A Muslim family eats a meal. Photo: Clique Images Matt Letourneau
At first glance, Ireland may seem dominated by one religion: Christianity. Although the majority would describe themselves as Christian, Ireland is still filled with people from all walks of life, cultures, backgrounds and faiths. If you dig past Dublin’s Catholic and Protestant roots, you can unearth various beliefs, sects and churches. For instance, Islam is the third-largest religion in Ireland, and its community has grown rapidly since the Quran was first brought to the country.
I arrived in Dublin last month with the same expectations as many other American tourists: a). Guinness flows like water, b). a sense of humour is ingrained in the city’s culture and c) almost everyone is Catholic. After a trip to a neighbourhood pub, my first two assumptions were confirmed, as I witnessed troves of locals singing witty songs with ‘the black stuff’ in hand. But as I began exploring Dublin more, I realised that my religious preconceptions were false. From busses to bars, I noticed people wearing Taqiyahs and Hijabs in every city corner. I saw Muslim families walking with strollers, eating at restaurants and getting off the bus to visit landmarks. At first, this took me off guard, as my expectations were shattered. But the more I investigated the Islamic community, the more I understood and appreciated their presence in this Catholic-dominated city.
Since 2016, the population has increased by about 20,000. Considering the community started in the 1950s, it has grown exponentially in such a short time”
As it turns out, there are more than 83,000 practising Muslims in Ireland with at least two mosques in each province. Although it is a minority group, only making up 1.62% of the Irish population, the Muslim community’s growth is unprecedented. Since 2016, the population has increased by about 20,000. Considering the community started in the 1950s, it has grown exponentially in such a short time. Therefore, after researching Dublin’s Jewish and Christian communities, it seemed imperative to explore the Muslim community and investigate how it grew so fast. To do this, I decided to visit the Dublin Mosque on South Circular Road to see why Dublin’s Muslim community stands out.
Medieval Visitors
To fully understand Dublin’s current Islamic community, one must first learn its short but eventful history. Although there hadn’t been a substantial influx of Muslims immigrating to Ireland until the 1950s, their history in the country goes back almost a millennium. In fact, the first reported Muslims travelled to Ireland in the 12th century. These explorers were Arabic cartographers and scholars who sought to chart ‘Irlanda’ or ‘Hayburniya’, the two Arabic names for Ireland at the time. The most famous of these cartographers was Muhammad al-Idrisi, a Muslim nobleman, credited with making one of the most detailed, global medieval maps — titled The Book of Roger. He completed this map in 1154 and wrote an account of abandoned villages he encountered in Ireland. Although Islamic people like Mr al-Idrisi stepped foot in Ireland in medieval times, it would take centuries before any Muslims settled in the country.
A history of immigration
The first documented history of Muslims immigrating to Ireland occurred in the 18th and 19th centuries. After Britain colonised India and South Africa, a new door was opened between the Islamic world and Ireland, as they were both under British control. Therefore, the wealthy and ruling class of colonised countries began to seek professions and education in the West. For instance, Sheikh Din Mohammed worked for the East India Company in the Bengal Region of India. However, his mentor Captain Godfrey Evan Baker was Irish. In 1784, Captain Baker sponsored Mr Mohammed’s education in Cork Ireland, where he published a book and married an Irish Catholic woman. Similarly, Professor Mir Aulad Ali came from a wealthy family in North India in the early 19th century. He then received a Western education in England before becoming a Professor of Arabic at Trinity College in the 1860s. Even though Mr Mohammed and Mr Ali came to Ireland centuries ago, their stories are still topical. Their accounts show a glimpse of why Muslims left their countries in the past, but their objectives were the same as modern immigrants. Whether it was in the late 1700s or the early 2000s, immigration seems to boil down to one reason: opportunity.
Ireland offered better economic opportunities and, importantly, Irish people were tolerant towards other religious affiliations”
Even though Muslims began to trickle into Ireland during the 18th and 19th centuries, an influx of Islamic immigrants (the exact number of people is unknown, but it’s believed to be hundreds) came from South Africa, India, Malaysia and Arabia in the 1950s. Those who shipped off to Ireland primarily came here for educational opportunities, as Irish universities had high education standards and affiliations with institutions in Muslim-majority countries. However, education wasn’t the only reason for the sudden rush of Islam. Ireland also offered people from Muslim-majority countries political and social stability, since many of their states underwent political shifts and turmoil after the Second World War. Moreover, Ireland offered better economic opportunities and, importantly, Irish people were tolerant towards other religious affiliations. Therefore, it was a perfect place for Muslims to start a new life.
