Jenny Hauser pays a visit to Dublin’s newest mosque on Talbot Street, finding a place far removed from the bustle of the city outside - in more ways than one
The mosque on Dublin’s Talbot Street has been open for half a year now, but you wouldn’t know it to ask around. After complaints that a mosque in the north inner city area would harm local businesses, six months have passed and people are barely aware of its existence. Indeed, on the top three floors of an inconspicuous building, above an Italian restaurant, lies a world far removed from the bustle of the street below.
Even finding the entrance is a feat in itself. Only the fresh lick of paint on the door makes it stand out from others along the street. The sign reading ‘Masjid Anwar-E-Madina (Mosque)’ is easily missed if one is not looking for it – or in my case, even if one is. I find the door ajar, and I stumble inside just in time for the second prayer of the day.
A flight of stairs leads straight into the men’s prayer hall, where one man is sitting on the bright red carpet. The emptiness of the large room is accentuated by the complete absence of furniture, except for a pedestal in one corner. I look around and see another person, a young man wearing a white embroidered gown. He is visibly caught off-guard by my sudden appearance.
His name is Sohail Mohammed, the Nayab Imam, or assistant, to the spiritual leader, or imam, of the mosque. Since prayers are about to commence, he asks me to wait in the ladies’ prayer room for him, but first I have to take off my shoes. I dutifully comply.
The ladies’ prayer room is considerably smaller, with tall windows facing onto Talbot Street, and is even more barren than the men’s prayer hall that can at least boast beautifully decorated Qur’an verses on the walls.
A short while later, Moham-med returns. He maintains a respectful two-metre distance to me at all times, explaining that he expects it to become extremely busy in just a few moments. I offer to return the next day at a more convenient time.
As I stand in the corridor putting on my shoes, I am joined by another man. He is the second visitor I have seen in the mosque so far, and I begin to wonder about the likelihood of a stampede of Muslims suddenly turning up to offer their prayers to God.
The next morning I return to the mosque, armed with Mohammed’s mobile number and an appointment. When he opens the door, he is wearing a tracksuit. He shows me into the men’s prayer hall, which is empty. At this time of day the mosque looks closed to business.
It is not the first time that a journalist has visited, he tells me, but people here have quickly learned that attention is not always favourable.
“I spoke to my scholars and they said that there was a journalist here before, and after he left he wrote differently from what they had said,” recalls Mohammed. “I would ask you to write what is being said.”
He tells me that Abdul Hammed, his son Abdul Mannan, a restaurant owner in Dublin of Pakistani origin, along with Mannan’s family, are the owners of the mosque. They are seemingly unknown to the Islamic Foundation of Ireland (IFI), who claimed not to have any contact details for those in charge of the running of the Talbot Street mosque. Mohammed, however, says that the IFI knows the owners well.
“Perhaps [the owners] just don’t want to show off their faces to get appreciation from the people for what they are doing, because they are only doing it for Allah, not to show off. They have a good business here, they have a restaurant and most people know about them.”
Despite the mosque’s low profile, Mohammed does his utmost to make a good impression and offers me a tray of fruit and two cans of cola.
He tells me how he arrived in Ireland from south India two-and-a-half years ago, and until four months ago called Limerick his home. “I was really worried before I came here,” he says. “I did not expect this much respect from the Irish people. I did not expect this prayer hall and people gathering in their thousands and thousands.”
Mohammed claims that between 800 and 1,000 worshippers visit the mosque on Fridays, and on special occasions as many as 2,000 people attend. Adapting to life in Ireland, the mosque also offers special prayers and Qur’an recitations on a Sunday, instead of the holy day Friday. According to Mohammed, 500 to 800 worshippers attend, and as part of their visit receive a free meal in a dining area above the prayer hall.
The imam, Basheer Chacha, and his family ensure that everyone is attended to and that the mosque is maintained to the highest standards. And with so many visitors, Mohammed has several volunteers at hand to help serve the food and clean up.
Concerns that the mosque could damage local businesses by overcrowding the street below prompted some business owners to object to its opening last summer. But such concerns have been unfounded. In fact, with so many worshippers apparently coming and going, it comes as a surprise that most shop owners on Talbot Street say the mosque is barely noticeable to them.
Only Matin Zolfaghari of Rayhoon, the restaurant below the mosque, has noticed the crowds. “Just on a Friday it gets a bit packed outside, blocking the doors, and business is quieter,” he says, “but apart from that there is no difference.”
