The Leaning Tower of Pisa. Photo: Saffron Blaze via Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Plans to build a mosque next to Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa, under protest by some 1,800 Italians who’ve signed a petition, will now require a construction-proposal approval.

Egyptian-born Italian journalist and politician Magdi Allam, who started the petition, called the response, “the Italian revolution.”

Others involved in the protest vow to block plans to build the mosque, saying they’ll continue to gather signatures. “We will not stop here because we expect to get to a higher number of signatures, at least two thousand, to avoid problems with the council,” protest committee vice chairman Gianluca Gambini told the Italian press.

Last Thursday, Italian authorities arrested a Tunisian national suspected of plotting a terror attack at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, after he posted a threat on social media about his intention.

Bilel Chiahoui, who sympathized with the Islamic State was expelled from the country, according to the police report. Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano has recently signed a number of expulsion orders of suspected Islamists.

Europe has been facing a barrage of threats of terror and a number of “lone-wolf” attacks from the Islamic State in recent months. European Union Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove recently visited Israel to learn about the technology it uses to identify “lone-wolf” terrorists.