The burst of Islamic immigration didn’t only bring a different religion to Ireland, but it also created a tight-knit community that has endured and expanded for decades. At the forefront of this blossoming community, a society was founded by Muslim students in 1959: the Dublin Islamic Society, known today as the Islamic Foundation of Ireland (IFI). At this time, Dublin still had no mosques, so members used residential houses and rented spaces to perform services and religious events, such as the Friday prayer Jumu’ah. After collecting donations from family members and Islamic organisations, the IFI founded Ireland’s first Mosque in a four-story, Dublin 8 building. As a new wave of engineering students from Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Libya immigrated to Ireland in the 1970s, this space became too small for the increasing Muslim population. Therefore, the IFI went on to help establish other mosques across the country, eventually founding the larger Dublin Mosque and Islamic Centre in 1983. Today, the IFI is the official representative of Muslims in Ireland, registered as a charity and Friendly Society. The foundation helped create a community, encompassing 40 nationalities and 50 mosques across Ireland.
There have been many more waves of immigration, starting again in 1991 when refugees, asylum seekers and workers flooded in from Somalia, Kosovo, Bosnia and other countries”
To learn more about the community’s history, I spoke with Sheikh Yahya Al-Hussein, the Imam and President of the IFI. Originally from Sudan, Imam Al-Hussein was invited to Dublin in 1983 to become Imam of the mosque, and he has remained the IFI’s president ever since. “The number of Muslims was really small when I came here,” Imam Al-Hussein said, “The community has grown rapidly. Most of the community were middle-aged. But now there are children, youth and there are elderly as well.”
There have been many more waves of immigration, starting again in 1991 when refugees, asylum seekers and workers flooded in from Somalia, Kosovo, Bosnia and other countries. From 1991 to 2002, the population jumped from about 3,873 people to 19,147 people. As Imam Al-Hussein recalled, “We didn’t know how fast the community was going to grow, but we knew there would be an increase in numbers.”
Muslim immigrants and their offspring have had a major impact on Dublin as a whole, with many becoming scholars and taking up skilled jobs. For example, it is estimated that Ireland has over 2,000 Muslim doctors. Even though the opportunities offered by Ireland make it an attractive destination for Muslim immigrants, it is still not completely apparent why this unique community continues to grow. Therefore, to clear muddied waters, I had to dive headfirst into a pillar of the community: the Dublin Mosque.
The Dublin Mosque
Walking down South Circular Road, I saw groups of men, women, families and children strolling through the long street, surrounded by red brick townhouses that persisted into the horizon. Turning a corner, the pedestrians headed toward a grey Gothic Revival church peaking above the repeating, red residences. It looked like a regular Christian church from far away, with a pitched roof, granite walls and an ornate, circular stained-glass window overlooking the street. In the 1860s, this church was originally the Donore Presbyterian Church, but in 1983, it was converted into a mosque by the IFI. According to Imam Al-Hussein, as long as the community could convene in a space, the mosque’s building didn’t matter. “The people were looking for a venue for a mosque,” Imam Al-Hussein told me, “So this could have been a stadium, a hole, a religious building. I mean, there’s no difference that that’s the space.” Although its facade retains many Presbyterian elements, the mosque’s Islamic identity became evident when I approached. A large, gold ‘Dublin Mosque’ decorated the left side of the building, copied on the right side in Arabic.
The same people I saw walking down the street hurried into the open gate, making their way through the entryway before taking off their shoes. Not knowing where to go, I trod the same path, wandering past people of every ilk: black, white, Middle Eastern, Indian, speaking English, speaking Arabic, wearing thobes, wearing suits, wearing hijabs. I was astounded by the sheer diversity of the convention. Eventually, I found myself peering into the main prayer hall. Unbeknownst to me, the Imam was holding a service, and I came face-to-face with rows of dozens of people standing in the vacant space with their heads bowed. From all backgrounds, cultures and walks of life, they stood there in solidarity, praying together.
A sense of inclusivity is integral to the mosque’s identity. Although this community consists of different denominations, from Sunni to Shia, the mosque “is joined together by the religion, by the teachings of the religion,” the Imam explained, “It is for everyone.” Anyone is welcome to visit the Dublin Mosque and participate in services, and honorary membership is given to any Muslim in Ireland. However, registered members can run for leadership roles, so they can help direct their beloved mosque and community. The mosque holds prayer services, celebrations, marriages, burials and activities. “We do what a church would do,” Imam Al-Hussein illustrated, “Probably, we do more than a church.”
A welcoming community
The Muslim community reflects an epithet synonymous with Ireland’s culture ‘céad míle fáilte’, the land of a thousand welcomes. Talking to Imam Al-Hussein, visiting the mosque and meeting the Muslim Community firsthand, it became clear that this community represents more than a religion: it symbolises a welcoming culture and like-minded beliefs. Nevertheless, the community’s inclusivity creates a diverse environment, where people support each other regardless of where they come from.
Since the early days of Islamic immigration to Ireland, tolerance was at the forefront of their decision to travel here. Dubliners accepted Muslims into their city, and now this acceptance seems to be ingrained in the Muslim community’s ethos. From this perspective, it makes sense why the Islamic population has proliferated. Whether it is for education, adventure, safety or a better life, Muslims from all over the world know they can find what they’re looking for within Dublin’s warm community. One may think of Catholicism when imagining Ireland, but Dublin’s Muslim community illustrates how other religions play a role in the complex tapestry of this country.