Seven meetings with an imam in the 7,000 schools monitored

Seven meetings with an imam have taken place in 7,000 Italian schools. This is stated in a note from the Ministry of Education, which responds to a resolution currently under consideration by the Chamber of Deputies’ Seventh Committee, sponsored by MP Rossano Sasso (Vannacciano), concerning ‘the risk of possible instances of “Islamist indoctrination” in schools’. And, indirectly, it also responds to controversies sparked by the FLC CGIL.

Of the seven sessions identified during the monitoring exercise, five took place as part of Catholic religious education lessons, focusing on knowledge of other monotheistic religions; the other two sessions took place as part of civic education lessons. In all cases – as the MIM points out – the families were aware of this.

“The projects,” explains the ministry’s press release, “require inclusion in the Three-Year Educational Programme (PTOF); therefore, the initiatives have been approved in advance in accordance with the prescribed procedures and carried out with families being fully informed.” In conclusion, the Ministry of Education emphasises, “all these initiatives are aimed at providing opportunities to learn about different forms of religious belief”.