Excerpt:
Roma, 22 April (AKI) - Italy's outgoing interior minister, Giuliano Amato, was expected to unveil a proposed federation of Italian mosques in Rome on Wednesday.
The federation is intended to replace the Consulta Islamica, a body set up by the government in 2005 to represent Italy's various Muslim groups.
Amato put the Consulta Islamica on hold after some members, including Nour Dachan, from Italy's largest Islamic group - the Union of Islamic Communities of Italy - refused to sign a 'charter of values' for Italy's religious minorities last year.
Amato's predecessor, Giuseppe Pisanu, who created the Consulta envisaged the 16-member body as a vehicle for dialogue with moderate Muslims in Italy and to combat terrorism.