Musulmani in Sicilia. Rappresentazioni mediatiche e realtà contemporanee Muslim in Sicily [Media Representation and Contemporary Realities]

The paper aims to provide primarily a reflection on the media representation of the Muslims and its effects on perception of Islam in the Western culture. The first part deals with the most common stereotypes about Muslims that lead to the construction of the socalled “audiovisual vocabulary” of the prejudice. The second part presents some of the most important active Muslim associations in Italy, and describes in summery the actual experience of the Muslim community living around the mosque of Catania. The purpose is to stimulate a new focus on the gap between reality and its representations.