Hawzah News Agency-Any religious site must respect “architectural and dimensional congruity with the general and specific characteristics of the Ligurian landscape,” which is a reference to a minaret rather than a “Ligurian” steeple.

Permissions for the construction of a new temple could be made subject to a referendum.

These proposals were put forward by the Northern League Party. The “neutral terms” framing the proposal were not the result of intense debate in Liguria, as the Northern League party is learning from precedents.

A similar ban was introduced in the Northern region of Lombardy in 2015; Italy’s Constitutional Court rejected the ban in February 2016. The phrasing of the new planning regulation takes into account the language of the Constitutional Court’s decision.

However, the call for a referendum may prove to be illegal; the Italian constitution explicitly prohibits a referendum against specific individuals or groups of individuals.

Italy is home to approximately one million Muslims, but Mosques are rare. Worship usually takes place in buildings converted into places of worship rather than built for purpose.

End.