Pallavicini urges immigrant Muslims to socialize with Europeans

CAIRO – 9 May 2018: Chairman of Italy's Muslim Community, Yahya Sergio Yahe Pallavicini, said that some Muslims who have immigrated to Europe refuse to socialize with the society, allowing others to tarnish the image of Muslims.

In his speech on Wednesday in the two-day International Muslim Communities Conference hosted by UAE's Abu Dhabi, Pallavicini alerted that ignorance of Islam has spread to Italy and Europe, adding that some parties distort Islam, and claim it is inappropriate for contemporary life.

Criticizing some Muslims’ refusal of dialogue, Hassan bin Moussa, an Islamic scholar in Sweden, affirmed the need to hold talks with non-Muslims to show them that Islam has solutions to their daily life issues.

Moussa also censured the organizations that take part in explosive attacks, and appear on media platforms to insult the western people, saying that such groups tainted Islam's image, and caused western nations to accuse Muslims of holding double standards.

During his speech in the conference on Tuesday, Egypt’s Grand Mufti condemned those who belong to extremist groups, saying that they have twisted the Quran and that they aim to destroy countries.

The International Muslim Minorities Conference: "The Opportunities and Challenges" kicked off in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, under the patronage of UAE Tolerance Minister Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan.

Many Islamic community leaders, from countries where Muslims are minorities, were invited to attend the conference, to discuss the challenges of Islamophobia (intense fear of Islam or Muslims) and extremism.

The conference spokesperson Fawziya al-Ajamawi affirmed the importance of portraying Islam as a religion of love and forgiveness, adding that Islamophobia has become the biggest issue in Europe, because news always shows stories of bombings and terrorist attacks.