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 as the

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

and

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

components of the Unione degli Studenti Musulmani in Italia (USMI) organization, some female Islamic organizations such as Islam Donne and the contribution of some individuals such as

Hamza Roberto Piccardo Hamza Roberto Piccardo was a member of the Directive Council of UCOII, the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy, as well as spokesperson of the European Muslim Network. He is not currently serving any executive position in UCOII. After the end of ...

is a former militant of

Autonomia Operaia Autonomia Operaia (Italian: ''Workers' Autonomy'') was an Italian leftist movement particularly active from 1976 to 1978. It took an important role in the autonomist movement in the 1970s, alongside earlier organisations such as ''Potere Operaio'', ...

who 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 ...

and is currently the director of the publishing house Libreria islamica (formerly known as “Al Hikma”). The

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a ...

initially had been assumed by Nour Dachan, a leader of the Syrian component of the

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan ...

. The secretary position initially had been assumed by Ali Abu Shwaima, a leader of the Palestinian component of the same organization; successively the position has gone to Roberto Piccardo.

Criticisms

The mosques affiliated to UCOII are overwhelmingly directly or indirectly linked to the

and for such ties the association has been sourly contested. The UCOII claims that such ties are limited to the personal militancy of their leadership and the management of UCOII relates more closely to other groups such as: the

European Council for Fatwa and Research The European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) is a Dublin-based private foundation, founded in London on 29–30 March 1997 on the initiative of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe. The council is a largely self-selected body, co ...

European Islam European Islam is a hypothesized new branch of Islam that historically originated and developed among the indigenous White European peoples of the Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo) and some republics of Russia, which constitu ...

, scholars like the Mufti of Egypt

Ali Gomaa Ali Gomaa ( ar, علي جمعة, Egyptian Arabic: ) is an Egyptian Islamic scholar, Jurist, and public figure who has taken a number of controversial political stances. He specializes in Islamic Legal Theory. He follows the Shafi`i school of I ...

Tariq Ramadan Tariq Ramadan ( ar, طارق رمضان, ; born 26 August 1962) is a Swiss Muslim academic, philosopher, and writer. He was a professor of contemporary Islamic studies at St Antony's College, Oxford and the Faculty of Theology and Religion, Univ ...

. And the UCOII focusses on the scholarship of Islamic feminists and to the writings of Italian converts and Muslim youths and students 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 ...

. However, the

is led by

Yusuf al-Qaradawi Yusuf al-Qaradawi ( ar, يوسف القرضاوي, translit=Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwī; or ''Yusuf al-Qardawi''; 9 September 1926 – 26 September 2022) was an Egyptian Islamic scholar based in Doha, Qatar, and chairman of the International Union of ...

, the leading ideologue of the

is also a member of the organization, while

is its leader in Europe and the grandson of its founder

Hasan al-Banna Sheikh Hassan Ahmed Abdel Rahman Muhammed al-Banna ( ar, حسن أحمد عبد الرحمن محمد البنا; 14 October 1906 – 12 February 1949), known as Hassan al-Banna ( ar, حسن البنا), was an Egyptian schoolteacher and imam, be ...

. In 2014 the

was declared a terrorist organization by UAE

References

Sources

*Andrea Pacini: "I musulmani in Italia. Dinamiche organizzative e processi di interazione con la società e le istituzioni italiane", in S. Ferrari cura di Musulmani in Italia. La condizione giuridica delle comunità islamiche, il Mulino, Bologna (2000). *"Enciclopedia delle religioni in Italia" / CESNUR. cura di

Massimo Introvigne Massimo Introvigne (born June 14, 1955, in Rome) is an Italian Roman Catholic Sociology of religion, sociologist of religionJason Horowitz"A Clash of Worldviews as Pope Meets Putin" ''The New York Times'', July 4, 2019. and intellectual propert ...

...

t al. T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...

- Leumann (Torino) : Elledici, 2001. - 1047 S.; (ital.)

External links

Sito ufficiale
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ucoii Islamist groups Muslim Brotherhood Organizations with year of establishment missing