Journo 'insulted Muslim faith'
2005-05-24 20:49
Rome - Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, who has made waves for denouncing Islam in her books, is to face trial for allegedly insulting the Muslim faith in her latest work, ruled a court in northern Italy on Tuesday.
A judge refused a request by prosecutors to have the case thrown out, ordering magistrates to proceed in the matter.
They now had until Thursday to formally charge Fallaci, the author of Rage and Pride, a post-September 11 polemic about the dangers of Islamic extremism, with "insulting religion".
The accusations stem from her last book called La forza della ragione, which translated as "the force of reason".
The president of the Muslim Union of Italy, Adel Smith - who brought the charge - said the book contained "words that are without doubt offensive toward Islam".
The 74-year-old Fallaci, who lives in New York, wrote in her latest book that Europe was turning into "an Islamic province, an Islamic colony" and "to believe that a good Islam and a bad Islam exist goes against all reason".
Fallaci, who made her home in New York, was sued in 2002 for Rage and Pride in a French court.
Accused of violating anti-racist laws, the case was dismissed on a technicality.
- SAPA