A MEATH-BASED Muslim man has rallied members of his faith to get behind Ireland’s flood relief efforts.
Saudi national Mohammed AlKabour, a trade consultant who has lived in Ireland for a decade, has teamed up with the Irish Red Cross (IRC) to launch an Irish Muslim Flood Relief Committee, which will fundraise at mosques and through street collections.
“When I first heard about the flooding in the west, I searched the internet to try and find ways to help on the ground,” he said. “I saw a banner for the Irish Red Cross, that they sought an appeal to raise €1m.”
AlKabour said that first and foremost, Ireland needs every support to tackle “a crisis of this magnitude”. He added that it’s a way for Muslims to “give back to the general Irish community, as a subset of it.”
The Muslim committee, under the auspices of the Irish Red Cross, also plans to stage a charity soccer match and other events, though the committee won’t be holding raffles, for example, due to the prohibition on gambling within the Muslim faith.
Street collections are planned around Dublin city centre beginning on 11 December, and AlKabour – who lives in Laytown, Co Meath – said assisting Irish charities is an ideal way for immigrants to integrate.
By Tuesday of last week, the Irish Red Cross had raised over €300,000 for its flood relief operations, mostly based on money donated with the support of Vodafone and Superquinn.
The Government has committed an initial €12m towards relief efforts.
