Italy's Muslim chief condemns Paris attacks, urges society to stand united

Great pain and sadness: these were the words a top Islamic leader here used to describe the feelings of Italy's Muslim community after the deadly terror attacks in Paris.

"It is a tragedy when you see people killing fellow human beings, using the name of god in vain," Izzedin Elzir, the imam of Florence and president of umbrella organization UCOII, the Union of Islamic communities in Italy, told Xinhua in an interview.

"The Italian Muslim community absolutely condemns those acts, and our deepest empathy goes to the victims of the Paris attacks and to all the victims of terrorism," Elzir said.

Since the killing of 130 people in Paris on Nov. 13, the debate over terrorism threat has overwhelmed media and public debate in Italy.

The country was shocked by the attacks occurred in the heart of Europe, and a similar assault in Mali's capital Bamako on Friday contributed to feed fear.

"The perpetrators were only criminals, and must be judged as such," stressed Elzir on the sides of a conference about media's role after the Paris attacks held in Milan on Saturday.

His message was one of unity.

"Italy has already experienced terrorism in the past: we had the so-called 'red terrorism' from leftist radicals and 'black terrorism' from far-right extremists," Elzir said.

"We now see a terrorism falsely perpetrated in the name of Islam. But the truth is: despite different background, terrorists of all colors share the same goal, which is to create fear," Elzir said.

"The whole society must be aware of this attempt, and stand united against it," he pointed out.

Security was raised across Italy, and especially in Rome and Milan, in the wake of the Paris attacks. Endit