ROME: A long procession on a street in the city center of Trieste could not go unnoticed in an area that is totally empty due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Hundreds of Muslims had gathered there after dark. Local newspaper Il Piccolo reported that somebody had called the authorities, expressing doubts that the gathering complied with the lockdown rules.
But a police patrol found no irregularities as everyone there was wearing face masks and kept a safe distance from each other.
The procession was moving to the nearby Islamic cultural center, but not to celebrate Ramadan, as all religious gatherings have been forbidden in Italy since March 8.
Instead, the Muslims were going there to bring food and basic necessities to the center for distribution to those in need in Trieste.
The center has become a hub of solidarity, the local press has reported. It is one of many examples of the help that Muslim communities in Italy are giving during Ramadan, in a country that has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
Doctors and nurses in a hospital’s immunohematology and transfusion department in the city of Terni were almost incredulous when on the first day of Ramadan they welcomed many Muslims who wanted to donate blood, at a time when people are afraid to enter health facilities for fear of infection.
They decided to donate blood “because Terni and Italy have given us so much, and now it’s up to us to give something,” a Moroccan donor told Il Messaggero.
Another donor told the newspaper: “It’s a gesture of solidarity we decided to make when we realized the shortage of blood at a time when social distancing makes everyone less eager to donate. Ramadan is a moment when we share grace. In this difficult time, that’s a way we do it.”
Abderrahim Maarouf, former president of the municipal council for integration in Terni, organized the donation by involving people who usually go to the city’s two mosques. He used WhatsApp for his appeal, the same way he is sending prayers during Ramadan.
“We thought it was right that the Muslim community should … make itself available, do something,” he said.
Foreigners or Italians, Muslims or non-observers, for us it makes no difference.
Abdelrahman El-Said, Spokesman for Islamic cultural center
“I managed to find many people who accepted my call. Then a person I knew put me in contact with the Red Cross in Terni. They made it possible for us to reach the hospital to donate blood in compliance with the lockdown and with Ramadan,” he added.
“Many of us have also made ourselves available to help those in need in the community. When needed, they know they can call us. It’s the least we can do, for Terni and for Italy, which deserve much more than this. Here’s what a community does. Here’s what integration means.”
In the city of Lodi, the Islamic cultural center is offering iftar meals to the elderly and to fragile families regardless of their faith.
“Foreigners or Italians, Muslims or non-observers, for us it makes no difference,” the center’s spokesman Abdelrahman El-Said told Arab News. “We want to help the country and the city hosting us at such a difficult time for everyone.”
The center is also supporting fundraising efforts for the local Maggiore hospital. And outside Islamic butchers and restaurants, bags of food are left every day for those in need.
“The entire community has been involved,” said El-Said. “Our city is in need now and we can’t back down, especially during Ramadan.”
