 Milan authorities who want to shut down an illegal Islamic school have fired up a row with some of the cityâs Muslims, who feel their culture is under attack. The school shares its building with a mosque that prosecutors have linked to militancy. Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, a terrorism suspect with a standing arrest order in Italy, used to preach there. The official reason authorities give for ordering the schoolâs closure relates to building code. But parents doubt they are being sincere.
| I doubt they are, too. I think they want to clean out a rats' nest... |
âThe building is basically a factory building, you canât have children there. There are no bathrooms, and what would happen if there was a fire?â one official at Milanâs education authority, who did not want to be named, said yesterday. The city agreed a compromise with school representatives earlier this year for the 350 children who attend classes at the school but are officially counted as playing truant. The school would have moved to a more suitable building and adapted the Italian curriculum, with the option to take additional lessons in Arabic. But city officials said the teachers had failed to present a detailed proposal for a new building, prompting authorities to order the old schoolâs closure.
| "A detailed plan? Why would we do that?" |
Asked what kind of school they preferred, one of them answered: âItalian school â Arabic is so difficult.â But their parents disagree. âWe want to send our children to a school where they will study Arabic, where they will study Islam,â said Mohammed, a Jordanian who declined to give his surname.
| "The weapons training in Italian schools is not up to our high standards!" |
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