Milan declared red zone, but believers flock to the mosque

It is prohibited to leave home if not for a valid, justified reason, which could be for health. The schools are closed, as well as restaurants, bars, and many commercial enterprises. The ban on assemblies is the same for the past year in all of Italy, particularly in red zones.

The experts now say that even one meter of social distancing is not enough to reduce the risk of contagion due to more contagious variants of the Coronavirus, and therefore, it is necessary to at least double the distance. For the most part, the majority respect these directions, but there are those who seem to live outside the rules, Silvia Sardone, MEP and Lega municipal advisor, as well as Stefano Pavesi, Lega advisor told Italian daily Il Giornale.

The two Lega advocates denounced the facts. “Maybe something has escaped us, but Via Lopez is precisely around the illegal mosque inside a former bakery. Is it not a red zone like the rest of the city? Judging by the gatherings of Muslims on the sidewalks, it seems not,” noted the two Lega members.

Images taken outside the building, gave the words of the Lega advocates more weight. “It is absurd and inconceivable that the municipality doesn’t enforce the laws, in this case, the regional law on religious locations, especially in a pandemic situation that we are going through,” explained Silvia Sardone. “Why are the Muslims free to gather together blatantly violating the anti-Covid regulations while citizens and merchants have to remain home or keep their own locations closed with the evident social and economic damages?”

In the Milan community, the question especially concerns illegal mosques. It is impossible to censor them all, especially when the police intervene to close one, another quickly opens up. Sardone urged Left-wing Democratic Party Mayor Beppe Sala to act: “This mosque is illegal and should be closed. Mayor Sala, make yourself heard, send the local police to carry out an inspection, and then proceed accordingly. To begin with, it would be enough to intervene on Friday, the day of prayer, to punish all those who don’t respect the rules, beginning with social distance.”

Stefano Pavesi said a resolution must be found soon: “We will go forward to maintain pressure, at the side of citizens exasperated by this situation. Enough with different rules for different people. The people of Milan cannot always be penalized but the foreigners not.”