CAIRO – Italy’s Interior Minister Angelino Alfano has announced the establishment of a council for relations with the country’s Muslims, claiming it will bring the religion into compliance with the country’s “Christian and humanist tradition”.

“The Council will be responsible for providing opinions and making proposals on issues concerning the integration of people of Islamic culture and religion in Italy,” Alfano was quoted by The Independence.

“Respect and co-operation between cultural and religious identities in Italy must constitute the basis for a dialogue that enriches democracy, promoting the aims of peace, social cohesion and unity, and that fosters a community of those who…intend to contribute to the peaceful development and prosperity of our country, in full compliance with our laws and our Christian and humanist tradition.”

The decision to form the council of “Italian Islam” was announced by Minister Alfano last Tuesday.

According to the minister, the Council of Relations with Italian Islam would be an advisory body aiming at furthering integration.

A spokesperson said the religion would be “law-abiding and compatible with Italian regulations”, without saying what rules, if any, Muslims were currently believed to be breaking in the country.

Its formation would include Islamic leaders, experts and professors who would be working towards “the formation of an Italian Islam”.

A spokesperson said the religion would be “law-abiding and compatible with Italian regulations”, without saying what rules, if any, Muslims were currently believed to be breaking in the country.

Alfano said local authorities and immigration councils would be consulted alongside Muslim leaders to improve social inclusion, taking into account the principles of the Constitutions and laws of the Republic”.

The primary religion in Italy is Roman Catholicism, and about 80 percent of the population identifies as Roman Catholic or as a member of another Christian faith, according to the CIA World Factbook.

Italy has a Muslim population of some 1.7 million, including 20,000 reverts, according to the figures released by Istat, the national statistics agency.

Since the early 1980s, Italy has given taxpayer revenue to religious faiths the government recognizes.

The funds are used largely for the upkeep of religious structures, including Jewish and Buddhist temples, Greek Orthodox churches, and Jehovah’s Witnesses congregations. But mosques aren’t on the list.