Italy Deports Preacher Over Child Marriage Remarks

Italy deported Pakistani preacher Ali Kashif after a television investigation revealed comments defending child marriage. Italian news reports dated April 2026 said the 25-year-old had been escorted to Milan Airport and placed on a flight to Pakistan.

The case began in Brescia, northern Italy, where Kashif reportedly had connections with two local Islamic centers. An undercover journalist approached him while posing as a student interested in Islam.

The conversation was recorded using a hidden camera and broadcast on Rete 4’s program Fuori dal Coro on January 25, 2026. According to Italian reporting, Kashif suggested that girls as young as nine could marry, linking adulthood to the beginning of menstruation.
These were his reported claims, rather than established medical facts. Authorities considered the statements relevant when assessing whether he posed a social danger. Brescia’s police commissioner, Paolo Sartori, ordered the removal. Reports also described the rejection of Kashif’s residence permit application. Local Islamic centers distanced themselves from his remarks, disputed his official role, and said his comments did not represent their community. Their response remains an important part of the story. The case concerns one individual’s reported statements and should not be used to generalize about an entire religious community.