Muslims pray at Colosseum, protesting against Rome mosque closures

From Reuters

Hundreds of Muslims prayed next to Rome’s Colosseum on Friday to protest against the closure of makeshift mosques, calling on city authorities to protect their religious rights.

Worshippers knelt on prayer mats and tarpaulin on the pavement meters away from the ancient amphitheatre. Some held placards reading “Peace” and “Open the mosques”.

Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said in August that “mini mosques in garages” should not be allowed.

Attaching placards to a lamp post near the Colosseum, Sikdir Bulbul, a 41-year-old Bangladesh-born Italian citizen who has lived in Rome for 16 years, said the mosque he helped establish in 2012 had been shut down in September. “Friday prayer is very important to us so today we have come to the Colosseum. Otherwise where else can we pray?” he said.

Right-wing Roman politician Giorgia Meloni of the Brothers of Italy party, who came third in a mayoral election this year, has called for Muslims to be obliged to pray in Italian.

The rights group that organized the demonstration, the Dhuumcatu Association, said police have closed three improvised mosques in Rome in recent months. . . .”We are sick of the criminalisation of our places of worship,” it said on its Facebook page.