Bishop Eleganti says ‘Islam has a problem’ with ‘violence’ after terrorist attack in Italy

(LifeSiteNews) — Bishop Marian Eleganti has said that “Islam has a problem in its relationship with violence” after a Moroccan immigrant in Modena, Italy, drove his car into a crowd.

In an interview with Italian newspaper Il Giornale, Eleganti was asked about the terrorist attack that occurred in Modena, Italy, on May 16. A 31-year-old Moroccan man, Salim El Koudri, drove his car at reportedly 50 to 60 miles per hour into a crowd on the busy central street, Via Emilia. After he hit several pedestrians, the car crashed into a shop window. He then got out of the car and stabbed a man who tried to intervene. Eight people were injured in the attack, including a woman who required both of her legs to be amputated.

The official investigators ruled out an Islamist motive, instead naming mental health issues as the main reason behind the horrific act.

However, Eleganti offered a different view: “It may be that in this specific case, we are once again dealing with a disturbed psyche. However, it is striking that in the case of similar attacks in European countries, the conclusion seems to come almost automatically: it is a lone wolf, a mentally ill person. In short: there is no connection to Islam or Islamism as one of the possible causes (sources) of such terrible acts. In any case, there is a regular effort to exonerate Islam in general and Muslims in particular by framing the incident as a mental disorder. But we cannot rule out that both factors are at play: Islamic fanaticism, mental disorder, and personal frustrations.”

“Why don’t Christians commit terrorist acts of this kind?” Eleganti asked. “Apparently, their religion (Christianity) offers far greater potential for individual resilience and immunity in the face of such demonic acts of violence, in which innocent people who have no personal connection to the perpetrator are the victims.”

“Benedict XVI was absolutely right when he diagnosed that Islam has a problem in its relationship with violence. It is an obvious fact,” Eleganti added.

It was later revealed that El Koudri expressed anti-Christian sentiment in emails sent to the University of Modena on April 27. While venting his frustration about the lack of job opportunities, he wrote, “F*** Christian bastards, you and your Jesus Christ on the cross, I’ll burn him.” He apologized for his “rudeness” in a follow-up email.

However, despite the revelations, the archbishop of Modena said loneliness and mental health issues were the root causes of the attack.

Eleganti responded by stating, “These are political statements in line with the spirit of the times, as well as attempts to shield themselves from the harsh reality that will not spare us and will teach us a lesson as soon as Islam takes control and becomes the majority.”

“Then the so-called unbelievers – that is, non-Muslims – in these countries will no longer have it easy. Such Good Samaritan-style statements by the bishops are made so as not to jeopardize, at least on a semantic level, peaceful coexistence among religions. In my view, in this context, they are a form of denial of reality. Take it from someone who has Muslim friends and even relatives!”

“No European country is immune to Islamic radicalization,” the Swiss bishop warned. “I believe that Islam is incompatible with our conception of society and the state shaped by Christianity, with our conception of religious freedom and freedom of personal conscience.”

“Islam has been an anti-Christian religion from the very beginning and has led to the disappearance of Christianity everywhere or decimated it to the point of near extinction.”

“This is still the case today,” Eleganti continued. “Many on the left and many Muslims today share a fundamentally hostile attitude toward Christianity; at the very least, none of them would lift a finger to ensure the survival of Christianity in our societies.”

“Rather, they dream together of a post-Christian era,” he concluded.