Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said that there is a “problem of compatibility” between Islamic culture and the rights and values of European civilisation. She also said that most of the Islamic cultural centres in Italy are funded by Saudi Arabia.
Meloni made the controversial statement reportedly during an event organised by her right-wing, ultra-conservative Brothers of Italy party which was attended by UK PM Rishi Sunak and billionaire Elon Musk.
"I believe there is a problem of compatibility between Islamic culture or a certain interpretation of Islamic culture and the rights and values of our civilisation," said the Italian PM.
"It does not escape my mind that most of the Islamic cultural centres in Italy are financed by Saudi Arabia," she added.
She said that Saudi Arabia is a country that applies Sharia law which means "lapidation for adultery, death penalty for apostasy and homosexuality.
She further went on to say that these issues should be raised, "which does not mean generalisation on Islam, it means raising the problem that there is a process of Islamisation in Europe that is very distant from the values of our civilisation."
During his visit to Rome, Sunak supported Meloni's migration approach. The UK PM's controversial plan to send assylum seekers to Rwanda has been hit with a barrage of legal challenges and accusations of inhumane treatment.
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On the other hand, Meloni has drawn flak for trying to limit the activities of charity rescue ships operating in the Mediterranean Sea.
"If we do not tackle this problem, the numbers will only grow. It will overwhelm our countries and our capacity to help those who actually need our help the most," Sunak said.
"Making that deterrent credible will mean doing things differently, breaking from consensus. And both Giorgia and I are prepared to do that," he added.