As the Irish Council of Imams announced the start date of Ramadan, some Mosques decided not to follow the decision by the Irish Council of Imams.
This is a very serious issue and can lead to further disunity among Muslims. If Muslims in Ireland are disunited on Eid then this will have severe consequences for the Community.
Please find in the link below a letter written by the Imam of Al-Mustafa Islamic Cultural Centre Ireland to all Imams and Management of Mosques in Ireland requesting to do Eid on Monday 28th July 2014 and for a general meeting.
The genocide of innocent Palestinians continues. The world is watching it and doing nothing to stop it. The silence of 57 Muslim countries on the genocide of Palestinians is extremely deplorable behaviour.
Israeli government is openly committing war crimes. The killing machines of Israeli armed forces are trying to wipeout Palestinians from Palestine. The cruelty and the illegal occupation of Israeli government is the obstacle for peace in the Holy Land. There will not be peace in the region unless Israel let the Palestinians live in peace and freedom.
Almost 200 Palestinians mostly children and women have been killed and thousands have been wounded. Hundreds of houses and business have been destroyed. Israeli army once again have crippled the infrastructure of Gaza. How long this cruelty and oppression will continue? How long will the Irish Government remain silent on this ?
Islamic Centre of Ireland urges the Irish government to stop supporting the Israeli aggression and violence against Palestinians. The Israeli aggression against Gaza must stop immediately. Islamic Centre of Ireland also urges rocket throwers in Gaza to stop throwing rockets on Israel. Countering violence with violence is a failing strategy and will never be successful.
Islamic Centre of Ireland also urges all to donate generously for the Palestinian victims through Islamic Relief Ireland or Human Appeal. Both these charities are Irish based.
www.islamic-relief.ie
www.humanappeal.ie
The Shaykh of the Islamic Centre delivered the following speech this Friday to create awareness of the genocide and condemning the champions of Peace and the Arab countries that remain silent, while genocide of the Palestine continues.
As there is confusion regarding the announcement of Ramadan by the main Mosques in Dublin and the difference of opinion of some smaller Mosques, the Muslims in Ireland are confused about the start of Ramadan.
The Islamic Centre has been receiving calls and e-mails since last night. Please see a letter that is written by the Imam of the Islamic Centre in regards to this confusion.
Assalamu Alaikum WWB.
In the name of Almighty Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. Peace & Blessings upon the best of all creation the Beloved Prophet Muhammad
In regards to the decision by the Irish Council of Imams of observing 1st of Ramadan on Saturday 28th June 2014 I would like to share my thoughts.
I am writing to you in regards to the serious issue of disunity among Irish Muslims that has come up in regards to the observation of Ramadan for 2014 / 1435H.
Decision of Irish Council of Imams
The Irish Council of Imams was established in 2005. Currently the council has more than 15 members.
The ICI adopted a policy that ICI will accept the announcement of ANY Muslim Country and adopt it respectively. This policy was adopted democratically in a meeting in ICI a few years ago.
According to this policy ICI announced that since Turkey and Yemen have announced Saturday 27th June 2014 to be the first of Ramadan 1435 H, Irish Council of Imams will also do the same.
Disunity among Muslims in Ireland on this issue
Even though personally I was not in favor of the decision of the ICI, for the sake of unity among Muslims and acknowledging the authority of the ICI,I announced in Al-Mustafa Islamic Centre Ireland that Tarawih will be held Friday 27th June 2014 and after Tarawih found out that some mosques have decided NOT to accept the announcement of the Irish Council of Imams.
These mosques are Limerick Mosque, Cork Mosque, Longford Mosque, Lucan Mosque, Dawah Centre, Madinah Mosque (Dublin City) and Sligo Mosque
This came as a shock to me as Cork Mosque, Luca Mosque and Limerick Mosque have representation in the Irish Council of Imams.
Why did these Imams choose to go against the decision of ICI. To differ in opinion is one thing but to decide to go against the decision of ICI is weakening the unity of Muslims in Ireland on this important issue.
The best approach would have been, in my opinion, to accept the decision of the authority and internally lobby to change the policy of ICI. This would not only avoid the disunity and confusion among Muslims, but at the same time address the concerns of these Imams including myself.
Unfortunately the approach taken by the Mosques has created for the first time in the history of Ireland a situation that is common and embarrassing in the UK.
Recommendations for the ICI
The ICI must meet at the 29th of Shaban every year to ensure that the decision of the ICI is effectively communicated to all members and all members sign a document that they agree with the decision.
ICI must organize a meeting to review its current policy as the announcements by Turkey and Yemen are absolutely wrong since there was no possibility of moon visibility Friday night. ICI must adopt a different policy and method. This could be following Saudi Arabia or adopting scientific calculation. This is to be discussed by the members. Once this is decided in light of the majority opinion it must be documented with signatures of all members.
ICI must organise an urgent meeting to address the current issue as some Muslims are observing 1st Ramadan today on Saturday 28th June and some will observe 1st Ramadan on Sunday 29th June 2014.
Advice to Muslims in Ireland
The advice to Muslims in Ireland is to stick to the announcement to observe Ramadan from Saturday 28th June 2014. This is because the decision has been made by an umbrella organisation of Imams. It has been made by an authority of scholars based in Ireland.
The decision not to fast from today is only of 3 Imams. The other Mosques that have decided not to fast do not have an Imam representative in the Irish Council of Imams and have chosen to follow the UK. It is the best approach to follow the umbrella body Irish Council of Imams which since 2005 has been announcing the beginning and end of Ramadan.
May Almighty Allah give us taufiq to unite and avoid such situation in future, ameen.
