As a result, hundreds of men have been gathering for Friday prayers in a concrete parking lot owned by a Muslim resident, Rejaul Haq.

The Muslims are awaiting a court decision to resolve a zoning issue they believe is preventing them from exercising their constitutional right to prayer inside their cultural centers.

Haq and other Muslims feel harassed and frustrated, as they live in Monfalcone and pay taxes there.

Haq, a Bangladeshi immigrant living in Monfalcone, Italy, expressed frustration over the lack of a mosque for the Muslim community, which makes up a third of the city's population.

Most immigrants arrived in the late 1990s to work for Fincantieri, the local shipbuilder.

Despite their visible presence, Mayor Anna Cisint refuses to allow the establishment of a mosque due to urban planning regulations that limit the establishment of places of worship in the secular state.

Mayor Cisint of Monfalcone expresses her concern about the growing Muslim population in her town, stating that it has become "too many" and a cause for "social unsustainability." Her views have gained national attention and secured her a place in upcoming European Parliament elections for the anti-immigrant League party.

The League, part of the Italian coalition government, has historically opposed mosque openings in northern Italy, reflecting a wider issue in Catholic-majority Italy.

In Italy, Islam is not an officially recognized religion, making it difficult to build mosques.

There are fewer than 10 officially recognized mosques, leaving most of the estimated two million Muslims to use makeshift places of worship.

This situation fuels prejudice and fear among non-Muslims, according to Yahya Zanolo of the Italian Islamic Religious Community (COREIS).

Cisint, a Muslim woman under police protection due to death threats, criticizes the Muslim community for resistance to integration and the teaching of Arabic instead of Italian in community centers.

She also finds it intolerable that women walk behind men and schoolgirls wear veils.

In the lead-up to European elections, Italy's League party, led by Matteo Salvini, is using illegal immigration as a campaign issue, particularly the large number of Muslim migrants who arrived by boat last year.

Salvini has labeled the elections a "referendum on the future of Europe," implying that Europe will become a "Sino-Islamic colony" if the status quo continues.

However, Muslims in Monfalcone, who have come to Italy for work, do not fit the negative stereotypes exploited by the League.

Many feel distrusted or even hated by some locals, and cultural centers have been closed, forcing many to pray at home.

Ahmed Raju, a Muslim worker at Fincantieri, has mostly prayed at home since the centers closed.

The text discusses the discrimination and prejudice faced by the Muslim community in Monfalcone, Italy, due to the mayor's rhetoric against them.

The community feels isolated and unable to change the situation.

A young Muslim woman, Sharmin Islam, shares how her son is affected by the animosity at school.

The administrative court will rule on May 23 whether to uphold or strike down the mayor's ban on prayer within cultural centers.

Monfalcone's Muslims are concerned about the potential consequences, regardless of the outcome.

The mayor, Cisint, is actively promoting her book warning of the immigration and Islamization situation in Monfalcone, which could be replicated elsewhere.

During a public holiday, Bangladeshis gathered in the city's main square, including children and young men.

Gennaro Pomatico, a 24-year-old barman, observed the scene but expressed skepticism about local acceptance of the Bangladeshi community.

Despite this, Pomatico noted that they cause no trouble.