memri
August 4, 2014 Special Dispatch No. 5816

MEMRI TV Clip Of Sheikh In Italian Mosque Calling On Allah To Kill The Jews 'To The Very Last One' Leads To His Expulsion By Italian Interior Ministry

August 4, 2014
Special Dispatch No. 5816

A MEMRI TV clip released yesterday, August 4, 2014, showed Sheikh Abd Al-Barr Al-Rawdhi in a Friday sermon at Al-Rahma Mosque in San Donà di Piave, Province of Venice, Italy calling on Allah to "count [the Jews] one by one and kill them to the very last one." He then called upon Allah to "turn their food to poison and make the air they breathe blazing hot." The sermon was posted on the Internet on July 29, 2014 (view the clip on MEMRI TV here).

Today, August 5, 2014, the Italian Ministry of the Interior announced that it was expelling the sheikh,[1] stating in its announcement that the reasons for the expulsion were the sheikh's "seriously disturbing the peace, endangering national security, and religious discrimination." Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said, "Uttering anti-Semitic sermons that explicitly incite to violence and sectarian hatred is not acceptable. May my decision in this case be of warning to all those who think you can preach hatred in Italy."

The MEMRI TV clip also assisted the activity of Italy's Counter-Terrorism Central Service together with the General Investigations and Special Operations Division (Digos) of Venice; the decision to expel the sheikh was based on a scrupulous assessments by these bodies.[2]

The Italian daily newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano reported on the sheikh's expulsion and also noted that the video clip of the sermon had been published by MEMRI. The report also included excerpts from the MEMRI TV clip.[3] Similar news reports appeared across the Italian media.

It was reported that the Muslim community in the Veneto region approved of the minister's decision. Bouchaib Tanji, president of the Veneto Islamic Federation and of the Assalam (Peace) association, said, "Islam is a religion of peace. Those who preach death must not be allowed inside the mosques."[4]

Endnotes:

[1] Interno.gov.it/mininterno/export/sites/default/it/sezioni/sala_stampa/
notizie/sicurezza/2014_08_05_espulsione_imam_Albdelbar.html

[2] Ilsecoloxix, August 5, 2014.

[3] Ilfattoquotidiano.it, August 5, 2014.

[4] Ansa.it/english/news, August 5, 2014.

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