Rome, June 14: The main mosque in Rome has suspended its Imam, a week after he delivered a sermon praising Palestinian fighters and calling for the destruction of Islam's enemies, officials said today. The decision to remove Abdel-Samie Mahmoud Ibrahim Moussa capped a week of debate about the sermon, which was delivered during Friday prayers on June 6 and published, in part, on the front page a daily a day later.
"Allah, let the Islamic fighters in Palestine, Chechnya and elsewhere be triumphant!" the daily quoted Moussa as saying in Arabic. "Allah, destroy the houses of the enemies of Islam! Allah, help us crush the enemies of Islam! Allah ensure the victory of the nation of Islam!" the Imam said in quotes that were confirmed today by Mario Scialoja, head of the World Muslim League in Italy, which is affiliated with the mosque.
Italy's Interior Minister, Giuseppe Pisanu, expressed outrage at the imam's call, saying Italy's mosques "must be completely free of preachers of violence, recruiters for holy war and agents of foreign interests in Italy." He called for the creation of an "Italian Islam" where its preachers speak Italian, not just Arabic, and respect Italian laws.
Jewish groups including the Simon Wiesenthal Center urged the Imam be replaced and expressed concern for the safety of Italy's Jewish community following what it said was Moussa's "religious validation of terrorism." Bureau Report