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Religious Minorities

This section provides some contextual information about the religious minorities communities in Ireland. It provides a useful introduction, however it is recommended that you contact the agencies listed at the end of each section for more detailed information. Muslim Community Jewish Community Sikh Community Bahá´i Community While Roman Catholic remains the predominant religion in Ireland, representing 89% of the population, the religious profile of Ireland has also changed significantly over the last 10 years, which is an indicator that we are now a more multicultural society. Protestant religions, traditionally the minority religion in Ireland, account for approximately 3.5% of the population. Of the other religions enumerated in the 2002 Census, the Muslim community is the largest at 0.5% of the total population. Orthodox Christians represent approximately 0.2% of the population, while the results for the Jewish community in 2002 demonstrate that they represent approximately 0.05% of the total population. Muslim Community Muslims began arriving in Ireland in the early 1950s mainly as students, although there is evidence of visits by Muslim trading ships to Irish ports a long before the 1950s. The number of Muslim people in Ireland has changed significantly over the last ten years; in 2002 the population had quadrupled to 19,147 from the 1991 census. The Muslim community is well organised with a number of mosques, schools and societies. Many of these have been living in Ireland for many years and are Irish citizens. It is also estimated that a sizeable percentage of the Muslim community in Ireland are asylum seekers and refugees, mostly from countries such as Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Algeria and Somalia. The first Muslim organisation in Ireland, the Dublin Islamic Society was formed in 1959 by a group of Muslim students, run by the Islamic Foundation of Ireland (IFI). Over the years the membership increased and many Muslims have become permanent residents. As a result of the increased numbers of the community, the Dublin Islamic society recognised the need for a permanent mosque and Islamic Centre. The IFI is the official representative of Muslims in Ireland and its membership is open to all Muslims. In September 1996 the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland at Clonskeagh, Dublin 14 was opened. The Islamic Cultural Centre offers facilities for daily prayers and religious celebrations and for education and the general welfare of the community including a Muslim National School, a library, a shop and a restaurant. Both the Centres at South Circular Road and at Clonskeagh contribute to breaking down barriers and encouraging mutual understanding between Muslims and the Irish public. Islamaphobia According to the European Council on racism and Intolerance (ECRI) report on Ireland (2001), Muslims are faced with prejudice and discrimination on the basis of their religion, and it has been reported that Muslim girls wearing the hajab have been refused entry in schools. The NCCRI Racist Incident Reporting Procedure reported in 2001 that almost one fifth (20%) of all incidents recorded between May and October 2001, were directly related to September 11th. There were incidents reported of physical assaults and verbal abuse against the Islamic community and also those perceived to be of middle-eastern or Asian origin, including visitors to Ireland, migrant workers and refugees and asylum seekers. The NCCRI noted at the time that many of these incidents appeared to be isolated and uncoordinated. However they did give rise to concern, especially as some of the incidents have involved serious assaults, abuse and destruction of property. Subsequent NCCRI reports have demonstrated isolated incidents of Islamaphobia directed towards members of the Muslim community. The Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland have indicated that there continues to be sporadic incidents related to racism experienced by the Islamic community, possibly as a result of September 11th but that it is not the same level as in the immediate aftermath. The Centre also said that women seem to be a particular target. Further Information Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland, 19 Roebuck Rd, Clonskeagh, Dublin 14. Tel. 01-208 0000 www.iccislam.org Islamic Foundation of Ireland, 163 South Circular Road, Dublin 8 Friday Times, Islamic community of Ireland’s newspaper available fortnightly from Islamic information centres and Halal shops. Chester Beatty Library, Dublin Castle, Dublin 2. Tel. 407 0750 www.cbl.ie Members of the Muslim community demonstrating outside the French embassy in Dublin in January 2004 protesting against the French government's decision to ban the wearing of headscarfs