Rome's Envoy to Saudi Arabia Converts to Islam
1. Rome's Envoy to Saudi Arabia Converts to Islam by Luke Baker, CNN, November
26 2001 CE
ROME (Reuters) -- Italy's ambassador to Saudi Arabia has converted to Islam, the
second time in seven years that an envoy of Rome to the land of Mecca has
adopted its religion.
Torquato Cardilli, a career diplomat from overwhelmingly Roman Catholic Italy,
revealed his decision to Saudi newspapers Saturday, his 59th birthday. Italian
diplomatic sources confirmed the announcement Monday.
His official conversion was made on the eve of the Islamic holy fasting month of
Ramadan, which began on Nov. 16 in Saudi Arabia. Cardilli himself could not be
reached for comment but an employee at his embassy in Riyadh confirmed the
reports.
The Saudi embassy in Rome said it planned a statement later. An embassy
spokeswoman said there was no record of any Saudi ambassador to Italy ever
converting to Catholicism.
Italy's Foreign Ministry had no comment.
The conversion of Cardilli -- who is married with two children -- follows the
move to Islam made by Mario Scialoja, Italian ambassador to the Arab kingdom in
1994-95, who has since left the foreign service and is head of Italy's Muslim
League.
Scialoja's decision came as a shock, made while he was Rome's permanent
representative to the United Nations in New York and long before he was posted
to Riyadh.
Cardilli's change of faith follows years of study of Islam. A graduate in
oriental culture and languages from the University of Naples, Cardilli has spent
much of his 33-year diplomatic career in the Muslim world.
Following postings in Sudan, Syria, Iraq and Libya, he took over the embassy in
Riyadh in October last year. Cardilli has also served as ambassador to Albania
and Tanzania.
His personal move comes at a sensitive time, with Italy a member of the U.S.-led
coalition fighting the hard-line Islamic Taliban movement in Afghanistan and
barely two months after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi offended the Muslim
world by saying Western Christian civilization was superior to Islam.
Corriere della Sera newspaper said Cardilli had been recalled to Rome "for
consultations."
Some 3,000 to 5,000 Italians have converted to Islam from Catholicism in recent
years, according to figures from the Union of Islamic Organizations and
Communities.
A spokesman for the Italy-based group said it welcomed Cardilli's entry into the
Muslim community, saying of his conversion: "The ways of the Lord are infinite."
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/meast/11/26/religion.islam.italy.reut.
2. Italian Envoy Reverts to Islam by Javed Hassan, Arab News, November 26 2001
CE
RIYADH, 26 November — The Italian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Torquato
Cardeilli, has reverted to Islam, the Italian Embassy here announced
yesterday.Cardeilli, who speaks Arabic, is the first ambassador to revert to
Islam in Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest sites in Makkah and Madinah,
according to a dawa center in Batha which handles Muslim reversions.Nouh ibn
Nasser, director of the Batha center, said the Italian converted on Nov. 15, the
day before the start of the holy month of Ramadan.
"He came to the office and read the two testimonies (necessary to declare faith)
and then prayed with us," Nasser said.
Cardeilli, 59, was not available for comment as he left Riyadh to Rome on
Saturday.
But in a press statement, the ambassador expressed his happiness over his
reversion to Islam. He said he was fully convinced about the truthfulness of
Islam through his regular reading of God’s final revelation, the Holy
Qur’an.During his 34-year diplomatic career, Cardeilli, a graduate in
linguistics and oriental civilization, has been posted to several Arab countries
and took up his current post in Riyadh in November 2000.
Cardeilli was born in 1942. He is married and father of two. He was first
appointed at the Italian Foreign Ministry’s political office in 1967 and
previously worked as a diplomat in Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Albania and
Tanzania.In September, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi sparked outrage
across the Arab and Muslim world with remarks over the West’s "superiority" over
Islam. Berlusconi insisted his comments were misinterpreted by a hostile
left-wing Italian press and has since outlined his "deep respect for Islam" as a
great religion.
The dawa center’s Nouh said that on average three to four people come to his
office daily to embrace Islam, and the number rises to five during Ramadan.
Twenty similar offices operate in Riyadh and there are many more in the other
cities throughout the Kingdom.
For his part, Mohammed Abbas Afesh, of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth
(WAMY), told Arab News that his organization has recently distributed a great
deal of Islamic literature in English among the diplomatic missions in Riyadh,
including the Italian Embassy.
"We also arranged lectures on various aspects of Islam. As a result of this
effort, a few people, including some women, embraced Islam," Abbas said, adding
that the events of Sept. 11 had sparked a great deal of interest in Islam among
Christians.
"They want to know about the concept of jihad and other relevant matters.
Overall, they are receptive to the message of Islam."
Source: https://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=10826.