In the wake of riots throughout Europe in recent weeks, Italian Deputy Prime Minsiter Matteo Salvini has warned that the emerging phenomenon of Islamo-leftism represents the greatest threat to the West.
Following his re-election as Federal Secretary of the anti-mass migration Lega party during its extraordinary congress in Milan over the weekend, Deputy PM Salvini told the conservative Il Giornale newspaper that more must be done to confront the spread of radical Islam in Italy and across Europe.
Speaking following two weeks of unrest in Milan and other cities at the hands of far-left groups in conjunction with Islamic ethnic minority groups and migrants, Giorgia Meloni’s right-hand man said that “political Islam and its union with the extreme left is the main threat to the West.”
This alliance has been most prevalent in France, where Paris intelligence services warned in the wake of the recent spate of riots that an “unprecedented” level of cooperation has emerged between hardened far-left activists and ethnic minority groups, often from Muslim enclaves.
Salvini warned that Radical Islamism will be one of the chief problems facing Italy for at least the next twenty years. However, he said that his party, which serves as a coalition partner in the government in Rome, is actively advocating for a crackdown on Islamist groups and even certain mosques through which radicalism is spread.
“We are already working with several prefectures and mayors to ask for carpet checks on all abusive Islamic realities, irregular mosques, associations and fake cultural circles that operate outside the rules. These illegal centers that represent a danger to Italy must be closed, I’m talking about those places of aggregation that have the purpose of clashing with the institutions… Religious freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution, but Italian laws apply to everyone and there can be no free zones,” he said.
The deputy prime minister also said immigration law must be tightened further, including expanding the number of crimes that could lead to citizenship being revoked.
“We are talking about very serious crimes such as murder, femicide, sexual violence, group violence, crimes against minors, slavery and incitement to violence for racial or religious reasons,” he said.
Salvini added that Lega also wants to “prevent those who were born in Italy to foreign parents and have committed serious crimes, including violence against the police, devastation and looting, from automatically obtaining citizenship at the age of eighteen,” adding that “those who want to become Italian must respect our laws.”
Such a change could potentially include figures such as Youssef Siher, the alleged architect of the recent riots in Milan, which saw hundreds arrested and multiple shops looted.
The Italian-born Moroccan-heritage activist is currently being investigated over potential ties to jihadist groups, allegedly including Hamas. Prior to his reported ascension to the head of the so-called October 17th Movement, Siher is said to have
According to Il Giornale, investigators are currently probing Siher for potential terror charges over the organising of the riots, which they believe were meant to represent “continuous declaration of ‘war’” with the purpose of instilling a “deep fear in the population and destabilising the ordinary course of civil life.”
The police are said to believe that his social media accounts had incited the “commission of crimes against public order, at the same time convey a message with a highly symbolic content,” with a “revolutionary strategy” and a “clear subversive plan.”
Siher is also accused of having “provided logistical and organisational support, concentrating communications and managing the networks of the various riotous groups: this conduct, by ensuring ongoing support for the violent protesters, undoubtedly strengthened their criminal intentions.”
The investigation follows Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s emergency decree to strengthen police and prosecutorial powers to confront unrest. Among other measures, it creates a new offence for using an electronic device to promote or organise a violent demonstration. Those found guilty face 4 to 12 years in prison.
