WORLD BRIEFING : ITALY : You have a date with Islam, ladies
Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi, in Rome for a U.N. food summit, spent several hours in the company of 200 Italian women recruited by an agency and tried to convert them to Islam, Italian media reported.
“Seeking 500 attractive girls between 18 and 35 years old, at least 1.70 meters [5 feet, 7 inches] tall, well-dressed but not in miniskirts or low-cut dresses,” read the ad by the Hostessweb agency and quoted in Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper.
About 200 women showed up at a Rome villa, having been told they would receive $90 and “some Libyan gifts.”
Most had expected to attend a party, according to the Ansa news agency. Instead Kadafi delivered a two-hour lecture on Libya and the role of women in Islam.
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