A/HRC/4/19/Add.4 page 22 53. Housing is one of the sectors where discrimination is most obvious. Non-EU citizens face greater difficulties in renting and buying a house in comparison to Italians. In 2005 the courts ruled against the practice of some local authorities of limiting the assignment of low-rent public houses to foreign citizens or linking it to the number of years of residence in the country. The quality of housing is often inferior among non-EU citizens. Concerning the particular situation of seasonal workers, a survey estimated that 40 per cent live in abandoned buildings, 5 per cent had no accommodation and 36 per cent rented apartments lacking amenities such as running water, electricity and bathrooms.39 E. Religious minorities: the Jewish and Muslim communities 54. The number of Muslims in Italy is estimated to be between 700,000 and 1 million out of a total population of 57 million. Some 30,000-60,000 Muslims are Italian citizens, of whom some 10,000 are converts to Islam. As described by some of the men and women originating from Arab or Muslim countries with whom the Special Rapporteur met and who have been long-time residents in Italy, the terrorist attacks of 11 September and its aftermath were a turning point for these communities. The generalization of the equation “Arab/Muslim equals terrorist, or at least fundamentalist” by the media, politicians, particularly of right-wing parties, and to a certain extent Italian society as a whole, was one of the first consequences perceived. Such negative sentiments were said to have increased after the terrorist attacks in Madrid and London. Furthermore, the implementation of security policies and measures to fight terrorism often exposed them to harassment, racial profiling and abusive checking by law enforcement officials. Moreover, incidents and attacks against the Muslim community or their places of worship were reported. A recent example is a demonstration organized by the Lega Nord, the Alleanza Nazionale and Forza Italia against the construction of a mosque in Colle Val-d’Elsa (Tuscany) on 16 December 2006. Following the demonstration, violent attacks against the mosque, which is in an early stage of construction, took place. A week before, a pig’s head was found on the land where the mosque is to be built. 55. Another major concern related to the lack of a bilateral agreement (intese) between the State and the Muslim community. It was felt by civil society that the arguments used by the former and current Governments, blaming a lack of a unified voice or institutions among the various Muslim groups for this situation, were not acceptable for various reasons. First, various bilateral agreements have been signed with a variety of different Christian denominations, without major problems. Second, some of these Muslim communities, which had undertaken all necessary proceedings in accordance with the law, have been awaiting a decision since 2001. Another question perceived as a discriminatory practice concerned the additional difficulties faced in the opening of private schools of Muslim countries, for example the case of the 39 See Medici senza frontiere, I frutti dell’ipocrisia (March 2005) and ENAR 2006 Shadow Report, pp. 16-18.