"Italy is the country most suitable to serve as an example of new, healthy and fair integration that is the result of a choice made by the migrants themselves, without any forcing and without assimilation, which some of them are opposed to,'' Syrian sociologist Ferial Mouhanna said. A teacher at the University of Damascus, Mouhanna is currently in Florence's Istituto Sangalli, an institution that focuses on dialogue between different religions and cultures. "I care deeply about the issue of integration here in Europe," the academic said, adding that Muslims had become a part of the social fabric in Italy. Mouhanna is the director of the Media and Communications Department of the University of Damascus as well as member of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Mouhanna said she believed Italy to be the most democratic country in Europe, different from France and Germany. "Italy is generous because it has never let anyone arrive on its coasts without rescuing them. This is Italy's honor, which is itself moderate. The Muslims who live here are also the most moderate in Europe," she told ANSA. According to her, there are possibilities for true integration, but more work needs to be done. Mouhanna's current work with Istituto Sangalli concerns a project on integration between different religions and cultures and has held numerous conferences on the issue of women and Islam. Muslim women and the headscarf Speaking on the issue of headscarves, that has been attracting controversy in several European countries, Mouhanna said that in the Quran, there were no orders, "direct or indirect," for women to conver their heads. Women covered their heads before Islam and thus the headscarf was a pagan tradition, she emphasized. "The Quran simply tells free women to cover sensitive parts of their bodies, so as to appear decent and honorable. At the same time, Islamic fiqh [body of law extracted from Islamic sources] prohibited Muslim slaves, even in the time of the Prophet, to cover those parts of the body to avoid being confused with free women. Thus, dressing decently was also a class issue," she said. However, the most "dangerous" part, according to her is that "Islamic fiqh seeks to connect the way women dress with her faith, exerting a sort of psychological intimidation on women to put a headscarf on to express her religious nature." The headscarf has thus become "a way to conserve and safeguard Islamic identity'' and "a form of defense against certain assimilation policies of some Western nations." The dominant discussion within Islam has, over centuries, managed to "make use of a saying by the Prophet that isn't very reliable" and "enshrine this injustice against women," the academic said. To resolve the headscarf issue,a new sociological vision must be drawn up to protect Muslim women that is "entirely in the Quranic sphere," she concluded.

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