One of Italy’s most prominent Muslim leaders has challenged interior minister Matteo Salvini to find a way to give Muslims “democratic representation” in government.

Hamza Piccardo, who famously argued that “polygamy is our civil right,” wrote this week to Mr Salvini asking him to “establish an electoral process leading to the election of a democratic representation of Italian Muslims.”

As the founder of the Union of Italian Islamic communities (UCOII), Piccardo urged Italians in 2016 not to “undervalue polygamy’s demographic effect,” which would help “rebalance” Italy’s low birthrate and the consequent need for foreign manpower.

He also argued that although a minority position, polygamy had as much historical claim to being a civil right as gay marriage.

Now Mr Piccardo is calling on the Italian government to bring Islam into dialogue with Italy’s political establishment.

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“Let the government organize a consultation that can bring order to Italian Islam, we are fed up with this anarchy,” said Piccardo, who has translated the Qu’ran into Italian.

“Even though the competent party for relations with religious communities is at Palazzo Chigi,” Piccardo wrote, referring to the headquarters of Italy’s Prime Minister, “I want to address the Minister of the Interior [Matteo Salvini], because ever since 2005 this is where communication, albeit sterile, has taken place between the government and the Muslims of Italy.”

The problem, Piccardo noted, is that “none of the organizations present in the territory significantly represents the soon to be three million Muslims in Italy, one million of whom are Italian citizens.”

Mr Piccardo has asked the Interior Ministry publicly “to promote and establish an electoral process that leads to the election of a democratic representation of Italian Muslims with whom to dialogue.”

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