Amato says wife beating is Sicilian custom

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ROME, July 11 (UPI) -- Italy's interior minister found himself in hot water for calling wife beating "a Sicilian-Pakistani tradition."

Former Socialist Prime Minister Giuliano Amato made the gaffe while comparing local customs to those imported by Muslim immigrants during a conference on integration in Rome, ANSA said.

"No God ever authorized a man to beat a woman," he said. "It's a Sicilian-Pakistani tradition which would have us believe otherwise."

Shocked Sicilian Member of Parliament Stefania Prestigiacomo said "Amato talks off the top of his head" and threatened a libel suit unless he apologizes, ANSA said.

Sicilian MP Giuseppe Marinello said "no such Sicilian-Pakistani tradition exists" and also demanded an apology.

"... No one has the right to define a lack of respect toward women a Sicilian characteristic," Marinello said.