Cork Islamic Cultural Centre
The Cork Islamic Cultural Centre (CICC) is an Irish-registered non-profit organisation which was established in Cork to "invite Muslims back to the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah and to educate Non-Muslims about Islam". It opened in October 2013 in an effort to serve the second largest Muslim community in Ireland.
Vision and mission
According to its website, the vision of the Cork Islamic Cultural Centre is to form a "strong community of faith to avoid social phenomena". CCIC also hopes to promote understanding and awareness of the practice and appreciation toward lifestyle that is based on the teaching of Islam. The centre aspires to develop a "community based on Islamic faith and morality which focuses on the family and the mosque".
The CCIC is a place of worship and imparting knowledge. The organisation holds prayer five times a day and gives "fair treatment to all applicants who wish to use the facilities and equipment as long as they follow guidelines, and provide religious advice to all of the customers in a timely fashion".
In 2012, the government of Qatar reportedly donated €800,000 to construct a "mega mosque" in Cork.
Al Resala School
The Al Resala School provides Islamic education to children aged 5–16. The school also aims to enable students "to worship Allah in the manner set by the Quran and Allah's messengers".
Al Reseala offers classes in the Quran and in Arabic as well as teaching stories from Muhammad and from other prophets. They also hold classes on morals and manners.
The objectives of the school include teaching students the ability to read, write, and understand Arabic terms and phrases as well as Quran recitation.
Imam
The Imam at CICC is Sheikh Ahmed Hussain Halawa who is a teacher of Islamic sacred sciences. He holds a B.A. in Islamic Daw’ah from Jami’a Al-Azhar and is originally from Egypt. He was given a licence to teach the Quran in 2007. He is a part-time teacher at Dar al-Arqam where he teaches Quran memorisation. He was formerly the Imam for the Islamic Society of Monmouth County, New Jersey, and served as a member of the Imam Council of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. He has spoken as the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Islamic Relief, and Muslim Students Association (MSA) conferences. He holds a certificate to teach Arabic from Cordoba University.
Controversy
Several articles have been written that list the Cork Islamic Cultural Centre as an example of one of many properties throughout Europe, paid for by the Qatari government, in an effort to spread a form of Islam known as Wahhabism.
In 2013, the centre faced scrutiny over the fact that the initial building, the Cork Dawah Centre, was operating more as a place of worship than an information and cultural centre. The centre was issued a letter of warning by the local city council.
See also
- Islam in the Republic of Ireland