Under the blazing sun on Italian Adriatic coast, a group of Bangladeshi friends practice cricket on a small concrete area. They play outside Monfalcone, near Trieste airport, as the mayor has essentially prohibited them from playing within the town. Violators can face fines up to €100 (£84).
“If we were in Monfalcone, the police would’ve already stopped us,” says team captain Miah Bappy, recounting how some young Bengali players were caught on security cameras and fined by police while playing in a park. He adds, “They say cricket isn’t for Italy, but honestly, it’s because we’re foreigners.”
This cricket ban reflects deeper tensions in Monfalcone. With a population of just over 30,000, nearly a third are foreign-born, mostly Bangladeshi Muslims who arrived in the 1990s to help build cruise ships. Mayor Anna Maria Cisint of the far-right League party, who rose to power on anti-immigration rhetoric, believes the town’s cultural identity is at risk.
“Our history is being erased,” she says. “Everything is changing for the worse.”
In Monfalcone, Italians in Western attire live alongside Bangladeshis in traditional shalwar kameez and hijabs, with Bangladeshi restaurants and halal shops dotting the town. The mayor, during her tenure, has removed benches where Bangladeshis would gather and has been vocal about her disapproval of Muslim women’s beach attire.
“There’s a strong push of Islamic fundamentalism here,” she asserts, claiming women in this community are oppressed. Regarding her cricket ban, she argues that the town lacks the space and funds for a pitch and deems cricket balls a safety hazard. She refuses to allow Bangladeshis to play, stating, “They’ve given nothing to this city. Zero.”
Despite receiving death threats over her anti-Muslim views and being under police protection, Cisint remains adamant in her stance. Miah Bappy and his fellow players moved to Italy to work in the Fincantieri shipyard, one of Europe’s largest. The mayor accuses the company of wage dumping, but shipyard director Cristiano Bazzara insists that salaries comply with Italian law.
Italy, facing low birth rates and labor shortages, may require 280,000 foreign workers annually by 2050. Despite Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s anti-immigration stance, she has increased permits for non-EU workers. However, Mayor Cisint believes the Bangladeshi Muslim way of life is incompatible with that of native Italians.
Tensions escalated when the mayor effectively banned collective prayer at two Islamic centers in Monfalcone. She cites overcrowded prayer sessions and issues like noise and bikes blocking sidewalks. She defends her actions as enforcing urban planning rules, noting that Italy doesn’t officially recognize Islam, complicating worship arrangements.
Bangladeshis in Monfalcone feel the strain of these policies. Nineteen-year-old Meheli, originally from Dhaka but raised in Italy, speaks fluent Italian and wears Western clothes but has faced harassment due to her heritage.
Despite expecting his Italian passport this year, Miah Bappy is unsure if he’ll stay in Monfalcone. “We don’t cause any trouble. We pay taxes, but they don’t want us here,” he says, stressing that without them, shipbuilding would be severely delayed.
A regional court recently overturned the town’s ban on collective prayer at the Islamic centers, but Mayor Cisint remains committed to her broader fight against what she calls “the Islamization of Europe.” Now elected to the European Parliament, she aims to extend her message to Brussels.
