Islam in Italy

The history of Islam in Italy dates back to the 9th century, when Sicily and some regions in Peninsular Italy were brought into the Ummah. There was Muslim presence in Italy from 827 (the first occupation of Mazara) till 1300 (the destruction of the last Muslim settlement of Lucera). Thereafter, until the 1970s Islam was almost entirely absent in Italy.

In the 1970s, the first trickle of Somali immigrants from Somalia began to arrive. In more recent years, there has been migration from Morocco, Egypt, and Tunisia. Today there are approximately 1.5 million Muslims in Italy..

Islam is not yet formally recognized by the state despite being the second individually professed religion after Catholicism in Italy. The official recognition of a religion different from Catholicism on behalf of the Italian Government is in fact to be approved by the President of the Republic under request of the Italian Minister of the Interior, following a signed agreement between the proposing religious community and the Italian Government. Such recognition does not merely depend on the number of followers of a given religion, and it requires congruence between the proposing religion principles and the Constitution. Official recognition gives an organized religion a chance to benefit from a national "religion tax", known as the Eight per thousand. Other religions, including Judaism and smaller groups, such as the Assemblies of God, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Seventh-Day Adventists, already enjoy the official recognition in the form of signed agreements with the Italian government. In 2005, a council composed of Muslim people, the Council for Italian Islam, was founded by the Italian Minister of the Interior. Strong disagreement between Council members stands its work. The internal disagreement, the unstructured nature of the Italian Muslim community and its lack of leadership seem to be the main reasons for Islam not to have been already recognized by the state.