President Javier Milei’s support for an X post tied to a criminal complaint over a graphic about Islam has widened a religious-rhetoric dispute inside Argentina’s governing La Libertad Avanza party.
On Oct. 7, Milei shared a post by government-aligned influencer Daniel Parisini, known as “Gordo Dan,” and added “Take note.” Parisini said the Centro Islámico de la República Argentina (CIRA) had filed a criminal complaint over the graphic. Infobae described the image as placing 13 labels about crimes and abuses, including rape, beheadings and slavery, around an Islamic symbol.
Infobae and La Nación reported that CIRA filed the complaint. The center said it did not seek to prevent criticism of Islam, but objected to generalizations it said could stigmatize Muslims. La Nación quoted CIRA as arguing that criminal acts should be attributed to individuals rather than religious beliefs.
Infobae reported that a CIRA representative cited Article 3 of Argentina’s Law 23,592. The statute sets prison terms of one month to three years for participation in organizations or propaganda based on theories of a group’s religious superiority when intended to justify or promote discrimination. It sets the same penalty for inciting religious persecution or hatred.
Infobae described the wider split as involving activists aligned with presidential adviser Santiago Caputo and figures linked to the Menem family. La Nación reported that the dispute escalated publicly on Oct. 21, when Parisini criticized economist Alberto Benegas Lynch (h.) and Chamber of Deputies President Martín Menem. Benegas Lynch had argued that confrontational religious rhetoric fuels fanaticism and that violations of mutual-respect rules should be punished.
Infobae traced an earlier public clash to 2025, when a post by Caputo-aligned political operator Lucas Luna drew a rebuke from Sharif Menem, a La Libertad Avanza youth-wing leader.
Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to visit Argentina from Nov. 8 to 11, according to the Vatican’s published program. His schedule includes a Nov. 9 meeting with leaders of Christian communities and other religious traditions.
