Adel Smith

Article summary

Adel Smith (March 9, 1960 – August 22, 2014 ), born Emilio Smith in Alexandria, Egypt, was an Italian Muslim known for his radical stances and often accused of fundamentalism. He was the son of a Naples-born Italian architect of Scottish descent and an Egyptian woman. Smith relocated to Italy as a child and later made a living as a translator for Arabic-speaking tourists in Rome. Raised as a Catholic, he eventually converted to Islam. He later relocated to Albania, where he worked as a printer, before coming back to Italy and settling in the village of Ofena. Adel Smith founded the Union of Italian Muslims (Unione dei musulmani d'Italia), claiming it to be the most representative Italian Muslim association. Critics of Smith, however, contend that his association numbers very few members. He came to preeminence in the Italian media when he requested that a crucifix be removed from Ofena's elementary school, where his son was a student. He was subsequently a regular guest on Italian media venues, where he vehemently attacked Western civilization and Christianity. In 2001, he founded the Italian Islamic Party (Partito Islamico Italiano).…

Key claims

1. date of death: 2014-08-22 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of death is "2014-08-22". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

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