After children from a private Catholic kindergarten in the Italian city of Treviso were brought to a mosque to kneel and pray to Mecca, the conservative League Party is protesting the action.
The photos of the trip to the mosque were published on the kindergarten’s Facebook page, and in one, children are seen kneeling towards Mecca, with their foreheads to the ground.
In another photo, the children are kneeling in front of an imam who leads them in prayer. The incident took place in Ponte della Priula, a small municipality of 5,000 in the Treviso region, according to Libero 25.
Italian journalist Francesca Totol wrote: “Submission begins as early as kindergarten.”
La sottomissione inizia già alla scuola materna pic.twitter.com/QXGMCdTtxO
— Francesca Totolo (@fratotolo2) May 4, 2025
The children in the photo are reportedly between the ages of three and five years old, and their photos were published publically by the kindergarten’s Facebook page. The children also had their parents’ approval for the trip to the mosque.
The kindergarten posted: “This morning we were welcomed by the Imam in the Susegana mosque… It was a truly emotional experience. We took off our shoes, the teachers put on a veil and we entered a large room where there was a huge red carpet on the floor with some white stripes where you stand to pray. The imam explained to us that the Muslim religion is based on five pillars and told us that they pray 5 times a day (we even tried).”
The post also makes it clear the school has had previous interactions with the Muslim community.
“Already on the occasion of the celebration for the end of Ramadan, Shevala, Bilal’s mother, read a book that explains to the children what Ramadan is and what is done during it. Heartfelt thanks to the Imam who opened the doors of the mosque to us and welcomed us with respect, friendship and enthusiasm.”
“I want to hope that the parents who gave their consent were not aware of what would happen,” said Alberto Villanova, leader of the League in the Veneto Region, in an interview with Libero.
“Those images make your blood run cold. We are all for peace in the world, but I would be really curious to know if the imam explained to the children, the true unaware victims of this story, what happens in many Muslim countries where women are not even free to study. So is it in Islamic cultural centers that we should take lessons in civilization?” Villanova asked, adding that “we certainly won’t remain silent in the face of these episodes. Here we are talking about a real cultural submission.”
Paolo Borchia, head of the Northern League delegation to the European Parliament, also lashed out against the initiative: “First Ramadan in churches, now kindergarten children taken to mosques to pray facing Mecca. In silence, European identity is being dismantled. And there are still those who talk about dialogue when the only message that gets through is that of cultural submission. This is not the future we want for our children. Defending our culture means saying a clear no. No to the erasure of our roots, no to education that confuses integration with surrender. Wake up, Europe!”
The provincial president of the Italian Federation of Catholic Nursery Schools, Simonetta Rubinato, told La Tribuna that “we believe that the spiritual and religious dimension is an integral part of the educational project of Christian-inspired nursery schools.”
The president, however, said that the “individual schools manage educational and didactic choices independently.” She also quoted Pope Francis, who underlined “the human dimension of brotherhood, which binds all men as children of the same Father.”
After the Italian media reported on the intercultural exchange, questions were asked why the Muslim community, including children from the mosque, has never been brought to the Catholic Church in the area and photographed praying to Jesus. In other words, many of these cultural exchanges represent a one-way street, with Christians continuously persecuted in Middle Eastern countries. In addition, it remains questionable if Muslim parents would welcome their children attending ceremonies that imply the worship of Jesus Christ. A search of the web failed to find any examples, although Muslims have attended “Muslim-related” events that were hosted at Christian places of worship in Europe.
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