The Italian news service is reporting on a new, interactive news website for Italian Muslims who director is associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. The report describes the new site as follows:
Italy’s first website featuring news with an Islamic twist is now online, designed to appeal to the country’s growing Muslim population. The interactive site, wwww.minareti.it, aims to cover a broad spectrum of news and information from Italy and abroad. While the site particularly spotlights Arab issues, it is intended to cater to all Italy’s Muslims, who come from a host of different backgrounds, including a growing number of Italian-born converts. ”The website is designed to create a new, modern and independent space, highlighting the pluralism that exists within Italy’s Muslim communities,” said Chaouki.”We want to give a voice to the silent majority of Muslims living here”. In addition to Chaouki, eight journalists are currently working on the project, including two non-Muslims. However, the site is designed to be interactive, and also encourages user participation and contributions. The latest edition includes features on abortion in Muslim countries, a debate in Germany over Islam and democracy, the efforts of Saudi women to be allowed to drive, and a selection of summaries from Arab newspapers. There are also sections devoted to monitoring the Italian media, books of Muslim interest and a page on Islamic religious issues.
The report states that the site creator and director, 25 year old, Moroccan born Khalid Chaouki, has lived in Italy for 16 years and is a member of the 16-member Islamic Council, which advises the government on Islam-related affairs. Chaouki is also listed as part of the leadership of the Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organizations (FEMYSO), the youth wing of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE), the umbrella group for the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe. He has been a President of the Giovani Musulmani d’Italia which is also associated with FIOE. Of the four headlines currently listed on the site, one is an article critical of global Muslim Brotherhood leader Tariq Ramadan and another about the European Muslim Charter recently introduced by FIOE.