Ahmad Gianpiero Vincenzo (born 1961 in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

) is a leader of the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

community. A 1990

convert to Islam Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...

, he is a founder and president of the organization Intelletuali Musulmani Italiani (Italian Muslim Intellectuals). In November 2008, Vincenzo, as a representative of the

Mosque of Rome The Mosque of Rome ( it, Moschea di Roma), situated in Parioli, Rome, Italy, is the largest mosque in the Western world in terms of land area. It has an area of and can accommodate more than 12,000 people. The building is located in the ''Acqu ...

, was received by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

at the first summit of the Catholic-Muslim Forum that was formed to improve interfaith relations following a 2006 speech by Benedict in which he was understood by many to be linking

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

with violence. He has called for efforts to combat

Islamic extremism Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism, or radical Islam, is used in reference to extremist beliefs and behaviors which are associated with the Islamic religion. These are controversial terms with varying definitions, ranging from academic unde ...

. Vincenzo also advises the Italian Senate's Constitutional Affairs Commission on matters related to immigration.

References

{{italy-reli-bio-stub Italian Muslims 1961 births Living people Converts to Islam Religious leaders from Naples