The Italian government, headed by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, removed the Imam of the Grand Mosque of Rome from his post last week after he exhorted his listeners to "annihilate the enemies of Islam and guarantee everywhere in the world the victory of the Nation of Islam." The Imam, Abdel-Samie Mahmoud Ibrahim Moussa, said in his sermon this past June 6, "[We pray for] Allah's help in the destruction of the homes and destruction of the enemies of Islam, for their annihilation, and the victory everywhere for the nation of Islam."
Moussa's words drew sharp responses from various directions. Father Justo Lacunza Balda, rector of the Pontifical Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies in Rome, said, "There can be no place for people who encourage hatred and incite to kill. This is insanity… It must be clearly stated that the Italian Constitution does not allow public incitement to violence and hatred of imaginary enemies…"
Imam Moussa also recently said, as reported by WorldNetDaily.com, that suicide attacks in Israel can be justified according to Islam, while attacks in Saudi Arabia, Morocco or Italy cannot. "This is because all of the Jewish society illegally occupies an Islamic land," he explained. The recent attacks in Saudi Arabia and Morocco are not legitimate, however, because "Islam condemns attacks against foreigners who are hosted by the Muslim people."
Prime Minister Berlusconi took a sharp pro-Israel stand during his recent visit to Israel by refusing to meet Yasser Arafat. This was widely perceived as a slap in the face at the rest of the European Union, which has not adopted the American-Israeli boycott of Arafat.