Pope baptizes one of Italy's most prominent Muslims

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Italy's most prominent Muslim commentator, who has long spoken out against Islamic fanaticism and received death threats as a result, converted to Roman Catholicism on Saturday during the Vatican's Easter vigil service presided over by the pope. Magdi Allam, 55, is the deputy editor of the Corriere della Sera newspaper and writes often on Muslim and Arab affairs. He was born a Muslim in Egypt, but was educated by Catholics and says he has never been a practicing Muslim. Allam's criticism of Palestinian suicide bombings prompted the Italian government to provide him with a sizable security detail in 2003, after Hamas singled him out for death, Allam told the Il Giornale newspaper in a December interview.