Irish Muslims condemn actions of Islamic State

The Islamic Cultural Centre Ireland (ICCI), based in Dublin’s Clonskeagh, has strongly condemned Islamic State (IS), which , it says, is acting contrary to the teachings of Islam.

In a statement it states that “in full conformity with Islamic teachings” it “vehemently abhors and deplores terrorism of all kinds regardless of the perpetrators’ race and faith.”

The statement comes a day after s the Islamic State posted a video showing the American journalist James Foley being beheaded.

The cultural centre points out that “murder, the most horrendous act of terrorism, is strictly forbidden in Islam” and that “Allah states that the murder of one person is as evil as killing all people. In the Qur’an it is stated: “whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption (done)in the land – it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one – it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.”

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Irish jihadi fighters – police investigate group using Ireland as base

As Britain scrambles to assess its counter-terrorism security following the horrific beheading of Irish American journalist James Foley by an ISIS militant with a British accent, Ireland is also weighing the threat homegrown jihadists may pose.

Irish authorities confirmed yesterday that they are closely watching the movements of nearly 30 Irish Muslims who have been traveling from Ireland to Iraq and other conflict zones in recent months.

Three of those who were under surveillance are believed to have been killed, including a 16-year-old boy.

The remainder are also being monitored by international security agencies, the Irish Independent reports, as suspicions emerge that potential jihadists with Irish papers have been using Ireland as a base between tours of fighting in the Middle East.

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Irish Judge Claims that Islam Allows Men to Beat Wives

Judge Anthony Halpin

Source: Irish Times

A judge has caused outrage after saying he thinks “Muslims feel they can actually beat their wives” during the trial of a Somali man accused of burglary at his former wife’s house.

Judge Anthony Halpin’s comments made before a packed courtroom yesterday caused a government minister and the Immigrant Council of Ireland to say he needs to immediately clarify or withdraw the remark made during a criminal case.

The judge made the statement just days after telling Tallaght Court he was to be reassigned elsewhere, saying he “may have stepped on some toes”.

Leading Muslim cleric, Dr Taufiq Al Sattar – who lost his wife and three children in a house fire in the UK last year – rejected the judge’s comments.

Junior minister Joe Costello said “on the surface it sounds insulting and gratuitous and he should immediately clarify the remarks”.

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New Imam Sought for Cork Muslim Community

Source: Irish Examiner

A rapidly expanding community of Muslims wants to hire a new imam, or spiritual leader.

The highly specialised job, which has been advertised by the Cork Muslim Society, comes with a €2,500 monthly salary and an immediate start date. The position is open to men only.

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How Muslims Helped Ireland During the Great Famine

By Mehedi Islam

Source: http://archiveislam.com

160 years ago, during the Great Famine in Ireland, the Ottoman Empire sent £1,000 sterling (about $1,052,000 today) and 3 shiploads of food to Drogheda, Ireland.

Ireland was ridden with famine and disease between 1845 and 1849. Also known as the Great Hunger, this famine had lasting effects: at least one million people died due to famine-related diseases and more than one million Irish fled, mainly to the United States, England, Canada, and Australia.

The Islamic State (Ottoman) ruler at that time Sultan Khaleefah Abdul-Majid declared his intention to send £10,000 sterling to Irish farmers but Queen Victoria requested that the Sultan send only £1,000 sterling, because she had sent only £2,000 sterling herself. The Sultan sent the £1,000 sterling but also secretly sent 3 ships full of food. The British administration tried to block the ships, but the food arrived secretly at Drogheda harbour.

This generous charity from a Muslim ruler to a Christian nation is also important, particularly in our time when Muslims are often unfairly accused of human rights violations. Likewise, the appreciative plaque and overall reaction of the Irish society in return for this charity deserves to be applauded. We hope that the Turkish-Irish friendship sets a model for peace among different nations.

In commemoration of the Ottoman aid, Drogheda added the Ottoman crescent and star to its coat of arms. Their football club’s emblem retains this design until this day.

Islam to become Ireland’s second religion by 2043

Source: Irish Independent

The revelation came as construction work is expected to begin next year on Ireland’s largest mosque.

The Clongriffin centre, on Dublin’s northside, will be the largest Islamic religious complex in the State and will also boast a major cultural centre.

An Bord Pleanala earlier this year granted planning permission for the three-storey complex, which is earmarked for a six-acre site owned by developer Gerry Gannon.

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Irish Muslims targeted in ‘hate mail’ campaign

Source: Irish Independent

A “hate campaign” against the Muslim community in Ireland is being investigated by gardai.

It has emerged that mosques and schools have received anonymous letters containing violent threats against Muslims living here.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter condemned the hate mail and revealed he had brought the matter to the attention of Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan for appropriate action.

“I utterly condemn racism and religious bigotry in all of their forms and am appalled by the nature of these communications. Religious intolerance has no place in our society. Incitement to hatred and incitement to violence are offences under our laws,” Mr Shatter said.

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Irish troops fired on by Syrian rebel units

Source: Irish Times

Irish troops serving on the United Nations mission in Syria have come under fire from anti-government armed forces, with a number of their vehicles damaged in a morning ambush.

It is the first time Irish troops have been fired on in Syria and the first occasion an Irish vehicle carrying troops has been hit on any UN mission in recent memory.

While no serious injuries were reported, the attack will likely lead to an escalation in security measures for the Irish in the Golan Heights region.

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Cork’s reaction to the Muslim veil

Source: Irish Examiner

By Rita de Brun

There are good intentions behind calls to ban the veil: a commendable wish to halt the liberty-curtailing husbands, fathers, uncles, brothers and religious leaders who coerce women to conceal their faces in public. But there’s flawed thinking there as well, a naivety, as not all who wear veils are forced to do so, and a blanket ban denies Muslim women the basic human right to dress as they choose, and to express themselves, their beliefs and their religion as they see fit.

In some countries in which the veil has been banned, there has been a rise in hate crimes against Muslims. Figures released by the National Observatory of Islamophobia show that in 2011 the number of anti-Muslim attacks in France rose by 34% on 2010 — the year in which the ‘burqa ban’ was introduced.

Until recently, I’d have found it hard to believe that any woman would wear a burqa or niqab by choice, but that all changed when I donned the garb and took a stroll around Cork.

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Anti-Semitic and hate posters attached to bridge in Limerick

Source: Irish Central

Politicians in County Limerick have slammed anti-Semitic and hate posters that had been hung on a bridge.

Some of the offensive posters, one of which targeted Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter, have now been removed.

The posters were among a large number of other handmade posters all strung along one wall of the stone-cut Sugar Hill bridge, close to Barnagh, the Limerick Leader reports.

“Shatter has learned from his homeland how to crucify the little people,” one poster claimed.

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