A few yards further down the street, an employee at Pa Pa Pizzeria is surprised to hear of the mosque. Only when I show him the front door does he say: “No way, I can’t believe it. There is a mosque here!”
Elsewhere, a lady who has owned a fruit stall on Talbot Street for 33 years says: “The mosque has made no difference whatsoever. I didn’t even know it was there until I saw an awful lot of Pakis and Indians walking down the street, and that’s when I asked someone.”
“Most Irish appreciate the mosque,” says Mohammed. “On special occasions like Eid ul Ramadhan or Eid ul Adha, they like seeing the men in their long gowns, and they said ‘These are the clothes Jesus used to wear.’”
Mohammed’s duties as Nayab Imam include getting up every morning before dawn to call for the first prayer of the day, followed by a recitation from the Qur’an. He lives above the mosque and is eager to point out that when the imam is unavailable, he may also offer the prayer.
“We wake up at five in the morning and offer our prayers. I think the most important thing is to start the day by remembering God. If there is something we wish to have in our life and we are asking Allah for it daily, then I think that is a good thing. Getting up in the morning and starting off the day with a prayer should be there in every religion as well.”
When Mohammed is not in the mosque, he is working towards a European Certificate of Informatics Professionals at the College of Computer Training, after completing a management degree at Griffith College in Limerick last September. And on weekends he works as a sales assistant at a mobile phone shop in the city centre. With so many responsibilities, time management is of the essence, and personal leisure time is hard to come by. Indeed, when he is not working or studying, Mohammed commits his time to the mosque and his faith.
Like most major religions, Islam lays claim to being the only true faith. Mohammed even speaks of people who convert to Islam as ‘reverts’. “All the human beings on this earth are Muslim because mankind started from Adam,” he says. “Later they dispersed into different religions. So when they come back to Islam, they are ‘reverting’, not ‘converting’.”
Islam also stands out to western observers for its strictness and discipline. “There is a rule for everything in the Qur’an,” says Moham-med. According to the Sunnah, the scriptures that tell how the Prophet Mohammed used to live, one should fall asleep facing Mecca and Medina, Islam’s two holy cities situated in Saudi Arabia. Muslims should also carry out ablution before going to bed – a purification ritual that is also performed before praying and involves washing one’s feet and head. Another rule is to check on one’s neighbours to ensure they do not go hungry.
“The Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon him, was not just an example for Muslims but for mankind and the whole universe,” he adds. “The scholars, like writers and scientists, said that the perfect man is Mohammed, may peace be upon him. Not only Muslim scholars either but also other people like Christians. They read about him and said the same thing.” What scholars he is referring to, however, is unclear.
“I have read passages of the Bible,” he continues, “and the only difference between it and the Qur’an is one line. The Bible says that Jesus is the son of God and we do not believe that. But that is the only difference. Muslim men can even marry Christian girls.” However, Muslim women may not marry non-Muslim men, which Mohammed explains is because “the father will force the religion on the family”.
The issue of women’s rights in Islam has long been a controversial one in the west, and Mohammed is keen to explain his view on things. The polygamy that is permitted in Islam, he says, is due to the Prophet Muhammad setting an example when he married his first of nine wives, a widow 14 years his senior. “We should not discriminate against anyone. Who will look after the women who lose their husbands and are on their own?” he asks.
He is also adamant that women should always wear a hijab, except in front of their husbands. Speaking of women’s rights in Islam, he says: “Western culture says that women have the same rights as men. We do believe that but only in some aspects. If it was true, then why do we not have a boxing match between men and women?” The suggestion that a 6'4" man in the ring against a 5'5" opponent would not be fair either provokes a smile from Mohammed, but no comment.
He goes on to talk of the signs of Doomsday as mentioned in the Qur’an, the first of which, he points out, is that “women will become stronger”. I try to understand what he means by this – stronger in what sense?
He says that in terms of population growth, women will come to dominate as Doomsday approaches, but it is apparent that it is not the numbers that concern him, but the self-empowerment associated with female emancipation. He hastens to add that other signs of Doomsday include homosexuality, which he denies existed 1,400 years ago at the time of Prophet Muhammad.
It’s a sobering end to our conversation, and one that only underlines the differences that still exist between Muslim and western culture.
