Magdi Cristiano Allam, born on April 22, 1952, in Cairo, Egypt, to a Muslim family of Egyptian and Sudanese descent, is an Egyptian-born Italian journalist and convert to Catholicism. Orphaned at a young age, he was adopted and raised by Italian Salesian nuns in Cairo's Dar Comboni orphanage and a Catholic boarding school, which influenced his early exposure to Christianity. He emigrated to Italy in 1973, where he pursued journalism, starting as a correspondent for Italian newspapers in Brussels and Paris before joining La Repubblica in 1979 as a Middle East expert. Later, he worked for Il Giornale and became known for his staunch criticism of radical Islam, multiculturalism, and what he terms 'Islamofascism,' authoring several books on the topic including 'Viva Israele' and 'Europa Cristiana Libera.' In March 2008, Allam publicly converted to Catholicism in a high-profile baptism ceremony performed by Pope Benedict XVI during the Easter Vigil at St. Peter's Basilica, adopting the baptismal name Cristiano. This event sparked widespread controversy, with threats from Islamist groups and criticism from Muslim leaders. Politically active, he was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2009 on Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom ticket, serving until 2013. He founded the small party 'Io Amo l'Italia' in 2010 and has continued as a conservative commentator advocating for Western Christian identity against Islamic influence. Allam has faced death threats and fatwas for his views, including one from Yusuf al-Qaradawi in 2006. He remains a vocal critic of Islamic immigration to Europe and supports Israel.