On October 8th, 2024, the Italian Minister of Interior, Matteo Piantedosi signed the decree for the deportation of the Bologna-based imam, Zulfiqar Khan. The 54-year-old Pakistani citizen, who entered Italy in 1995, holds a residence permit, revoked at the same time as the expulsion.
In the administrative decree, the Minister emphasizes that since the fall 2023, Khan had come to the fore for his “growing ideological fanaticism” and his “propensity towards radical positions”, characterized by strong anti-Western and antisemitic resentment and homophobic and anti-feminist rhetoric.
In one of his sermons, he urged Muslim believers to fight the State’s claim to impose the payment of taxes as the resources must remain in the Muslim community.
In a meeting in a center in Bologna he is said to have defined homosexuality as “a disease to be cured” that every Muslim has the right to fight “to avoid catastrophic consequences such as even the extinction of the human race”.
In videos published on social media between November 2023 and April 2024 he accused Americans, Germans, French, English and Italians of supporting “the impure Zionists” and in another he invoked Allah to destroy the oppressors, namely the Western states that support Israel.
Khan is also indicated as linked to foreigners who emerged in investigations for their belonging to Islamist extremist areas. The preacher is also indicated as capable to facilitate the infiltration of political-religious and para-terrorist organizations in the Bologna area.
In May, 2024, Khan made a series of pro-Hamas statements from the pulpit of a mosque:
“This little warrior, a group of people called Hamas. They made it clear to the world that these are cowards (Israel, Zionists), they can’t do anything against men, they can only go against children, against women, against civilians”.
“We have seen, so many brothers are afraid to say that Hamas is a sincere group, mujahideen, because they had bombed all the Muslims in Europe that I must necessarily say that Hamas is a terrorist organization. They tried with me even from 7/10 onwards, we always had this position that Hamas is not a terrorist organization. They are defending their territory”.
“We thank Allah sws through these Hamas mujahideen warriors who have discovered this reality, this truth, that these (Israelis, Americans) are terrorists, they are murderers…”.
On April 19th, he stated that “Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria, Iran and Yemen, do not want to kill, do not want to harm civilians” and subsequently invoked: “That punishment which we are waiting for it to come from Allah, with the hands of Hamas and Hezbollah…”.
Khan also reposted several images of Hamas terrorists with their faces covered, wearing headbands and carrying weapons.
Khan’s antisemitic statements are also well-known.
In May 2021, during a street speech in Bologna’s main square, “Piazza Maggiore”, while citing the Gospel of John, Khan stated that “…Jesus Christ, instead of going to Judea, he went to Galilee, because the Jews wanted to kill him. These Jews, I’m not saying all of them, but part of the Jews, they are cruel, they are cruel, they use intelligence to harm others.”
During another sermon held on May 24th. 2024,, Khan stated:
“They constructed a word, Semitism. Semitism does not exist. No book talks about Semitism, antisemitism. This word was widespread after 1781…Then after 1870 they constructed the word antisemitism which came out of Germany…” (21:33).
And again:“Semitism, even if we believe that Semitism exists, these Zionists are not Semites…This is why they canceled that they wanted to bring a law, a regulation, which must make DNA of all those who live on the land of Israel. When they realized that DNA won’t turn out the way they wanted.” (22:10).
In November 2023, during the Italian mainstream TV show “Dritto e Rovescio”, Khan said: “The Israelites are terrorists and deceivers according to the Bible,” adding that “deception with the aim of self-interest is part of the Jewish faith.”
As if it wasn’t enough, in July 2024, the Iqraa Islamic Center Facebook page posted two videos of Khan attacking Italian-Egyptian journalist and author Magdi Cristiano Allam (former chief editor of the Corriere della Sera newspaper), a former Muslim who converted to Christianity. Magdi Allam has been living under police protection for years, due to the numerous death threats he received from Islamist extremists.
On several occasions, Khan publicly challenged and attacked Italian government officials and MPs, claiming that he was safe in Italy and could say whatever he wished. He even accused them of not knowing the Italian Constitution which, according to Khan’s interpretation, “provides protection to his speech, like an umbrella, while the Quran leads the way”.
In November 2023, Khan had stated: “…In Italy, thanks to Allah, we are safe, and we have the right to speak.”
However, with Khan’s deportation and by not authorizing the pro-Palestinian/far left demonstrations to celebrate the October 7th massacre, the Italian authorities and Minister Piantedosi made things very clear. Pro-Palestinian terrorism and extremism will not be tolerated.
The line pursued by the Italian Ministry of Interior, based on the concept of “letting people “express their opinions”, made many extremists believe they could exploit it to spread hatred and violent narrative. They were wrong.
The Italian government is finally starting to move in the right direction because, while freedom of expression must indeed be safeguarded, hate speech and pro-terror positions cannot and must not be tolerated. The fact that Minister Piantedosi signed the deportation decree the day after the first anniversary of the October 7th massacre is also significant and very admirable.
Khan’s expulsion comes the day after the US Treasury Department sanctioned another imam active in Italy, the Genoa-based Palestinian architect Mohammad Hannoun, indicated as a member of Hamas and dedicated to raising funds for the Palestinian terrorist organization.
On the evening of October 8th, prosecutor Nicola Piacente stated that the Genoa Public Prosecutor’s Office could open a new investigation into Mohammad Hannoun if useful documentation for further investigative investigations were to arrive from the United States.
About the AuthorGiovanni Giacalone is a senior analyst in Islamist extremism and terrorism at the Italian Team for Security, Terroristic Issues and Managing Emergencies-Catholic University of Milan, at the Europe desk for the UK-based think tank Islamic Theology of Counter-Terrorism, and a researcher for Centro Studi Machiavelli. Since 2021 he is the coordinator for the “Latin America group” at the International Institute for the Study of Security-ITSS. In 2023 Giacalone published the book “The Tablighi Jamaat in Europe”.Related