Muslim imams from different Italian cities have announced their preparation to turn mosque to COVID vaccination centers, joining the fight against the pandemic.
Announcing the initiative, Yahya Pallavicini, prayer leader of the Great Mosque of Rome in Milan, said it was great to help the vaccination program across the country, ABNA24 reported.
He added that he hopes the initiative would give them a great opportunity for dialogue and cooperation.
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Izzedin Elzir, an imam in Florence, also announced preparation to help with the coronavirus vaccination program and called for unity in the face the battle challenging Florence and Tuscany.
Italy is grappling with rapidly spreading coronavirus variants, especially the UK variant, which makes up more than 50% of new infections.
Italy has recorded 100,000 coronavirus deaths, a year after it became the first western country to impose a total lockdown and as it braces for a third wave of the pandemic.
The number of deaths on Monday rose to 100,103 – the highest in Europe after the UK – while the total number of infections since the onset of the pandemic last week eclipsed 3 million.
Muslims represent a small minority in Roman Catholic Italy, with a Pew Research Center projection saying there are 1,400,000 Muslims in Italy (2.3% of the Italian population).
The majority of Muslims in Italy are Sunni, with a Shi’ite minority.