Hamza Roberto Piccardo was a member of the Directive Council of

UCOII The UCOII (Unione delle Comunità e Organizzazioni Islamiche in Italia) is one of the main Italian Islamic association. History The UCOII, founded in Ancona in 1990, is the product of the fusion of various previously existing organizations: such a ...

, the Union of Islamic Communities in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, as well as spokesperson of the

European Muslim Network European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

. He is not currently serving any executive position in UCOII. After the end of his

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...

in 1974, Piccardo went to Africa and crossed the Sahara desert. He met Muslims there and learned about Islam. He converted to

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 ...

in 1975. In 1984 he started to

pray Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified an ...

and about five years later, he started

fasting Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...

. He founded the publishing house Al Hikma in 1993 and published the first edition of the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

in Italian translated by Muslims, among other books.

References

External links

An interview with Hamza Riccardo

Online Quran Project
An Italian translation of the Quran by Hamza Roberto Piccardo] Living people Converts to Islam Translators of the Quran into Italian Italian Muslims Muslim Brotherhood leaders Year of birth missing (living people) {{Islam-bio-stub