Italy: Muslims appeal to president over 'discrimination' in north

Italy: Muslims appeal to president over 'discrimination' in north

Via AKI:

Muslims in Italy have written to the country's president Giorgio Napolitano claiming their constitutional rights are being violated by the anti-immigrant policies of the Northern League party.

A lack of mosques and halal food outlets in the north were especially serious problems, said the letter to Napolitano (photo), written by the union of Islamic communities in Italy (UCOII). Adnkronos International received a copy of the letter.

"I write to you as the custodian and guarantor of the Italian constitution the Italian's Republic's highest judge, to draw to your attention the day-to-day difficulties faced by Muslims in a large area of the country," said the letter signed by UCOII's president Ezzeddin Elzir.

Law-abiding Muslim immigrants and foreign residents who have strived to integrate in Italy's northern regions and who do not present any real security threat, are being treated as second-class citizens, according to UCOII.

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