NEW DELHI: In a recent video which surfaced on social media, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stirred another controversy by stating that European values were incompatible with Islamic culture.
The undated footage saw her stating, “I believe there is a problem of compatibility between Islamic culture or a certain interpretation of Islamic culture and the rights and values of our civilisation.”
Meloni, leader of the right-wing Brothers of Italy party, made these remarks during a festival in Rome attended by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. In the video, she also raised concerns about the funding of Islamic cultural centres in Italy, alleging that “most of the Islamic cultural centres” in the country are financed by Saudi Arabia.
“Sharia means stoning for adultery, death penalty for apostasy, death penalty for homosexuality.”
Finally Giorgia Meloni says something. pic.twitter.com/nM2ZhvdVhu
— Ridvan Aydemir | Apostate Prophet (@ApostateProphet) December 17, 2023
The Italian PM further went on to criticise the Middle-Eastern country’s strict Sharia law, which includes severe penalties for apostasy and homosexuality.
“Sharia means lapidation for adultery and the death penalty for apostasy and homosexuality. I believe that these should be raised, which does not mean generalising Islam. It means raising the problem that there is a process of Islamisation in Europe that is very distant from the values of our civilisation,” she said.
The controversial statements come in the wake of a joint announcement by Italy and the UK to co-finance the repatriation of migrants stranded in Tunisia. The leaders did not disclose the amount of money allocated for this initiative.
During the event, Sunak echoed Meloni’s concerns, stating, “If we do not tackle this problem, the numbers will only grow. It will overwhelm our countries and our capacity to help those who actually need our help the most.”
“Islamic culture is completely different from our culture and values”
Italian PM Giorgia Meloni speaking against the Islamization process in Europe. pic.twitter.com/yr6dRbUMnx
— Kashmiri Hindu (@BattaKashmiri) December 17, 2023
Sunak also emphasised the necessity of reassessing asylum frameworks and international conversations to address the challenges posed by the increasing number of refugees. He warned against potential destabilisation efforts by some “enemies” who might be driving people to immigrate to European shores.
The gathering also saw a rare appearance by Tesla founder Elon Musk, who commented on immigration and cultural identity. “There is value in cultures, we don’t want Italy as a culture to disappear, we want to maintain a reasonable cultural identity of those countries or they won’t be those countries,” Musk remarked.
The gathering further highlighted the diversity of perspectives on migration, cultural identity and the challenges faced by European nations.