Islam: Municipality of Turin renews the Sharing of Agreement

Turin renews its commitment to dialogue and collaboration with the Islamic community through the renewal of the three-year Sharing Pact. This pact promotes cultural integration and cooperation to build a shared future.

Turin renews its path of dialogue and collaboration with the Islamic community. The Municipality today renewed the three-year Sharing of Agreement with the Islamic centers that is also signed for the first time by the Metropolitan City. An Agreement, emphasizes the mayor Stefano Lo Russo "which gives a strong political message, tries to go beyond the differences and tries, in a very complicated historical moment, to bet on the ability of the institutions and associations to network and respect each other. It also aims at the city's ability to integrate different cultures and religions to build its own future".

The Agreement was also signed by the city councilor Gianna Pentenero, who highlighted; "the choice to renew it today is because, for the first year, the Day against Islamophobia is celebrated", while for the managing councilor of the Metropolitan City Valentina Cera, it reflected that; "dialogue, sharing and growth with all the components of the community, is the way to go". Together with them were the representatives of the 26 Islamic centers of Turin city and province.

"In Turin – Walid Bouchnaf from the Mosque Muhammad VI recalled - there are about 40,000 Muslims, almost half have Italian citizenship, and together with the rest of the population they contribute to the life of the city and the country. The Islamic centers of the city play a fundamental role in protecting the territory in our neighbourhoods, often difficult, they are a point of reference, counseling, social and spiritual support. Shared knowledge is the basis for breaking down walls - they conclude - and this Agreement has enabled consolidation and make the Islamic presence in Turin visible".

The president of the Islamic Federation of Piedmont, Moustapha Hajraoui, expressed great satisfaction with the signing of the Agreement which "represents a model of support for the full citizenship of Muslim believers together with other believers and all Turin residents". “The Agreement, he added, represents a fundamental signal to favor the complete integration of the Islamic community in the city of Turin, through constructive relations with the Municipality and with all the local institutions. "The Italian Islamic Confederation has been committed for years to promoting a model of integration based on the universal values of Islam of peace and coexistence through interreligious and intercultural dialogue".

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