End of Ramadan: a school remains closed for Eid in Italy, near Milan
Cairo: Hani Kamal El-Din
In Italy, on this day of the end of Ramadan, here is the story of a rather unusual controversy in a country where secularism is experienced with much less controversy than in France. An establishment near Milan, which welcomes 1,300 students from kindergarten to middle school, 40% of whom are Muslims, remains closed on Wednesday April 10. The Minister of Education tried to prevent the closure, without success.
Pioltello, a suburb of Milan, has 40,000 inhabitants of 80 nationalities. It is in the name of common sense that the principal of this school is closing on Wednesday. Muslim students are absent on the end of Ramadan anyway. Questions of good relations between communities also for the mayor of the center-left city, Ivonne Cosciotti, who spoke on Rai. “Sorry for the play on words, our case will become a model, says the councilor. We simply wanted to face reality. For us, living together is an absolutely normal thing.”
In Italy, establishments have room to maneuver to adapt the school calendar to the local context. But part of the radical right saw it as an attack on Italian identity. Or a negative symbol. “I do not believe that we guarantee inclusion by closing schools, but by talking about the problems of dialogue between religions, defended the Minister of Education Giuseppe Valditara, from Giorgia Meloni’s party, who regretfully notes the closure. It’s better to talk than to close schools.”
The President of the Republic intervened to support the director, which calmed things down. The minister is now trying to bring the debate to the proportion of foreign students in classes, which he wants to limit.
