Islamic Cultural Centre Of Ireland

The Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland (ICCI; Irish: ''Ionad Cultúrtha Ioslamach na hÉireann'') is an Islamic
complex, including a mosque, in Clonskeagh, Dublin, Ireland. It is funded by the al-Maktoum Foundation of Dubai and has a Sunni orientation.

Formation

In 1992 Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Governor of Dubai and Minister of Finance and Industry in the United Arab Emirates, agreed to finance a piece of land including a building to house a school and later on agreed to sponsor the construction of an Islamic Centre on the same site.The Muslim Community in Ireland
Ali Selim (ICCI), The Journal of the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism, issue 9: July 2005 At the time, 4,000 Muslims lived in Ireland.
Construction of the ICCI began in 1994 and it was officially opened on 16 November 1996 by President Mary Robinson and Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum. It is located next to University College Dublin. The mosque and cultural centre include a main prayer hall, a restaurant, a library, meeting rooms, mortuary facilities, Nurul Huda Qur'anic school, youth club room, events hall for sporting activities/conferences, administrative offices and a shop. A primary school is also located on the premises.

The ICCI was designed by the Irish architect firm, Michael Collins & Associates. The layout is based on a square divided into nine smaller squares, with the mosque placed in the centre. The building is a steel frame structure with brick infill and is detailed with stainless steel.

Organisations and activities

In November 1996, Imam Yahya Al-Hussein became the first Imam of the ICCI, with his administration, Mr. Fazel Ryklief and Dr. Mudafar Al-Tawash, who were the original administration of the Islamic Foundation of Ireland (IFI) at the time. They were running the operations of the ICCI while the IFI offices were closed. As of late 1997, they had moved back to the IFI.

In late 1997, Imam Hussein Halawa and Mr. Nooh Al Kaddo oversaw the operations of the ICCI. The current Executive Director of the ICCI is Nooh Al Kaddo, an Iraqi native who moved from Liverpool to Dublin in 1997 to run the Islamic centre. The imam of the ICCI is Hussein Halawa, who came to Ireland from Egypt in 1996 and is also chairman of the Irish Council of Imams. The ICCI hosts the headquarters of ECFR.

The ICCI hosts the Muslim National School, a state funded primary school, with an Islamic ethos and with over 260 pupils. The religious department is sponsored by the al-Maktoum Foundation.

The Centre housed the headquarters of the International Association of Muslim Scholars (later International Union of Muslim Scholars) before it moved to Qatar.

Also the ICCI hosts the European College for Islamic Studies which holds correspondent courses for another Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE) central institution, the European Institute for Human Sciences. Analysts state that FIOE is an umbrella for Muslim Brotherhood organisations in Europe.

In 2018 it endorsed the No Vote for the Abortion Vote and the No vote for the removal of the blasphemy ban."Religious groups back removal of blasphemy from the Constitution"
''Irish Independent'', 23 October 2018."Blasphemy, Stephen Fry and referendum in Ireland"
BBC News, 20 October 2018.

See also

* Islam in the Republic of Ireland
* European Council for Fatwa and Research
* Alliance of Former Muslims (Ireland)

References

External links

{{commons category

Website of the ICCI

1996 establishments in Ireland
Islamic organisations based in Ireland
Religious buildings and structures in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown
Mosques in the Republic of Ireland
Clonskeagh