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Umar Al-Qadri

Muhammad Umar Al-Qadri is a Sunni Islamic scholar and sheikh based in Ireland who was born to a Pakistani Muslim scholarly family. His father is Sunni Muslim scholar Mehr Ali Qadri, who arrived in the late 1970s in The Hague, Netherlands, to serve as an Imam. Al-Qadri is also the Chair of the Irish Muslim Peace & Integration Council, a national representative Muslim body with a presence in Dublin, Cork, Athlone, Portlaoise and Belfast.[1] He unsuccessfully contested the 2024 European Parliament election for the Dublin constituency and for the Dublin West constituency in the 2024 Irish general election.[2][3]

Muhammad Umar al-Qadri
محمد عمر القادری
Shaykh Umar al-Qadri
Founder Al-Mustafa Islamic Cultural Centre Ireland Chair Irish Muslim Peace & Integration Council
Personal details
NationalityDutch, Irish
Children3
Alma materMinhaj University
OccupationImam, Scholar, Lecturer
Websiteumaralqadri.ie

Early life

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Al-Qadri was born in Pakistan. He moved to the Netherlands at a young age,[4] where his Sunni Muslim scholar father, Mehr Ali Qadri, had settled in the 1970s to serve as an imam in The Hague. After completing his secondary education in the Netherlands, he completed his Masters (Shahadah Al-Alamiyyah) in Islamic Sciences at Jamia Islamia Minhaj-ul-Quran in Pakistan.[5]

Life in Ireland

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Al-Qadri moved to Ireland in 2004, and started working full time as an imam. He founded the Clonee Mosque in a residential estate and in 2008 founded the Al-Mustafa Islamic Cultural Centre Ireland in Dublin.[6]

Al-Qadri is a representative of the Muslim community of Ireland in various governmental and non-governmental bodies and organisations, including the Fingal Ethnic Network, Fingal County Council, Blanchardstown Citizens Information Centre, and the TCD Scriptural Reasoning Group.[7] He was appointed in June 2013 as the secretary of the Fingal Ethnic Network, and he served until 2014, and he has served on the board of the national New Communities Partnership.[8] He was a founding member of the Council of Irish Imams, but resigned from it in 2016, citing a lack of confidence in it and stating it was "ineffective as a platform to discuss the concerns of the Muslim Community in Ireland."[9]

Al-Qadri writes occasionally on Islam related affairs in Irish newspapers, particularly the Irish Times.[10][11]

Al-Qadri reported having been seriously assaulted in Tallaght, Dublin in February 2024.[12]

Views

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Abortion

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In 2018 he called for Irish Muslims to support the "Yes" vote in the referendum to repeal the 8th amendment to the Irish constitution, allowing for the legalisation of abortion. This resulted in criticism from other Islamic scholars in Ireland and also from members of the Roman Catholic hierarchy and establishment.[13]

Anti-radicalisation and anti-extremism efforts

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Al-Qadri has spoken against extremism among Muslims and believes that it is his responsibility as a Muslim to contribute to a peaceful society and to fight against extremism.[14][15] He has launched an anti-radicalisation website, www.jihad.info, to promote the true concept of Jihad and to stop Muslim youth from radicalising.[16] The launch took place in the Waterford Institute of Technology on Thursday 22 January 2015, where Al-Qadri delivered a talk on Islam, Jihad, and Terrorism.[17]

Al-Qadri is a traditionalist and considers the views of extremists like al-Qaeda as religiously illegitimate and inauthentic. He decries the failure of extremists to adhere to the classical canons of Islamic law and theology and denounces their fatwas. He unequivocally rejects suicide bombing and considers the killing of noncombatants as always forbidden.[14] According to Al-Qadri, members of ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab and Boku Haram are un-Islamic, unqualified vigilantes who violate basic Islamic teachings.[14]

In June 2015 he organised a protest against ISIS in Dublin City Centre where he launched "Guidelines to Prevent Radicalisation among Irish Muslims".[18]

Female genital mutilation

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In February 2018, following remarks by Muslim scholar Ali Selim supporting the practice of female genital mutilation, Al-Qadri issued a fatwa against female circumcision, saying that it is forbidden and sinful in Islam, and that any Muslims aware of it taking place in Ireland should stop it and report it to the authorities.[19] Minister for Health, Simon Harris, welcomed the statement, tweeting "I welcome this strong statement this evening from the Islamic Centre of Ireland which makes it clear that FGM has no place in any society, it is wrong in all situations and is harmful and a violation and condemns it and rejects the appalling comments of Mr Selim #EndFGM"[20]

Integration

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Al-Qadri promotes integration of Muslims in Ireland and has spoken on many public platforms stressing the importance of integration. Al-Qadri was mentioned in the Wikileaks US cables as one of the few Muslim voices calling for integration in Ireland.[21][22]

Interfaith relations

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Al-Qadri promotes interfaith and intra-faith relations. As a Sunni Muslim scholar himself, he has attended many Shia Muslim gatherings and events as main guest. In the Islamic Centre that he has founded, he has also invited the national Shia leader of Ireland, Shaykh Dr. Ali Saleh. He wrote the preface to "A journey together, A Muslim Christian dialogue resource" published by Cois Tine.[23][24]

Al-Qadri has also condemned the persecution of Christians in Kenya, and blamed the ignorance on false interpretations of Islamic texts by the terrorists.[25][26]

