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What was Italy's Immigration Debate in 2018 about?
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Moderate Identitarism and legality issues

"Some immigrants can stay, as long as they don’t represent a threat to our national identity"
Offensive xenophobia
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Context

Northern League leader Matteo Salvini declared that he would allow the building of a Mosque only if the Muslim community accepted to write on its door that they will treat women with respect Northern League Senator Simone Pillon denounced a school in the province of Brescia for “teaching witchcraft to children” and “making them drink magic potions” because the students had attended some lessons about myths and traditions from Afghanistan and Pakistan. He later called for a parliamentary inquiry.

The Argument

It’s good to accept some immigrants if they are able to work and live in an honest way. They must accept our laws and the fact that our culture comes first. If they are uncomfortable with the presence of the crucifix in public offices or with the conditions we impose on them, they should “go home." The supporters of this theory often oppose the building of mosques or any kind of cultural event that is not strictly Italian, with the excuse that immigrants can always “do that in their private life.”

Counter arguments

Everybody must respect the Law. This doesn’t mean that mosques must be banned from Italy or that we cannot learn from other cultures. The majority of people who believe in the premises of this theory see every African as a potential rapist, every Muslim as a potential terrorist (or, at best, one who beats women), and Romani, Romanian and Albanian as a thief. This vision clearly lacks of realism, depth and objectivity. There is a serious debate among Law doctors about how to deal with actions that are considered crimes only by one culture. The debate is still open, and the people involved are too impartial to be considered supporters of a specific politic philosophy.

Premises

Rejecting the premises

References

This page was last edited on Tuesday, 21 Apr 2020 at 12:41 UTC

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