The end of life from an intercultural perspective. Mediators and religious assistants in the health service

The present article intends to analyse the role of intercultural mediators in a healthcare setting in relation to the end of life and their relationship with figures providing religious assistance. The symbolic complexity of what in the immigrants’ cultures coalesces around the event of death constitutes a testing ground for the ability of the welfare system to dialogue with cultural diversity. The mediators’ action crosses path with a manifestation of needs that go beyond simple service provision and that call upon the resources of religious traditions. Our case study, looking at Islam in relation to the end of life, examined the evolution of mediation practices from an intercultural perspective. These practices, which were introduced as tools to facilitate communication in the relation between public services and immigrant users, now tend to involve an ever widening portion of the life of institutions, and at the same time to impact on the transformation of the cultural legacy of immigrants themselves.