LGBT views

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Al-Qadri was criticised by foreign LGBT groups in 2018 for his invitation to members of the LGBT community to an iftar meal at the mosque, an invitation some viewed as "insulting" as he continued to describe homosexuals as "sinful." He claimed the invitation had been welcomed by LGBT groups in Ireland.[27] In 2022, he was criticised by Irish LGBTQ+ groups for comments described as insulting, when he stated "You cannot force me to believe that this lifestyle is right. In my view, according to Islam, this lifestyle, it contradicts the Koran. You like somebody from the same gender? Maybe that's natural, but Islam, it strictly forbids from engaging in physical sexual activity with the same gender. Simple as that."[28] He stated on Twitter: "I did say that sex between men is prohibited in Islam. And so is drinking alcohol, eating pork or sex outside marriage. Can we not just agree to have diversity in identity, lifestyle and choice but live together peacefully without accusing others as homophobic or Islamophobic?"[29] In March 2023, Al-Qadri wrote on behalf of the Irish Muslim Council that it supported the position of the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association in opposing teaching children about gender identity, saying "The Irish Muslim Council believes every child in primary school should be supported, respected and treated with consideration. We think it is unacceptable to teach children about gender identity under the pretext of teaching them about diversity."[30]

Appearances in the media

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Al-Qadri has delivered various Islamic lectures on popular media channels including Ummah Channel, ARY Qtv, Noor TV and Minhaj TV.

Al-Qadri is the only Muslim scholar to be interviewed on The Meaning of Life, an Irish religious television programme, broadcast on RTÉ One. Originally presented by Gay Byrne, each edition involves the veteran broadcaster interviewing a public figure.[31] Al-Qadri has also appeared on TV3 and RTE television and radio channels on many occasions, being interviewed about issues relating to the Muslim community in Ireland.[32]

References

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  1. ^ "About Us". IMPIC – Irish Muslim Peace & Integration Council. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  2. ^ Meskill, Tommy (12 April 2024). "Dr Umar Al-Qadri launches campaign to become MEP for Dublin". RTÉ.ie. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  3. ^ "European Elections: Dublin". RTÉ News. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Meet the Chief & Imam Islamic Theologian of the Islamic Centre". Islamic Centre of Ireland. Retrieved 17 May 2024. Born in Pakistan, raised in the Netherlands and, having made Ireland his home for more than two decades
  5. ^ "Kennedy Summer School - Shaykh Dr. Umar Al-Qadri". Kennedy Summer School. 2017. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Al-Mustafa Islamic Cultural Centre". Archived from the original on 13 March 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  7. ^ "'Muslim Cultural Awareness' Evening". Quakers in Ireland. 10 July 2016. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Report on NCP activities for 2016" (PDF). New Communities Partnership. 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  9. ^ Keena, Colm (24 January 2016). "Muslim cleric resigns from 'ineffective' Council of Imams". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  10. ^ Umar, Al-Qadri (7 May 2011). "Need to protect Muslims in Ireland from extremism". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  11. ^ Al-Qadri, Umar (20 January 2022). "Once again it has taken a tragedy for us to see things clearly". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  12. ^ Reynolds, Paul (16 February 2024). "Senior Muslim cleric victim of 'hate crime' attack in Dublin". RTÉ News. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Leading Islamic scholar rejects Irish Imam's support for Eighth Amendment Repeal - The Irish Catholic". The Irish Catholic. 1 March 2018. Archived from the original on 28 May 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  14. ^ a b c "Irish Muslims hear fierce denunciation of Islamic extremists". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 19 September 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  15. ^ "Muslim leader launches anti-radicalisation website". 20 January 2015. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  16. ^ "Site to help young Irish Muslims avoid radicalisation". 23 January 2015. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  17. ^ "Islamic leader launches anti-radicalisation website in WIT | News | Waterford Institute of Technology". Archived from the original on 25 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  18. ^ "Prominent Muslim Imam Warns Islamic Extremism Is a Problem in Ireland". Newsweek. 27 July 2015. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  19. ^ Libreri, Samantha (13 February 2018). "Islamic Centre of Ireland issues fatwa against FGM". RTÉ. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  20. ^ @SimonHarrisTD (12 February 2018). "I welcome this strong statement this evening from the Islamic Centre of Ireland which makes it clear that FGM has no place in any society, it is wrong in all situations and is harmful and a violation and condemns it and rejects the appalling comments of Mr Selim #EndFGM" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ^ McGarry, Patsy (27 April 2011). "US sought information on Muslims in Ireland". The Irish Times.[permanent dead link‍]
  22. ^ "Slideshow 2nd Annual Mawlid Peace Procession & Al-Mustafa Peace Conference 2012". Cois Tine. 2013. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  23. ^ "Muslims and Christians in Ireland: building mutual respect, understanding and cooperation". Cois Tine. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  24. ^ "Muslims and Christians in Ireland: building mutual respect, understanding and cooperation". Cois Tine. 2013. Archived from the original on 20 May 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  25. ^ "Irish Imam condemns persecution of Christians in Muslim countries - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. 6 April 2015. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  26. ^ "Dublin imam condemns killing and persecution of Christians". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  27. ^ "Muslim leader criticised over 'insulting' invite to gay people". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  28. ^ Salmon, Elliott (19 August 2022). "Irish LGBTQ+ community groups react to "hurtful, disappointing comments" from cleric Dr Al-Qadri". Gay Community News. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  29. ^ Al-Qadri, Umar [@DrUmarAlQadri] (22 August 2022). "I did say that sex between men is prohibited in Islam. And so is drinking alcohol, eating pork or sex outside marriage. Can we not just agree to have diversity in identity, lifestyle and choice but live together peacefully without accusing others as homophobic or Islamophobic?" (Tweet). Retrieved 27 August 2022 – via Twitter.
  30. ^ Fetherstonhaugh, Neil (8 March 2023). "Irish Muslim Council backs calls to NOT teach trans issues to primary school kids". Sunday World. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  31. ^ "The Meaning of Life with Gay Byrne". RTÉ. Archived from the original on 23 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  32. ^ "RTÉ - Umar Al Qadri". RTÉ. 31 August 2022. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
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