Right-wing MP Daniela Santanche' has received a death threat, apparently for her controversial position that the Koran does not require a woman to wear a veil.
The threat was made in a letter she received from London on Tuesday which contained texts in English and Arabic and a page with photographs of slain Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh and Ayaan Hiri Ali, who wrote his controversial film 'Submission' which focused on the mistreatment of Muslim women.
Van Gogh had his throat slit in central Amsterdam in November 2004 by an Islamic fundamentalist who claimed his religion had been offended by the film.
Hiri Ali, who served briefly in the Dutch parliament, moved to the United States after her life was threatened.
Under the photographs was written "This is the hour of my liberation...your time has come", according to the Corriere della Sera daily.
"I will not fall into their trap. I have no time for those fundamentalists who seek to intimidate us and change our way of life," Santanche' told the press on Wednesday.
"Being a woman on the right I will not back down but push forward. Today I will present a bill to ban the wearing of a veil until 18 years of age," she added.
"I will present this bill because I have confidence in Islam and in Muslims, confidence in those who wish to reform Islam and confidence in my own battle in favor of Muslim women," the MP said.
Santanche' was assigned a police escort last October after she had a verbal confrontation with an imam from Milan during a TV talk show which ended with him branding her "an infidel".
The 45-year-old National Alliance MP was on the show to promote her book critical of the living conditions for Muslim women entitled 'Donna Negata' (Woman Denied).
In a discussion on the use by Muslims of the niqab veil, which covers the lower half of the face, and burqa, which covers the whole face and body, Santanche' remarked that "a veil is never a symbol of liberty and is not required by religion... and there is a law - for reasons of terrorism - against people going around with masks on".
This prompted Ali Abu Shwaima, the Imam of the Segrate mosque in Milan and founder of the the Union of Italian Islamic Organizations and Communities (UCOLLI), to call her an infidel.
"I will not allow the ignorant to talk about Islam. The veil is an obligation required by God," the Muslim prayer leader added.
The English text of the threat sent to Santanche' included excerpts from a BBC News website report on the verbal clash.
The text in Arabic defended the use of veils by Muslim women living in the West and attacked promiscuity in modern Western society.
A poll published by the conservative Milan daily Il Giornale on Tuesday showed by 85% of Muslim women living in Italy refuse to wear veils.
Santanche' has received messages of support from MPs from members of both the center-right opposition and center-left government coalition.
A bill is currently before parliament to severely limit the occasions when a veil can be worn in public, even if it is considered by some to be a religion symbol.
The bill has the support of both the government and opposition.
Premier Romano Prodi said recently that "you can't hide your face, you must be seen. This is important for society and integration".
