Italy: Meloni’s Islamophobic policies are pushing Muslims to the margins

This op-ed by Bridge Initiative Senior Researcher Farid Hafez originally appeared in Middle East Eye.

Since taking office in October following the general elections, Italian Prime Minister and leading co-founder of the neo-fascist Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy), Giorgia Meloni, has made more than a few bad headlines.

She had worried many political elites in Europe with her far-right coalition partner, the League.

But contrary to the fears, she did not stand against the European Union or break with Nato unity against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, two areas that had made her European counterparts especially anxious. French far-right leader Marine Le Pen even slammed Meloni for making migration “concessions” to the EU.

Apart from pushing anti-LGBTQI policies, Meloni has supported the conspiracy theory about an alleged Islamisation of Europe.

In September 2019, Meloni wrote a foreword to the “First Report on Europe’s Islamisation”, which was presented by the right-wing think tank, Farefuturo Foundation, where she wrote: “Because we fear the ‘prophecy’ of [Michel] Houellebecq, if Europe, and Italy which concerns us closely, do not decide to have policies and tools to preserve itself, may inevitably turn into reality.”

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