West Superior to Muslim Civilization, Premier Says
Breaking ranks with allies reaching out to the Muslim world, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said that Western civilization is superior to Islam and that he hopes the West conquers Islamic civilization.
“We must be aware of the superiority of our civilization, a system that has guaranteed well-being, respect for human rights and--in contrast with Islamic countries--respect for religious and political rights,” he said after meeting in Berlin with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin about the terrorist attacks in the U.S.
“The West will continue to conquer peoples, like it conquered communism,” he said, even if it means a confrontation with “another civilization, the Islamic one, stuck where it was 1,400 years ago.”
His comments were instantly disavowed by more moderate politicians in Italy, who called them ill-timed and offensive.
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