An advertising campaign by Italian atheists appears to have succeeded in getting Muslims and Jews here to agree, with both communities dismissing the initiative as ''gratuitous''.
The campaign - which involves posters on city buses with the slogan: ''The bad news is God doesn't exist. The good news is you don't need him'' - was promoted by the Union of Atheists and Agnostic Rationalists and mirrors similar initiatives in London, Barcelona and Washington.
According to Yunus Distefano, spokesman for the Islamic Religious Community, the campaign was ''an unnecessary attempt at sensationalism''.
The chief rabbi of Genoa's Jewish community, Giuseppe Momigliano, agreed and added that the campaign was ''pointless''.
It was the view of Distefano tha ''it would have been better to encourage constructive dialogue, both cultural and political, between believers and non-believers in order to improve the society we live in''.
''Faith is not a flag to be flown ideologically by either believers or non-believers. The society we live in has become so materialistic that the emphasis should be on seeking greater spirituality and true faith,'' he added.
''All things considered, I'm convinced these people do believe in God, otherwise they wouldn't spend their money to decorate a bus,'' Distefano said.
According to Rabbi Momigliano, ''a person forms their own opinions through study and deep thought. I don't believe a mature person would allow themself to be influenced by an advertising campaign''.
On Monday, Msgr. Marco Granara, head of the Nosta Signora della Guardia Sanctuary here, said the atheist initiative ''should serve as a stimulus for Christians to demonstrate their faith as an expression of intelligence''.
