9 – 2008

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This year, 2008, the month of September coincides almost entirely with the most sacred time of year for Muslims, a month in which those who profess and practice that religion purify their feelings with fasting (from dawn to dusk) and a benevolent approach to the next.

For us Christians it could be a good time to get to know each other better.  Mutual knowledge with respect for the other without the usual prejudices would be the premise for a fruitful coexistence, a positive seed for the new generations to sprout. The Muslim family can invite its neighbor at the hour of the break of fasting (at dusk), to dine together enjoying dishes with traditional recipes, to be known and explain the traditions of their country. On the other hand, the neighbor can take the opportunity to make known the Italian culture to overcome prejudices sometimes not only religious but also of customs and traditions.

For a deeper mutual understanding, women have a role of primary importance: their contacts in everyday life can be the first step towards a real dialogue, concept, perhaps, too inflated but much needed.

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16/3 – 2010

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There are people that no one really loves, because no one really knows, and that no one really knows, because no one really loves, and this people are the Muslim people. I feel the duty to dedicate my whole life to making them known and loved by the Christians”.

Louis Massignon

Dear Madam,

Allow me to comment on the article The Cross and the Crescent on the monthly magazine of the Parish.

Your article deals with both Islam and the Islamic, (I would call them Muslims); in the case of the Muslims the header of the article could very well take up the quotation from Massignon.

As for Islam, I think some passages of the article are misleading and confusing, making Islam appear almost a derivation of Christianity. It is a strategy adopted by Islam to conquer Jerusalem as far back as 638AD. The massacres of Otranto and Rome precede the first Crusade. Even today, the strategy of setting foot in the West through Islamic enclaves and conversions based on ignorance and rain money is repeated: how many times have I heard Christians say “but we are all equal there is no difference! This is the impression that your article in the Bulletin of the Parish could provoke! (files 1-3 attached)

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