PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Several thousand Muslims descended on a small Italian town to pray outdoors, covering up a statue of Jesus Christ while they did so.
👥 Who’s Involved: Former town mayor Anna Cisint, League (Lega) party lawmaker Rossano Sasso.
📍 Where & When: The incident happened on June 6 in the town of Monfalcone, Italy.
💬 Key Quote: “Italy is constantly retreating, and it is a serious mistake; we should work to bring people back to the churches instead of giving such important places to Islam.” — Anna Cisint.
⚠️ Impact: Cisint has called for the government to regulate Islamic prayer and worship across Italy, stating that the constitution and not the Quran should guide Italians.
IN FULL:
Thousands of Muslims in a small European town covered up a statue of Jesus Christ while praying outdoors to mark the Islamic Eid al-Adha festival, sparking outrage from its former mayor. As many as 4,000 Muslims gathered in the Italian town of Monfalcone, praying outside the Christian Shrine of Marcelliana, while covering up a statue of Christ with a cloth.
Former mayor Anna Cisint, now a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), called the incident “unacceptable” and added, “Italy is constantly retreating, and it is a serious mistake; we should work to bring people back to the churches instead of giving such important places to Islam.”
Church attendance in Italy is shockingly low for the country, which is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. Statistics show that while around eight in ten Italians are Catholic, just 19 percent attend Holy Mass weekly.
Former mayor Cisint went on to state that Islamic worship in Italy needs to be seriously regulated, saying, “Here, the Constitution rules, not the Quran.”
Don Flavio, the local Roman Catholic parish priest, wanted to verify the incident but said, “No one should have done something like this.”
Member of the Italian parliament for Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini’s League party, Rossano Sasso, also expressed outrage over the affair, saying, “It is time for the Church, the whole Church, to understand that this is not dialogue between religions, but submission. Submission to a religion that considers us infidels and inferior.”
Public prayers by Muslims are increasingly common across Western Europe and have been seen in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Last year, Muslims in London, England, rioted and attacked police during Eid celebrations.
🔴 Statua di Gesù coperta con un telo dai 4000 islamici che questa mattina, dalle sei, sono andati a pregare al Santuario della Marcelliana di Monfalcone all’invocazione di “Allah Akbar”.
Solo una parola: INACCETTABILE‼️#lega pic.twitter.com/PLM7DRvAtD
— Anna Cisint (@annacisint) June 6, 2025