A visit to the Grand Mosque of Rome

July 15, 2012. (Romereports.com)?Italy has become the home to a growing number of immigrants from Northern Africa. Many of them come in search of work and a new life. With them they bring their language, culture, and also their religion. Many of them are Muslim and find a place to worship at the Great Mosque of Rome.

Dr. Abdullah Ridwan is the head of the Islamic Cultural Center of Italy. Since 1998 he has worked to help these new immigrants build a new way of life. He says in the past decade the numbers of Muslim immigrants has sharply increased in Italy.

Dr. Abdullah Ridwan

Secretary General, Islamic Cultural Center of Italy

?Between 2003 and 2010 the Muslim population was doubled, it passed from 600,000 to 1.2 million in the space of ten years.?

The Arab Spring of 2011 created hundreds of thousands of refugees, as they fled to escape the sometimes violent revolts that took hold in much of the Middle East. Many of these refugees fled to nearby Italy.?

Dr. Abdullah Ridwan

Secretary General, Islamic Cultural Center of Italy

?With the Arab Spring, there was approximately 50,000 people that arrived here because of those changes that took place in Tunisia and in particular in Libya.?

Besides welcoming new members of Muslim community, the Mosque of Rome is also open to visitors and tourist throughout the year. On this tour a group of Italian school children learned about the common Abrahamic roots of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.?

Dr. Abdullah Ridwan

Secretary General, Islamic Cultural Center of Italy

?You can see that groups of school children come here to visit and to learn about our religion, to learn about Islam, but also in a way open oneself to others, to facilitate this knowledge, and this way of living together.?

In one year the Mosque receives between sixty and eighty thousand visitors. It serves not only as a house of worship and meeting place for Muslims, but also a way for others to learn about the Islamic faith.?

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Source: http://www.romereports.com/palio/a-visit-to-the-grand-mosque-of-rome-english-7296.html

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