Italy : Khalid Chaouki elected as the new president of the Mosque of Rome

Khalid Chaouki, a Moroccan-Italian national, was elected on Tuesday head of the Great Mosque of Rome, the biggest Islamic institution in Italy, reports the Italian online newspaper La Stampa.

«Several years after being founded, the Great Mosque of Rome plays an important role in breaking up with past by choosing Khalid Chaouki, a portrait of a second generation of Muslims in Italy,» said the same source.

The latter believes that his election will open a new chapter in «Islam and power in Italy». «In the Great Mosque of Rome, the continuous struggle between the various sponsoring countries, but especially between Morocco and Saudi Arabia, seems to have been won by the first,» the source added. The new head of the mosque represents «Italy, young people and a vision of a moderate and reformist Islam». An Islam «fully reflected in the country of origin of the new president, Morocco and by the majority of Muslims in Italy».

Khalid Chaouki, who is also active in the political scene is set to voice the worries and concerns of the Muslim community in Italy, concludes the Stampa.

Born on the 1st of January 1983 in Casablanca, the new president of the Great Mosque of Rome had immigrated to Italy in 1992 with his mother to join his father.

After studying pedagogical sciences and then political sciences in Bologna, Khalid Chaouki had worked for the Italian press agency ANSA Med and collaborated with several local newspapers such as La Repubblica, Corriere del Mezzogiorno, Reset, il Riformista and Al Jazeera.

During the Italian national elections in 2013, Khalid Chaouki was elected deputy, after the renunciation of Enrico Letta in the 2nd riding of Campania. President and founder of the National Association of Young Muslims in Italy, he was also a member of the Italian Council of Islam.