Meloni also criticized Saudi Arabia and its Sharia-based law.
New Delhi:
An undated video of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has surfaced on social media in which she said that Islamic culture and the values and rights of European civilization had a “compatibility problem.”
The video emerged after a recent event organized by her right-wing, ultra-conservative Brothers of Italy party, which was attended by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and billionaire Elon Musk.
“I believe that there is a problem of compatibility between Islamic culture or a particular interpretation of Islamic culture and the rights and values of our civilization,” she is heard saying in the viral video.
“It is not lost on me that most of the Islamic cultural centers in Italy are funded by Saudi Arabia,” she said.
In the video, Meloni also criticized Saudi Arabia's strict Sharia law, which makes apostasy and homosexuality criminal offenses. Sharia law, commonly referred to as Islamic law, represents a set of principles and regulations rooted in the Quran and hadiths, which constitute the fundamental religious texts of Islam.
🚨Watch: #GiorgiaMeloni: “I believe… there is a problem of compatibility between Islamic culture and the values and rights of our civilization… We will not allow Sharia law to be implemented in Italy… values of our civilization are different! pic.twitter.com/VGWNix7936
– Geopolitical Kid (@Geopoliticalkid) December 18, 2023
“Sharia means condemnation of adultery and death penalty for apostasy and homosexuality. I believe that these things should be addressed, which does not mean generalizing Islam. It means addressing the problem that there is a process of Islamization in Europe that is far from the values of our civilization,” she said.
During his visit to Rome, Sunak supported Meloni's approach to migration. Sunak's controversial plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was met with a barrage of legal challenges and allegations of inhumane treatment. Meloni, however, has drawn criticism for her attempts to restrict the activities of charity rescue ships in the Mediterranean.
“If we don’t address this problem, the numbers will only increase. It will overwhelm our countries and our ability to help those who actually need our help the most,” he said. “Making this deterrence credible means doing things differently and breaking away from consensus. And both Giorgia and I are ready for it.”
The two leaders also met with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama to discuss migration.