Leading scholar of Islam blasts prelate's vision as 'house of cards based on fantasy'
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An Italian cardinal who has launched an ambitious multifaith house project for Islam, Judaism and Christianity in Italy's communist-dominated province of Bologna is facing stiff opposition from locals.
Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, who is president of the Italian Bishops' Conference and is tipped as one of the top candidates to win the papal election in the next conclave, has been pioneering the "House of Encounter and Dialogue between Religions and Cultures," in collaboration with the municipality of Bologna, since 2021.
"This multifaith house project in Bologna is yet another house of cards based on fantasy, wishful thinking and wilful ignorance regarding Islam and jihad."
The multifaith house project, which has been inspired by Pope Francis' own pet project — the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi – is being led by the heads of the Abrahamic Religious Communities of Bologna and Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, and is expected to open next year.
According to the project's founding document, obtained by Souls and Liberty, the center will offer second-generation immigrant families, teachers and educators the tools to "spread the wealth of knowledge and inter-religious and intercultural culture acquired at the local, European and international level."
UTOPIAN PROJECT
The document describes the goals of the "House" in utopian language, envisioning it as "the spokesperson of the inalienable premises of human growth and development such as the dignity of each person, religious freedom, cohesion, peace, exchange, and social dialogue, against every cultural stereotype and ethnic and religious intolerance."
However, on Wednesday residents of Bologna issued a petition demanding a halt to the project, which is located in the Villa delle Rose, a mansion donated by Countess Nerina Armandi Avogli to the municipality of Bologna in 1916, expressly for the purpose of creating a Gallery of Modern Art.
"The problem is some Italians forgetting their roots, denying our history, from tortellini to the crucifix."
"Villa delle Rose is a space for contemporary art, over the course of its history it has hosted many exhibitions, it is located inside a park of city interest," the petition stated, noting that Zuppi's pet project "is not a space dedicated to art."
"Let's take action to prevent yet another expropriation like this from being implemented and public spaces for contemporary art from being suppressed," the petitioners urged signatories.
HOUSE OF CARDS
"No Catholic prelate in the world will admit it or is even aware of the fact, but Muslim-Christian dialogue is seen on the Muslim side as an opportunity to proselytize for Islam and intimidate Christians into fearing to discuss the rampant Muslim persecution of Christians, for fear of harming the dialogue," Robert Spencer, author of over 25 books on Islam and the Middle East, told Souls and Liberty.
"This multifaith house project in Bologna is yet another house of cards based on fantasy, wishful thinking and willful ignorance regarding Islam and jihad," lamented Spencer, who's latest bestseller, Muhammad: A Critical Biography, has garnered significant acclaim in the field of Islamic scholarship.
"It will result in nothing lasting except the continued ignorance and complacency of Catholics regarding the threat of Islamic jihad. Leftist Catholics such as Zuppi who think this is a positive step are being naïve. At best," Spencer stressed.
POPE FRANCIS' INTERFAITH SHRINE
In February 2023, Cardinal Michael Fitzgerald hosted the first Catholic service at the Abrahamic Family House – an interfaith shrine born of Pope Francis' Abu Dhabi concordat with Sunni leader Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb.
Speaking on behalf of Pope Francis at the inauguration of St. Francis of Assisi Church – the Catholic section of the complex housing a mosque and synagogue – Fitzgerald said the shrine could be said to fulfill Isaiah's vision of "a house of prayer for all the peoples."
The cardinal, a former president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, told the congregation that Muslims had earlier prayed the Maghrib prayer in the mosque section of the shrine on Thursday evening.
"Remarkably, Cdl. Fitzgerald, an acclaimed Islamic scholar, ignored the fact that the Maghrib prayer contains Surah Al-Fatiha which is one of the most anti-Christian and anti-Jewish texts in the Qur'an," a Muslim jurist who converted to Christianity told Souls and Liberty.
"I really think it's time for a mosque in Bologna."
"The inclusion of this prayer, which is considered indispensable in Muslim worship, tells us everything we need to know about how serious Muslims are about interfaith dialogue," the convert, who faces the death penalty for apostasy from Islam, added.
After asking Allah to guide Muslims "to the straight path," verse 7 defines this way as the "path of those whom you have favored, not of those who have earned your anger, or of those who have gone astray," the convert explained.
Islamic tradition and commentaries from the hadith of Sahih Bukhari to Tafsir al-Jalalayn identify "those who have earned Allah's anger" as the Jews, and "those who have gone astray" as the Christians.
MUHAMMAD IN HELL
In 2019, Zuppi sparked a cultural and culinary storm after the diocese of Bologna ordered Muslim-friendly pork-free tortellini for the feast of its patron saint Petronius. Nationalist leaders, including populist Matteo Salvini, slammed the move, saying Italy is forgetting its history and identity.
Before this latest surrender by the Church over food, Muslims in Bologna already had marked one great victory over the civilization of the Kuffar, Jihad Watch reported, explaining how the diocese decided to install a grate partially concealing a famous fresco by Giovanni da Modena in the Basilica of St. Petronius showing Muhammad, the founder of Islam, being tormented by devils in Dante's eighth Circle of Hell.
In 2002, five Muslims linked to Al Qaeda were preparing to blow up the fresco and the Basilica, but were caught just in time. A similar plot by another Islamic group was also foiled in 2006.
"I also wish Islamic celebrations to be welcomed in schools."
"Now visitors must strain to view, from that distance deliberately imposed, Giovanni da Modena's fresco in the ill-lit chapel; the figure of 'Mahomet' can no longer be seen. In the end, the Muslims in Italy did not need to blow up the Basilica or the fresco to obtain their aims; the Church created the conditions that render the fresco scarcely visible," Jihad Watch reported.
"Part of the West's artistic heritage is now off limits because of Muslim threats to destroy it; the Muslims have effectively won," the website lamented.
"I'm reading that there are those who are asking for tortellini without meat. It's like proposing wine without grapes," Salvini said. "The problem is some Italians forgetting their roots, denying our history, from tortellini to the crucifix. Should I be the one defending faith and values? I'm a sinner," Salvini posted on Facebook.
"I really think it's time for a mosque in Bologna. Some people think otherwise but they are wrong," Zuppi said. "I also wish Islamic celebrations to be welcomed in schools," he added, "as already requested by archbishop of Milan Angelo Scola."
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Dr. Jules Gomes, (BA, BD, MTh, PhD), has a doctorate in biblical studies from the University of Cambridge. Currently a Vatican-accredited journalist based in Rome, he is the author of five books and several academic articles. Gomes lectured at Catholic and Protestant seminaries and universities and was canon theologian and artistic director at Liverpool Cathedral.
The irony in this was an area dedicated to the decadent cultural philosophy of modernism, which is the product of atheistic communism, being a source of controversy for the residents. So which do they choose, the slide of atheistic communist rot, or the slide of indifferentism, and why would it matter which, as they both lead to hell? And then there is the issue of pork, another source of controversy, funny when you think of it, as I remember the legion of devils entered those dirty pigs and they committed mass suicide by running off the cliff and drowning in the sea. Eating pigs does not seem to me an important tradition worth saving.
Marie-Julie Jahenny has foreseen this and states that many Bishops are going to join the Happy Church movement.. Bead and water, no wine.