The arrest of the self-styled Turin iman Sheikh Shahin, accused of justificationist positions on Hamas, reignites local political tensions and highlights the growing alliance between radicalized pro-Palestine groups and left-wing antagonisms monitored by the security apparatus.
The city of Turin has returned to the center of tensions and protests after the arrest of Sheikh Shahina well-known figure in pro-Palestinian demonstrations and has long been a point of reference for part of the local Islamic community. According to what was spread by the opposing collectives, the religious man was arrested, deprived of his Italian citizenship and transferred to a detention center for repatriation, with the aim of arranging his forced return to Egypt. The news, initially relaunched by «Turin for Gaza», quickly spread in the radical area, which immediately called a press conference and a protest in front of the prefecture. Although the arrest dates back to yesterday morning, the controversy only exploded in the evening, when various groups publicly denounced the measure adopted against Shahin, describing it as “a political measure disguised as a security operation”. A dynamic that recalls precedents already recorded in the city: in 2005, in fact, even the then imam of Turin Bouiriqi Bouchta he was expelled from the national territory for similar issues. In the leaflets that appeared during the night it is stated that the self-styled cleric would be “placed in a CPR awaiting repatriation to a country in which he is considered an opponent of the regime”. According to the antagonistic realities, the judiciary would have “neglected documents and testimonies that signaled a concrete risk for his safety”. The accusations made against him – “use of a megaphone during a demonstration and alleged interruption of public service” – are defined by activists as “behaviour common to millions of demonstrators and never subject to criminal consequences”.
Sheikh Shahinresident in Italy for about twenty years, has already been at the center of the news in the past. Last October 9th had defined Hamas’ assault on Israel like «an understandable reaction after years of abusei”, an exit that had provoked harsh political reactions and numerous reports to the police. At the time the position of was very harsh Augusta Montarulideputy group leader of the Brothers of Italy in the Chamber: «The imam’s statements in favor of the attack on 7 October are of absolute gravity and leave no room for interpretation. Claiming that there was no violence that day is equivalent to supporting terrorism, and this cannot be tolerated either in Turin or elsewhere in Italy.” The FdI representative also requested a direct intervention from the Interior Ministry: «The Ministry of the Interior should verify the conditions for his expulsion and for the temporary suspension of the activity of the center in which he operates, already known for the extremist positions expressed in the past. None of his followers distanced themselves from those words and this shows how support for the violence of the attack continues to spread at an alarming rate.” Montaruli finally made an appeal to the Turin Islamic community: “It is necessary to dissociate ourselves from attitudes that fall within an unacceptable justificationist vision, especially now that we are one step away from a possible path to peace.” In light of what has happened in the last few hours we have reached the Hon Augusta Montaruli (below in the photo), who tells Panorama.it: «The minister Plant yourself also follows up on a request Brothers of Italy but also dictated by common sense to protect safety. Those who oppose it evidently support violent and threatening attitudes that have no place in Italy. Now we will move forward to find out who financed the self-styled imam and his circuit who abused the rights recognized by our system to spread positions incompatible with it.»
The dangerous convergence between the most radicalized pro-Palestine groups and the acronyms of the antagonistic far left it is redefining the geography of urban dissent in Europe. In many Italian cities, from social centers to student networksan increasingly evident connection is consolidating: joint initiatives, overlapping slogans and a greater propensity for aggressive street practices. This ideological fusion does not arise solely from opposition to the war a Gazabut by a common ground characterized by militant anti-Zionism, anti-Western rhetoric and distrust of institutions. A set of elements that causes concern in the security apparatus, since it risks transforming political protests into platforms capable of legitimizing extremist and potentially violent tendencies. The case of the imam Shahin it does not represent an isolated incident. In recent years, the Italian authorities have several times ordered the removal of preachers accused of spreading content deemed incompatible with public safety or constitutional principles. These are administrative measures, often applied with an emergency procedure, designed to prevent radicalization phenomena within the Islamic communities present on the national territory.
