A CITY’S rapidly growing Muslim community will gather tomorrow to mark one of Islam’s holiest days.
As they pray in a rented space in Ballincollig to
mark The Hajj – the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia – they
can look forward to marking the holy day next year, for the first time,
in a place of their own.
The Cork Muslim Society rejoiced last
week when they secured a crucial rezoning vote by members of Cork City
Council, paving the way for the development of one of the country’s
largest Islamic centres.
Walid Faisal, the president of the
Cork Muslim Society, said securing the rezoning marks the culmination of
an almost 30-year campaign for a permanent place of worship.
"We are delighted to finally get a permanent centre," he said. "We hope
it will give people in the wider community a better idea of Islam, and
it will also be a good way of integration. We would like to invite all
people into the centre, it will be open to everyone, to talk to us, and
to know a little more about Islam, the reality and the truth of Islam.
"Like all religions, it is about God, peace, love and respect, but how you worship may be different.
"We will invite people in to sit down and meet us and to get the real information."
The society was established in 1984 with just a few hundred members.
For several years, they prayed in a rented house before they bought,
in 1994, another house in Glasheen for use as a mosque and Islamic
centre.
However, problems arose after complaints about traffic
congestion around times of worship, and the lack of planning permission
to change the use of the house from a private dwelling into a mosque.
City officials moved to close the mosque in February 2001 forcing
Muslims to find other accommodation. They have been worshipping since in
warehouses – the current site is in the Pouladuff industrial estate
near Forge Hill.
Following a lengthy site selection process
for a permanent home, the society finally decided on and bought the
warehouse on Tramore Road site which has ample parking on a one-acre
site.
They have spent months liaising with city councillors
and city officials about their plans and sought a change of use from the
former light industrial premises to social and community centre use.
A detailed planning report came before councillors last week with a
recommendation to rezone. The required two-thirds majority of
councillors voted in favour.
The society is now moving ahead
with detailed design plans to transform and adapt the large warehouse to
accommodate a large prayer hall, a community centre, classrooms,
meeting rooms, and a library containing books, tapes and videos to help
the wider community to learn more about Islam. The material will be
available in both Arabic and English.
It is hoped that work on the €1.5 million centre will begin next March or April and will be open within six months.
"It was difficult moving from place to place, dealing with letters
from city officials saying this is not a place of worship," Mr Faisal
said. "We want to exist in peace with our neighbours and everyone is now
delighted."
He praised city officials and city councillors
for their support of the project over recent months and said it will
more than meet the Muslim community’s needs over the coming years.
"We have been collecting from our members locally, and from all Ireland for several years to fund this."
The society also benefited from a substantial donation – understood to
be in the region of €800,000 – from a charitable organisation based in
Qatar to help fund the centre.
Mr Faisal said as well as
building bridges with other faiths, the centre will deliver hugely
positive results for the city’s educational and business sectors.
"It will help attract Muslim students to study in Cork and encourage a flow of business from Muslim states into the region."
Mr Faisal said Muslim students who want to study in a western country
like Ireland need to know that they can source halal food easily, and
find a place to worship. However, the lack of a permanent Islamic centre
in Cork made it easier for students to study in Dublin, which has two
Islamic centres.
Mr Faisal said the Cork Islamic Centre will address that issue and help attract more Muslim students to study on Leeside.
And he revealed that an executive from a company in east Cork, which
was trying to secure investment from an Emirates company, recently
contacted the society seeking advice in relation to halal food and
worship for visiting executives.
"We said don’t worry – we
have a mosque. This centre will help with business links too, and to
attract more people, especially students," he said.
There are about 5,000 Muslims living in Co Cork with up to 3,000 living within the city environs.
They are a multi-ethnic group, with a majority originally from the Gulf states, the Middle East and north Africa.
But there are also people from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Malaysia as well as from Eastern Europe, Germany and Bosnia.
There are a number of Irish people, including several women, who have converted to Islam.
Islam and its message
THE Arabic word, Islam, means to achieve peace.
Islam is not just a personal religion, but a complete way of living for a fifth of the world’s population.
Only 18% of Muslims live in the Arab world; a fifth are found in
Sub-Saharan Africa; and the world’s largest Muslim community is in
Indonesia.
Muslims believe that God sent his messengers and
prophets to all people, beginning with Adam, and including Noah,
Abraham, and Jesus.
God’s final message to humanity was revealed to the Last Prophet Muhammad through the Archangel Gabriel.
This revelation, which continued for 23 years, is known as the Koran.
The Koran is a complete record of the exact words revealed by God through the Angel Gabriel.
It is the principal source of every Muslim’s faith and practice.
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