Sensoriality in Islam: the Great Mosque of Rome promotes inclusiveness

Si è svolta il 16 marzo 2023, presso il Centro Islamico Culturale d’Italia – Grande Moschea di Roma, la pionieristica iniziativa “Il Corano per tutti”, dedicata ai visitatori non vedenti e non udenti. L’evento è da considerarsi il primo esempio di incisività della comunità islamica a livello europeo, abbattendo le barriere dell’apparente isolamento di una parte della cittadinanza. La visita ha avuto inizio con la descrizione della moschea a cura del dr. Abdallah Massimo Cozzolino e dell’imam Nader Akkad.

Particular attention was paid by the blind visitors to the melody that characterize the Islamic liturgy, such as the adhaan (the call to prayer repeated five times a day) and the liturgical chanting recitation of the Koran in Arabic which punctuates every remarkable aspect of the believer's life.

The deaf visitors, accompanied by the president of the Deaf Emergency Association, Luca Rotondi, were able to observe the body movements performed by the believers during the performance of the salat, the canonical prayer.

Furthermore, both categories were able to perceive contact with the ground, walking barefoot and resting on the huge soft carpet that covers the entire area of the prayer room.

Finally, the general secretary of the Islamic Cultural Centre, Dr. Abdellah Redouane, delivered some copies of the Holy Koran in Braille characters to the president of the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired (UICI), Giuliano Frittelli.

Luca Mercuri (Translated by Editorial)