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ROME - Three Italian lawmakers have proposed creating a national registry of Muslim clerics with no criminal past to weed out fundamentalist imams.
The parliamentarians presented a draft bill and justified their action in part by pointing to last weekend's arrest of a Muslim cleric accused of running a "terrorism school" at his mosque in Perugia, central Italy. Police have put another imam preaching in the region under investigation.
"This relationship between imam and the public sphere creates the obligation to have transparency given today's political and international situation," said Khaled Fouad Allam, with the centre-left Daisy party.
"We're asking those (imams) ... to register themselves if they meet certain criteria."
While joining the registry would not be obligatory, the text of the draft law presented to reporters said imams who did join would be authorised by the state to engage in cultural mediation, teach languages and provide spiritual assistance to jailed Muslims.
In return, imams would need to make their finances public, said Marcello Pera, a senator with the centre-right opposition Forza Italia party and one of the bill's sponsors.
The endorsement of Pera, the president of the Senate under the previous centre-right government, gave the legislation some added weight, but its chances remained unclear with only the support of a single junior lawmaker from the ruling coalition.
The bill met a mixed reaction from the Muslim community but at least one Muslim organisation voiced support.
"It's a proposal that creates clarity," said Yahya Sergio Yahe Pallavicini, the vice president of the Italian Islamic Religious Community. "When there is no clarity the false imam overshadows the others and it becomes difficult for us to free ourselves from certain stereotypes."
Mario Scialoja, a prominent figure in the Muslim community, told Reuters by telephone he did not oppose the idea of a registry in principle but said he favoured much tougher requirements for imams to join one.
He expressed concern that the bill could give state credentials to fundamentalists. He said any imam with residency documents, a high school diploma and no criminal convictions could join.
"This means giving credibility and credentials to all the imams who are preaching in Italy ... including the fundamentalists."
- REUTERS
