Mohamed Nour Dachan, the president of Italy’s largest Muslim organization, the UCOII, sent condolences over the death of a comatose woman at the center of a controversial euthanasia debate in Italy.
Eluana Englaro died after being in a vegetative state since being injured in a car crash in late 1992 – doctors in a nursing home removed Englaro’s feeding tube in accordance with a ruling from Italy’s stop court and her family’s wishes. “I send my most heartfelt condolences, and am certain that these represent those of all Muslims in Italy at the death of Eluana Englaro,” Dachan said in a statement.
Debate about Englaro’s ‘right to die’ has divided Italian public opinion and faced opposition from the conservative Berlusconi government and the Vatican. The UCOII did not take a position on the matter, but acknowledge the decision made by the woman’s family, but prayed for God’s acceptance and forgiveness in a statement released by the group.
