Italian schoolchildren visit mosque and end up praying towards Mecca

A school trip to a mosque in Treviso ends with a controversial photo of the children praying with an imam.

Image of the children praying

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A simple school trip has turned into a political and media firestorm in Italy. The children at the nursery Santa Maria delle Vittorie, linked to the parish of Ponte della Priula, They recently visited an Islamic centre in Susegana, in the Treviso region.. During the visit, A photograph was taken showing the children kneeling and praying together with the imam, facing Mecca.. The image, published on the school's social media, has unleashed a barrage of criticism and cross-accusations. It has been picked up by several Italian media outlets, such as, for example, l‘Sardinian Union or the’Future.

Political controversy over the visit to the mosque

«Images that freeze the blood«Alberto Villanova, leader of the League in the Veneto Regional Council, said. But it was not only the right that reacted with concern. Giovanni Zorzi, of the Democratic Party in Treviso, vHe defended interreligious dialogue but stated that he would have preferred more secular forms to convey «the proper message of peace».».

The controversy does not stop here. Anna Maria Cisint, a MEP for the League, He described the scene as «pure fundamentalism», accusing the imam of «catechising» the children and attacking the teaching staff for allowing it.. «Who knows if they had the courage to ask him why women have to wear the full-face veil or marry young,» she quipped.

The school says that «it was very emotional.»

The (Christian) school He defended the outing as a “very emotional experience” and emphasised that it had the parents' consent.. On social media, they explained that the imam set out the foundations of Islam and its values.

The choice is part of the school's educational project — which follows national guidelines — and which takes into account «the presence of many cultures and nationalities among the children at the same school”, according to the school in a statement. In their defence, they explain that they are a Christian school but want the children to experiment «a genuine reciprocity to understand and value diversity«.

Ministry investigation

However, the case has reached the Ministry of Education, which, through the Veneto Regional School Office (USR), An investigation has been opened to clarify the facts.. The school, although private and not state-run, is registered with the Italian Federation of Infant Schools and It must comply with the educational project shared with families, as established by Law 62/2000 on school equity..

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