This year’s Ramadan celebration will mark the 10th anniversary of Anwar-E-Madina, the first mosque in Dublin city centre and the first Sufi institution in Ireland.
This Sufi community first came together in 2004 behind a grocery store on Moore Lane. Founder member Manan Hameed, who is of Pakistani descent and was raised in Limerick, worked with his father and other family members to establish a place of worship for the influx of Muslim immigrants to Ireland.
In 2008, the mosque moved to its current location on Talbot Street in what Hameed describes as a “huge achievement and opportunity” for Islam in Ireland.
Contrary to more conservative interpretations, Sufis celebrate the peaceful, loving, and spiritual side of Islam. Sufism is “going by the awakening of the heart”, and Sufis see the beauty of God in light, music, and meditation. In everyday life, Sufism is about community and human connections.
Imam Jameel, a religious leader at Anwar-E-Madina, explains that the first thing the Prophet Mohammed instructed was “look after your neighbors”, your own circle of humanity.
The mosque serves an important role for the capital’s Muslim community and Dublin as a whole. Imam Jameel keeps the doors open until midnight to provide a safe place to sit, pray, or seek guidance.
“Here, we accommodate everybody, ” he says, and that welcome is clearly felt. Last year, a group of homeless men frequented the mosque during the month of Ramadan, making sure to be there when worshippers began feasting at sundown. This openness and safety, says the imam, is essential for newly arrived Muslims in Dublin.
Hameed and the imam believe that prayer is instrumental in helping people integrate in Ireland. It makes worshippers “tranquil in their hearts, ” giving them the strength to face the daily challenges of being a stranger in a new land. During Friday prayers, as many as 40 countries around the world are represented at the mosque.
When asked about Ireland’s recent ranking as the ‘best Islamic country’ by George Washington University professor Hossein Askara, Hameed and the imam laugh – they agree that the Irish have a strong culture of faith, charity, and community, and they have seen a warm and friendly reception towards Islam.
Hameed describes Sufism as dedication to the simple: simple lifestyle, simple kindness, and simple charity.
“The comfort of a hello and the comfort of a smile to another human is the most simple charity, ” he says, describing that as something natural to Irish and Sufis alike.
