Despite facing a number of obstacles, the goal is to open the university complex within three years, according to local press.
At a press conference held in early March, Giampiero Khaled Paladini, the President of the recently founded Islamic University Foundation, revealed that theology classes would be taught at the Foundation’s headquarters in Lecce from October, however as interest was already high, the university would be looking for larger premises for classrooms in the near future.
The Quotidiano di Puglia confirmed that plans for the university would see the opening of a Faculty for Agriculture and Medicine within three years, however Paladini has already seen one potential site rejected by planners in the city. According to the reports, the President is now looking at two further sites for the university which could, when completed, accommodate as many as 5,000 students.
In addition to planning permission issues the university is also facing opposition from the local community, some of whom say that the climate isn’t right for an Islamic University in their city following recent attacks by extremists in Paris and Sydney.
“The task of the administration is also to interpret the anxieties and fears of the citizens and at this time to start a project of this kind is at least inappropriate" said Severo Martini, one of the town planners to the Corriere della Sera.
However Paladini rejected this and said that in the wake of such attacks the opening of an Islamic University would be an excellent method to create better integration. “This will be a step in the right direction towards dialogue and understanding,” Paladini told Corriere della Sera.
Source: Italian Insider
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