Lack of mosques forces Italian Muslims to pray in supermarkets and car parks

Italian Muslims are praying in warehouses, parking lots and garages due to the lack of official mosques in the country

Italian Muslims are praying in warehouses, parking lots and garages due to the lack of official mosques in the country.

There are some 1.5 million Muslims in Italy but only two official, purpose-built mosques – in Rome and Milan- that resemble mosques but are in fact cultural associations, according to Nicoló Degiorgis, an Italian photographer who has spent years observing Muslims praying in the north-east of the country as part of an award-winning photography competition.

Imam Yahya Pallavicini, vice-president of the Islamic Religious Community in Italy, says: “We have just a few official mosques in the country and hundreds of Islamic centers, but many of these centers do not have the dignity or quality of an official place of worship.”