Religio | 16 Encounters with Faith in Italy

Somali refugees flee war, only to endure racism in Italy

In Italy, a Unique Connection Between Women and the Torah

An Italian Torah skirt. Courtesy of the Great Synagogue of Turin

The Copts of Rome

While the Coptic Orthodox Church is recognized by the Italian government as an official religious institution, the church has had trouble with funding in a European-based economy. The priest, Abouna Thaoufilos El Soriani, wears a cross on he inside of his right wrist as a visual symbol of faith. Soriani said, “we are a poor Church, but we are rich. We ask God for what we need and he always provide[s].”

The faces of Italy’s refugee crisis

The chill of winter in northern Italy has warmed into a summery March day at the abandoned Olympic Village in Turin, where Amadou Jallow, 29, is outside squinting and smiling brightly in the sun. He’s holding the story of his journey from Africa to Italy, which he typed inside an Italian refugee camp.

Originally from Gambia, Jallow left the country in 2009 and travelled throughout northern Africa before reaching the Sahara Desert. For three days, he walked through the desert by foot. The heat was scorching and many other travelling migrants were killed by dehydration.

“In my life, I never see dead bodies like this — maybe only on TV or something else,” he said of seeing dead bodies on the sands of the Sahara.

Once in Libya, Jallow settled and found work in construction. But his time there was cut short by the uprising that same year, in 2011. That year, the civil war and overthrow of brutal dictator Muammar Gaddafi left at least 30,000 dead, according to estimates from the country’s former health ministry.

Throughout the bloodshed, black Africans like Jallow faced discrimination and violence from other Libyans, he said.

“They said the blacks are the ones helping Gaddafi,” he said. “So if they see you are black, they will kill you.”

Within months, Jallow fled Libya and crammed into a boat with other migrants. They ended up in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Lampedusa, Italy. An Italian rescue team saved him and others, taking them to a Red Cross camp in nearby Bari.

Jallow now lives at the abandoned Olympic Village in Turin, where he finds resources like schooling and food through the organization of students and local residents that serves the village’s residents — Ex Moi.

A Muslim, he said he lives in peace among the other religions and ethnicities at the village. And he’s grateful for them, the volunteers’ help, and for his own survival of a trans-continental journey.

“The things I pass by — I see my people die, but I don’t die,” he said. “So I say, ‘Thank God.’”

Still, he struggles to find a regular job in Turin. He has only found an occasional gig selling newspapers. It pays 25 euros a day for about nine to 10 hours of work.

“I like Italy but the problem is no work,” he said. “I’m here four years now and never work in Italy.”

Turin leads the way for integrating Islam in Italy

Several editions of the Qur'an, in Arabic, on bookshelves in the Grand Mosque of Rome. March 12, 2016. (Religio/Emily Neil)

Young Italians, defying anti-immigrant bias, step up to help migrants

Jewish Venice Longs to Return to its Scholarly Roots

A sign indicating the Jewish ghetto in Italy. March 17, 2016.(Religio/Chavie Lieber)

Slideshow: Spiritual doors to learning

Doors to a classroom within Catholic Migrant Services building, located in Turin, Italy, reflect the stained glass usually found in cathedrals, creating a spiritual entrance into a place of learning.

In the quest for integration, refugees in Rome risk deportation

Morning classes are held from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Displaced Syrians find refuge through faith

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Somali refugees flee war, only to endure racism in Italy

By: Sarah Hermina and Fahmo Mohammed

In Italy, a Unique Connection Between Women and the Torah

An Italian Torah skirt. Courtesy of the Great Synagogue of Turin

As published in A Torah scroll takes years to finish, is written on a special parchment made of animal...

The Copts of Rome

While the Coptic Orthodox Church is recognized by the Italian government as an official religious institution, the church has had trouble with funding in a European-based economy. The priest, Abouna Thaoufilos El Soriani, wears a cross on he inside of his right wrist as a visual symbol of faith. Soriani said, “we are a poor Church, but we are rich. We ask God for what we need and he always provide[s].”

The faces of Italy’s refugee crisis

The chill of winter in northern Italy has warmed into a summery March day at the abandoned Olympic Village in Turin, where Amadou Jallow, 29, is outside squinting and smiling brightly in the sun. He’s holding the story of his journey from Africa to Italy, which he typed inside an Italian refugee camp.

Originally from Gambia, Jallow left the country in 2009 and travelled throughout northern Africa before reaching the Sahara Desert. For three days, he walked through the desert by foot. The heat was scorching and many other travelling migrants were killed by dehydration.

“In my life, I never see dead bodies like this — maybe only on TV or something else,” he said of seeing dead bodies on the sands of the Sahara.

Once in Libya, Jallow settled and found work in construction. But his time there was cut short by the uprising that same year, in 2011. That year, the civil war and overthrow of brutal dictator Muammar Gaddafi left at least 30,000 dead, according to estimates from the country’s former health ministry.

Throughout the bloodshed, black Africans like Jallow faced discrimination and violence from other Libyans, he said.

“They said the blacks are the ones helping Gaddafi,” he said. “So if they see you are black, they will kill you.”

Within months, Jallow fled Libya and crammed into a boat with other migrants. They ended up in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Lampedusa, Italy. An Italian rescue team saved him and others, taking them to a Red Cross camp in nearby Bari.

Jallow now lives at the abandoned Olympic Village in Turin, where he finds resources like schooling and food through the organization of students and local residents that serves the village’s residents — Ex Moi.

A Muslim, he said he lives in peace among the other religions and ethnicities at the village. And he’s grateful for them, the volunteers’ help, and for his own survival of a trans-continental journey.

“The things I pass by — I see my people die, but I don’t die,” he said. “So I say, ‘Thank God.’”

Still, he struggles to find a regular job in Turin. He has only found an occasional gig selling newspapers. It pays 25 euros a day for about nine to 10 hours of work.

“I like Italy but the problem is no work,” he said. “I’m here four years now and never work in Italy.”

by Juan David Aristizabal and Marissa Wenzke Welcoming three Syrian migrant families from Greece into the Vatican last month,...

Turin leads the way for integrating Islam in Italy

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