Cork may be home to the country’s first Islamic Information Centre,
but total integration will not happen until an immigrant makes it onto
the county hurling team, according to Bishop John Buckley.
The
cleric’s tongue-in-cheek statement was well received at the opening of
the facility as he laughed and joked with those in attendance.
The Cork Dawah Centre, which was the subject of a planning controversy last month, was officially opened by Lord Mayor Cllr Catherine Clancy.
She said: “It’s important to all of us that when we leave our country we have a place we feel can be a home away from home, where we can meet familiar faces, and that we don’t become insular in that area, that we have an open door.”
The facility made headlines a few weeks ago when local Fianna Fáil councillor Ken O’Flynn said he had received complaints from residents about the centre’s opening hours.
Dr Farghal Radwan, the owner of the building, responded by inviting Mr O’Flynn and the local community to visit the centre.
At Saturday’s opening, which Mr O’Flynn did not attend, Dr Radwan said he wanted to reassure the members of the community about his plans for the centre.
“My neighbours are very important to me. I’ve been here for 15 years and I care about them very much and I won’t allow anything to disturb their lifestyle.”
Sheikh Abdur Raheem McCarthy, who is helping Dr Radwan to establish the centre, outlined possible projects, including a street clean-up, to help with integration.
“We’re trying to establish all these things to help the Muslims integrate and be positive and productive members of society.”
Carol Nagle, who grew up as a Catholic in Dublin and converted to Islam when she was 25, was also in attendance and spoke of how happy she was with the centre.
“This is the first centre like this open in Ireland; it’s a brilliant place to come to. My kids now have somewhere they can meet other like-minded Muslims and learn more about their religion.”
Her daughter Sarah agrees but said she would like to see the centre extend its opening hours in the future.
“For those of us like myself who work full time, it would be great if it was open after 6 o’clock to give us a chance to come in and actually get some benefit from it. It’s benefiting the community as it is now, it would be great if we could extend that even further.”
NO VISIT
Fianna Fáil’s Ken O’Flynn, the councillor who raised initial concerns about the Islamic centre, refused to attend its open day at the weekend.
Last month, Mr O’Flynn said he had received a number of complaints from local residents about people coming and going from the centre outside of opening hours.
He said while he had no problem with people praying at the facility, the centre was given planning permission for a Muslim information centre and not a mosque.
Dr Farghal Radwan, the owner of the building, denied that he was trying to set up a mosque by stealth and invited the councillor, local residents, and any other interested member of the public, to visit the centre for an open day.
Mr O’Flynn thanked Dr Radwan for the invitation, but did not attend the event.
When asked his reasons for not taking Dr Radwan up on his invitation, Mr O’Flynn said he was out with his constituents and didn’t see any reason for him to change his plans.
He said: “Why would I change my plans? Why would I leave other people down to go to something I was only invited to a day beforehand? I don’t see why I should have to do that.”