Language and identities: The exceptional normality of Italy

On 11 October 2007, the Italian Minister for the Interior, Giuliano Amato, spoke at a Rome conference on immigration at which a report, commissioned by his Ministry and entitled 'Social research on immigration: Italy,' was officially presented. When Magdi Allam, deputy editor of Italy's largest-selling newspaper Corriere della Sera, suggested that Italy introduce a language exam for immigrants as Holland had recently done, Minister Amato responded 'I do not agree with the Dutch, who perhaps are frightened by Islam, but we are a diverse society. We must not raise the drawbridge' (ADUC 2007). In his initial remarks, Minister Amato had said, 'A number of centuries of history have made us tendentially white and Christian, but we must be prepared to "welcome differences", even if there are some differences that are difficult to fit together' (Ministero dell'Interno, 2007, italics added).