Italian bishops promote the Qur’an in schools as the “revealed word of God”
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi has presented materials on Islam in Rome for Catholic religious education classes. The Qur’an is presented as the “revealed word of God”
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The Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI) promotes the Qur'an in schools with materials that present it as “revealed word of God”. It is the literal title of the fourth of eleven worksheets prepared jointly with Muslim theologians for Catholic religious education teachers. The 96-page official document, states that “the Word of God is made accessible to men through the Qur’an”, in an exposition of Islamic doctrine. The initiative has already reached classrooms: “Hundreds of teachers have welcomed these worksheets with satisfaction and use them with their pupils”, confirmed Bishop Gaetano Castello on 21 October.
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, defended the project on 21 October in Rome before representatives of various Islamic organisations. “At school, ignorance should have no place, but all too often it is ignorance that teaches”, he told Vatican News. Zuppi described the materials as“a great antidote to violence and ignorance”.
Four days later, a banner greeted him in Zola Predosa, near Bologna: “Welcome, Eminence. We love you, but Islam belongs in the mosque, NOT in school”. Former councillors Lucio Vignoli and Domenico Nobile defended the protest: “Knowing about a religion does not mean introducing the teaching of it into classrooms”.
They want to change how Islam is explained in textbooks
Italian Islamic organisations want to go beyond Catholic religious classes. The Union of Islamic Communities of Italy (UCOII) is already working to amend the textbooks for other subjects. Its president, Yassine Baradai, denounces the textbooks’ references to “Islam of the sword” or “bloodthirsty Islam”.
As he told the AgenSIR news agency, these expressions create stereotypes among young people. The organisation is preparing a proposal to revise this content. The objective is no longer limited to explaining Islam in religious education classes: they also want to intervene in the way it is taught in other subjects.
The cardinal was already calling for Muslim festivals in schools in 2016
The defence of Islam in schools is not new in Cardinal Zuppi’s discourse. In March 2016, shortly after arriving at the archdiocese of Bologna, he had already called for educational institutions to host Muslim celebrations. “I hope that some Islamic festivals will be welcomed in schools”, he told La Repubblica. He also supported the construction of a large mosque in Bologna. “We should be afraid that there might not be a mosque”, he stated.
Ten years later, the educational project on Islam has even involved the institutional participation of the Italian State. The Italian Embassy to the Holy See co-organised the official presentation of the worksheets, on 21 October, with the Episcopal Conference and PISAI. Ambassador Francesco Di Nitto opened the event and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement about it. The initiative does not represent a mandatory change to the school curriculum, but confirms that the Church has Italian diplomatic support to publicly present religious materials prepared with Muslim representatives.
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