KILKENNY ISLAMIC CENTRE: ‘Thank you Kilkenny for standing by our side in our moment of grief’

THE leader of the Kilkenny Islamic Centre, Iman Ebrahim Ndure, has issued an open invitation to the people of Kilkenny to attend a free cultural exhibition at the River Court Hotel tomorrow.

Writing in today’s KilkennyNow.ie, Iman Ndure said he decided on the initiative following the horrific mass shooting in New Zealand this day last week in which 50 Muslim worshipers were massacred.

And he has warmly thanked the people of Kilkenny for the messages of condolences and support the local Islamic community has received since last week’s atrocity.

By IMAN EBRAHIM NDURE

OVER 50 graves have been dug, and the burials for the victims of last Friday’s terrorist attack in Linwood and Christchurch in New Zealand have begun. 

This incident left us all in complete state of shock and bewilderment. The fact that worshippers were in the Mosque and this barbaric action was streamed live on Facebook made it more confrontational and horrendous. 

The murderer targeted his vulnerable victims at the time of Friday prayers to get the maximum deadly impact. Life is a precious gift that should be cherished by anyone.  We condemn all act of terrorism and the taking of innocent lives.

Like many in the community, we were terrified, and the amount of fear and insecurity has been intense. It was quite reassuring for the members of gardai to be present in our congregation. The people of Kilkenny has been standing by our side in this moment of grief and pain, we thank all of you for this solidarity. 

The Mosque is a sacred place and a place where worshippers congregate to get serenity of their soul and connected to their creator. It is a centre for learning and understanding their religion. The Mosque is also central to the integration of the Muslims as we are all diverse from different country of origin.

Hate, and the amount of hate speech, has unfortunately been on the rise and this has a positive impact on Islamophobia. Back in February 2015, we had an encounter with the group called Anti-Islam Ireland, who came to our centre and were very hostile and aggressive. Individuals from the Muslim community have also experienced incidents of racism and Islamophobic. Hate is a poison that corrodes the vessel in which it is carried. We seek to conquer hate with love. We try to build bridges, not walls and to conquer fear with hope.

It is against this backdrop that we have organised an exhibition open day for tomorrow, March 23, at the Kilkenny River Court Hotel on John Street, from 12pm to 5pm. 

This will be an opportunity to share our faith Islam, to explain what we believe. It will also be a chance for us to clarify any doubts or misconceptions anyone may have about Islam. There will also be a display of Islamic literature and artefacts. 

The religion of Islam is a peaceful religion and we are peaceful brothers and sisters.

We warmly invite you to grace this event.