An Italian court has ordered the release of an Egyptian imam who was arrested and set to be deported after defending Hamas’ massacre of Jews on October 7, 2023. The release came after a protracted campaign by left-wing NGOs and the Catholic bishop of Turin.
On December 15, the Turin Court of Appeal ordered Mohamed Mahmoud Ebrahim Shahin to be released from the Caltanissetta Repatriation Detention Center, where he was being detained, after Italy’s Interior Ministry revoked the imam’s residence permit and issued a deportation order.
The 47-year-old imam of the Omar Ibn al-Khattab mosque in the San Salvario neighborhood of Turin was accused of delivering an apologia for the October 7 terrorist attack on Jewish civilians and defending Hamas as “a legitimate resistance movement.”
I personally agree with what happened on October 7th.
Mohamed Mahmoud Ebrahim Shahin, imam of the Omar Ibn al-Khattab mosque in Turin
Shahin, who has lived in Italy for 21 years, delivered his inflammatory speech at a rally on October 9 to the Turin for Gaza coordination group, gathered in Piazza Castello to celebrate a temporary ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.
Imam Justifies Slaughter of Jews
“I personally agree with what happened on October 7th. We are not here to be violent, but what happened on October 7th, 2023, is not a violation; it is not violence,” Shahin said. “I would like to tell you that the land and the holy homeland of the Palestinians have been occupied since 1948, 80 years ago. Not since October 7th.”
When questioned the next day, he defended his speech, explaining: “I don’t see what happened on October 7th as an action, but as a reaction,” Italian newspaper La Stampa reported. “The Palestinians had to start all this to try to wake the world up to their cause.”
“October 7 was the natural outcome of 11 wars waged against the Palestinians,” Shahin argued. “The Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves.”
The Interior Ministry revoked Shahin’s residence permit under Article 13, paragraph 1 of the Consolidated Law on Immigration, which allows the expulsion of foreigners who present a social danger profile or constitute a threat to national security. He was detained on November 23 pending his deportation and also charged with “belonging to an extremist ideology.”
In October 2023, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani reported that three Italian citizens who had gone missing during the Hamas-perpetrated October 7 attack had died.
Catholic Bishop Supports Antisemitic Imam
The Turin Court of Appeal initially approved the detention based on the imam’s threat to national security. Shahin’s arrest provoked massive protests by left-wing networks, including the group Turin for Gaza.
Amnesty International (AI) issued an appeal for his release, citing 13 NGOs campaigning to halt Shahin’s deportation. AI did not mention Shahin’s defense of Hamas’ slaughter of Jews, but argued that the imam had a “clean criminal record” and was being subject to “an unfair judicial proceeding, severely flawed by evident procedural irregularities.”
“If expelled to Egypt, a state whose propensity for torture and enforced disappearances is well known, Mohamed Shahin would risk his life,” Riccardo Noury, spokesperson for Amnesty International Italy, stated.
On November 27, Bishop Derio Olivero of Pinerolo posted a video message denouncing Shahin’s expulsion order.
“In Italy, we have freedom of opinion. It seems strange and absurd that he now risks expulsion for opinions,” Olivero said. “Mohamed Shahin has been in Italy for 21 years, has no criminal record, and has always worked seriously for dialogue and cooperation in Turin.”
In an interview published on December 17, Olivero claimed there was “no evidence” against Shahin and warned that expelling him could have counterproductive effects. “The risk is radicalization,” he said. “To foster peaceful coexistence, we need dialogue, not repression.”
The prelate wrote to Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella, demanding Shahin’s release and praising the work of the Turin mosque as “open and collaborative,” and demonstrating “respect for the law, peace, and civil and intercultural cooperation.”
To make matters worse, more than 180 academics from various Italian universities signed an appeal protesting Shahin’s arrest and deportation.
Terrorism Expert Reveals Imam’s Posts Praising Massacre
“It’s shameful that October 7th isn’t recognized as a massacre,” Dario Disegni, president of the Turin Jewish community, lamented. “I’ve already said this when speaking about the demonstrations calling for a free Palestine from the river to the sea. But the Jewish community shouldn’t always be the one to respond to these things.”
In his ruling ordering the imam’s release from detention, Judge Ludovico Morello said that “new information has emerged that calls into question the legitimacy of the detention.” The court, however, did not overrule the expulsion order, which is subject to further appeal.
Speaking to Focus on Western Islamism (FWI), Giovanni Giacalone, researcher in terrorism and counter-terrorism at the David Institute for Security Policy, noted that “Shahin’s statement regarding the October 7 massacre is concerning, particularly given his position as an imam and the significant influence his words carry.”
Giacalone, who serves as the senior advisor for the “Monitoring Jihadism Italy Project,” elaborated:
Shahin’s Facebook content also features images of Hamas leaders such as Khaled Meshal, Ismail Haniyeh, and Sheikh Yasin, as well as numerous pro-Muslim Brotherhood images. In the summer of 2012, Shahin’s mosque hosted Musa Cerantonio, a figure widely known for promoting pro-ISIS propaganda. The event was attended by the mosque’s president, Mohamed Abderrahman, who also serves as president of the Islamic Alliance of Italy—an organization that was blacklisted by the UAE in 2014.
The Italian daily, Il Giornale, reported that Shahin published multiple posts in Arabic on October 7 praising the massacre. One reads: “For the tenth time, Walid Omri says that what is happening is beyond imagination and the entity has not seen it in its worst nightmare. O Lord, O Lord, O Allah, grant us joy in Palestine, dear liberator of Abiya.”
Shahin, in the order issued by the Turin police headquarters, is also listed as a “representative of the Muslim Brotherhood in Italy,” the newspaper reported.
According to an Il Giornale investigation, reporters who visited the Turin mosque just before Shahin was freed reported claims that polygamy was a topic of discussion within the community and that the creation of an Italian political representation inspired by Islamic sharia was on the agenda.
Prime Minister Condemns Imam’s Release
Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said that the government had evidence of the imam’s “closeness to dangerous individuals, who have experienced a form of radicalization that materialized” in going to fight in Syria. He slammed the court’s ruling as “a decision that undermines the work of a prevention system that has thus far kept our country immune from terrorist attacks.”
“While respecting the judicial decision, I believe a huge mistake has been made in this case because harsh words, which should be punished, are too often followed by brutal crimes and fuel anti-Jewish hatred,” Italian-Jewish journalist and former vice president of the Jewish community of Rome, Ruben della Rocca, told FWI. “The imam, with his remarks on October 7th, has proven to be a bearer of poison and violence. Unforgivable!”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism told FWI:
What has to happen before Western authorities realise that words have violent consequences? We don’t need thoughts and prayers after Jewish people have been murdered because extremist religious rhetoric goes unchecked by the very people who then issue their empty condolences. Now is the time to act: not after the incitement has done its work. In this case, how is someone able to remain in the country despite preaching this sort of hate?
Italy’s Prime Minister, Georgia Meloni, condemned the imam’s release, warning that “Shahin is someone who called the October 7th attack an act of resistance, denying its violence.”
“Where I come from, this amounts to justifying, if not inciting, terrorism,” she stressed. “Can someone explain to me how we can protect the safety of Italians if every initiative in this direction is systematically quashed by some judges?”