DDHK News, Italy - Although not yet recognized as an official religion, Islam is the second largest religion in Italy after Christianity.
"Figures from the national statistics agency show that there are currently around 1,7 million Muslims in Italy," said Izzedin Elzir, the priest of Florence and head of the Muslim umbrella group Unione delle Comunità e Organizzazioni Islamiche in Italy (UCOII).
"There are more than 700 mosques," Elzir added in a special conference for Muslims Tuesday (11/2) in Rome.
The conference was held at Niccolò Cusano University and was attended by prominent members of the Italian Muslim community.
Elzir also mentioned that Muslims contribute to the Italian economy. "Muslims contribute 4-5% of national GDP," he said. "Islam is a plus for Italy."
He complained that Muslims do not have official status. “The absence of a law has led to the Muslim community de facto not recognized by the Italian State, "he said. (mel / onislam.net / localhost / project / personal / ddhongkong.org / ddhongkong.org). *
