Muslims bring their culture to Italy

Leaders of the Islamic community of the northwestern Italian town of Albenga are terming it the "first reality show on the life of Muslims in Italy".

In reality, what they will be shooting is more of a documentary on the life of the Muslim faithful in this small town in Liguria. The protagonists of the film, which will be shot next January, are the 1,000 or so Muslims who live in the coast centre, who will show the viewers the hurdles they face in integrating into Italian society. The Albenga town council is providing technical assistance.

The project is the brain child of Abdul Kabir Roberto Aliotta, an internet enthusiast and a convert to Islam, who manages an Islamic Italian website. "It will be half way between a journalistic reportage and a reality show" Aliotta told. In the video we will follow three stories; a single immigrant man, a female high school student and a Muslim family," he said.

In May, this year Aliotta established the first Italian radio station specifically catering for Muslims. The web-based Radio Islam, which describes itself as 'The voice of Muslims in Italy'. The station broadcasts in Italian; Muslims in Italy come from many different countries in North and West Africa, South Asia, the Balkans and Eastern Europe.

With the huge increase in immigrants in the past two decades, Islam is now the second religion in Italy, after Roman Catholicism, AKI reports.

V.Y.