,” she added.
The issue has its origin in Europe’s ongoing refugee influx episode, with thousands upon thousands of refugees — mostly African or West-Asian — thronging the continent after having escaped war or economic hardship in their home countries. A huge majority of these refugees incidentally happen to be Muslims.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who was also in attendance at the event, may also have added fuel to the fire with his warning that the “threat of growing number of refugees could overwhelm parts of Europe”.”If we do not tackle this problem, the numbers will only grow. It will overwhelm our countries and our capacity to help those who actually need our help the most,” Sunak observed.Sunak said that he would “push for global reforms to the asylum system.” He further added that “some enemies were deliberately driving people to our shores to try and destabilise our societies.”
“If that requires us to update our laws and lead an international conversation to amend the post-war frameworks around asylum, then we must do that,” the British Prime Minister added.