Italy: Illegal Mosques Cropping up in Padova

In recent years, we have reported on the problem of clandestine mosques showing up in buildings and basements of apartment buildings in cities like Milan. Now, the northern Italian city of Padova (Padua) is dealing with the issue. Anna Maria Cisint is an Italian deputy in the European Parliament. She is bringing public awareness to the existence of the illegal mosques in Padova and the negative effect they are having on the local residents.

The article below in Il Tempo is translated by Fousesquawk. It is written by Giulia Sorrentino, who covers many stories related to this for Il Tempo.

Illegal mosques like mushrooms, Padova in chaos-Cisint warns the mayor

Giulia Sorrentino

July 17, 2025

In Padova East, the situation with illegal mosques is becoming worrisome. Within a few kilometers, there are reportedly three, and because of this, the European Parliament deputy, Anna Maria Cisint, has chosen to take a very clear position, using legal avenues, sending a certified email in which she urges the mayor to reestablish the rule of law and put an end to the illegal use of what was once an art gallery in the middle of a residential area.

“If the Islamic center is not closed immediately, we will pursue legal avenues. For more than 10 years, the residents of the Stanga quarter have been living a daily ordeal: threats, insults, disturbing looks directed at minor females, and sleepless nights. All this happens because hundreds of people are heading to the building on Via (street) Turazza. which is a destination not designated for religious use, as the municipality itself admitted after our civil access”. With a formal document, therefore, the mayor was formally requested to act immediately to restore the property to commercial use by closing the illegal mosque. “If not, we will not hesitate to turn to the competent authorities to bring the mayor before a judge. Without an agreement with the State, all of the mosques are potentially illegal and should be banned. We have demonstrated at Monfalcone that the mayors can and must intervene, also from the point of view of tools of urban planning that they have to protect the legality and the security of the citizens up to closure and, if necessary, the repossession of property,” Cisint concludes.

The message she wanted to send is very clear because the warning is not just from her as a European Parliament deputy, but also as a common citizen. She wants to say to all of those people who want to turn their heads that a way exists to enforce the rules. That a way exists to protect our values and our roots. This is a model that is replicable in every municipality in which ideology takes precedence over the well-being of the citizens.