Special interest: Academic freedom in Italy – Stefano Allievi / 1

Italian Professor of Sociology and expert in Islamic matters, Stefano Allievi, has been convicted to pay a monetary fine of 3,000 euros and to six months in prison (!) because of of aggravated libel.

Professor Allievi has been sentenced for the opinions he expresses about Adel Smith and his actions in his book Italian Islam, published by Einaudi. Adel Smith is a controversial Muslim, famous for his radical opinions and fiery gestures on various subjects (especially his polemic against the crucifix)
In many regards this is an extraordinary case. Allievi has written a lot about recent debates about Islam in Italy in which for example he engaged in a critical manner with  Oriana Fallaci’s discourses. According to Allievi he has been under police protection for a while because he invited Tariq Ramadan to speak in his university; something that according Allievi has led to serious threats and intimidation by the local extreme right. Allievi has taken a stand for the guarantee of freedom of speech and expression of Muslims themselves.
Allievi will appeal but this first sentence is important of course because it is an infringement of academic freedom and an important precedent for all scholars working on these and related issues.
In order to support Stefano Allievi and academic freedom you can sign the petition here.  You can read his Open Letter here.

Today Dominio Publico will publish Allievi’s book (in Italian) entirely on their site.

If there is more news, I will publish it in a new post.