(AFP) Chants of “Allahu akbar” rang out Saturday at a solemn Catholic state funeral in the Italian city of Genoa for the victims of a bridge collapse, who included two Albanian Muslims.
They were among at least 38 people to have died in Tuesday’s tragedy.
An imam was invited to the ceremony, a particularly poignant move in a staunchly Catholic country, where the far-right is now in power and which has seen a rise in the number of attacks against foreigners and Muslims.
He led several minutes of silent prayers — punctuated by four resonant chants of “Allahu akbar” (God is greatest) — in the presence of Italy’s top dignitaries including President Sergio Mattarella and premier Giuseppe Conte.
