A middle school teacher in the
northern city of Treviso has exempted two Muslim students from
studying Dante on the grounds that it is a religious work that
clashes with their Islamic faith, local dailies reported Friday.
The Divine Comedy, with its visions of Hell, Purgatory and
Heaven, is stepped in medieval Christianity and the Prophet
Mohamed is one of the historical figures placed in the Inferno.
The teacher asked the families of all the students who are
exempted from religious studies on religious grounds if they
also wanted to be exempted from studying the greatest Christian
poet, and two families said yes.
The case spurred criticism Friday with centre-left Democratic
Party (PD) Senator Simona Malpezzi saying it was "profoundly
wrong" to deprive any student of the "deep knowledge of Italian
culture that studying Dante brings".
She added: "Knowing Dante does not take anything away from the
children's religious confession".
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