If Italian Islamists defend the extremist Suwaidan

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo once more writes about the extreme Islamic preacher, Tareq al- Suwaidan, after Italian authorities have denied him from entering Italy for his tour scheduled this May.

Tareq al- Suwaidan commented on the decision of the Italian Ministry of Interior by posting on Facebook his apologies to the Islamic community in Italy for not being able to join them in their May activities; he also added, referring to the Italian Minister of the Interior Angelino Alfano,  that "if you ban those that oppose ISIS, you will inevitably expose the Muslim youths to these dangerous ideas".

Many Islamic political organisations in Italy also expressed their concerns regarding Mr. Alfano’s decision, labelling it as an act on behalf of the Zionist lobby; first and foremost Mr. Breigheche, spokesperson for the Associazione Islamica Italiana degli Imam e delle Guide Religiose (Italian Islamic Association for Imams and Religious Guides) who claims that Suwaidan was banned from Italy because of his thoughts in favor of the Palestinian cause.  Also Davide Piccardo, manager of the Coordinamento Associazioni Islamiche di Milano e Monza e Brianza (Coordination centre for the Islamic Associations of Milan and Monza and Brianza), claims that the only reason Suwaidan was not granted entry in Italy was because of his views against Israel.

But can we really claim that Suwaidan’s ideas and sermons are merely political and only aim at defending the Palestinian cause? - asks Colombo.

Dr. Colombo explores in detail Suwaidan’s positions and publications and invites all those who have been defending him to read the 400 page book he wrote entitled: The Jews: The Illustrated Encyclopedia. Throughout the book, there are many examples of Suwaidan’s anti-Semitic views and predictions.  And although he claims to be fighting ISIS, Dr. Colombo reminds her readers that in 2013 Suwaidan had been one of the signatories pledging to fight in Syria through jihad. The only way to stop ISIS, claims Colombo, is to declare once and for all that the era of jihad is concluded.

Dr. Colombo ends her article by saying that whoever still believes that Suwaidan is a ‘moderate’ should revise the use of that word, a word whose significance, unfortunately,  has been totally misused and obliterated.

This article is in Italian and can be read here.