in French schools. Photograph courtesy of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland. Jewish Community The Jewish community of Ireland dates back to the 1880s, when immigrants from Lithuania fleeing pogroms and Russian oppression landed in Dublin and Cork. However there had been small Jewish communities dated from the mid-17th century on. Most Irish Jews, often third and fourth generation middle-class, are professionals or in business. The Irish Jewish Museum in Dublin was founded in 1985 and opened by Dublin born Chaim Herzog, then president of Israel. It is housed in the former Walworth Road Synagogue at 3 and 4 Walworth Rd., which was opened in 1916. The Museum houses a large collection relating to the history of Jews in Ireland, and maintains the synagogue sanctuary intact. The Jewish population peaked at approximately 5,500 in the late 1940s. The 2002 Census demonstrated that there are currently 1790 members of the Jewish community in Ireland. Anti-Semitism A report conducted for the EUMC covering the period May/June 2002 found that there was no discernible increase in anti-Semitic violence or rhetoric, during that period. Many incidents reported are considered to be once off and unusual occurrences, with no evidence of systematic targeting of the Jewish community in Ireland. Holocaust Memorial Day On January 25th 2004 Ireland’s second annual Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony took place in City Hall in Dublin. It was organised by the Holocaust Memorial Day Committee in association with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and Dublin City Council. The commemoration was a response to the Stockholm Declaration which was signed by 44 countries, including Ireland, in January 2000 on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945 and which stated: “We, the governments attending the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust, recognise that the Holocaust was a tragically defining episode of the 20th century, a crisis for European civilisation and a universal catastrophe for humanity. In declaring that the Holocaust fundamentally challenged the foundations of civilisation, we share a commitment to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust, and to honour those who stood against it. The horrors that engulfed the Jewish people and other victims of the Nazis must forever be seared in our collective memory.” Copies of the Holocaust Memorial Day programme can be obtained from the Equal Status Division of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Further Information Irish-Jewish Museum and Heritage Centre, 3-4 Walworth Road (off Victoria Street), South Circular Road, Dublin 8. Tel. 01-453 1797 Jewish Ireland, the website of the Jewish Community in Ireland www.jewishireland.com Jewish Representative Council, 57 Terenure Rd North, Dublin 6w, TeL; 01-4901857, Email: Irishcom@iol.ie Israeli Embassy of Ireland, Embassy of Israel, Carrisbrook House, 122 Pembroke Road, Dublin 4, Tel: 01-230 9400, Email: info@dublin.mfa.gov.il The Sikh Community in Ireland Sikhism is a monotheistic faith which was founded in the 15th century in the region of Punjab, northwest India. It is recognized as the youngest of world religions. The Sikh religion today has a following of over 20 million people worldwide and is ranked as the worlds fifth largest religion. There are presently 1200 Sikhs in the Republic of Ireland and 219 Sikhs in Northern Ireland. The first Sikh organization in Ireland, the Irish Sikh Council (www.irishsikhcouncil.com) was established in 2004. A Gurudwara (a place of worship for the Sikhs) was also built in Dublin. Bahá’i Community in Ireland The bahá’i Faith, founded by Bahá’u’lláh is a monotheistic religion. It originated in Iran in 1844 and has its own sacred scriptures, laws, calendar and holy days. More than 5 million people believe in Bahá’i Faith around the world. The first connection between Ireland and the Bahá’i Faith was in 1848, when an Irish doctor treated the Báb (whose purpose was to prepare human beings for the imminent appearance of another divine Teacher who would lead Humanity into an age of universal peace: Bahá’u’lláh) in his prison cell. In the first years of the twentieth century, several Irish people became Bahá’i in Ireland. In the 1950s and 1960s, a steady increasing flow of new Irish Bahá’i, joined by a number of new arrivals from overseas, saw the Bahá’i community expand. The 1970s were very dynamic for the Bahá’i Faith: From four Local Assemblies in 1971, there were nineteen in 1982. The Irish Bahá’is organized the first of five international conferences in the world in 1982. In 1998, President McAleese joined a large group of Bahá’i and invited guests to celebrate fifty years of the Dublin Local Assembly. For more information, please consult the Irish Bahá’i’s website: www.bahai.ie.