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(Seo alt ónár bhfoireann Gaeltachta. Is féidir an bunleagan as Gaeilge a léamh anseo)
AS A MAJOR Muslim festival was being celebrated at a dedicated event at Croke Park on Wednesday, Irish was used for the first time to proclaim Takbir ul-Adha, an important prayer of the faith.
According to the chairperson of the Muslim Council of Ireland, Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, this was not the first time Irish had been used at a Muslim Eid celebration, but he explained that it was historic that Irish had been used to recite this particular prayer for the first time. Eid celebrations have been held in Croke Park for a number of years.
“Christianity came from the Middle East and it was in Aramaic that they first spoke, and then, slowly, the Bibles were translated,” he said. “Imagine the first translation of the Bible into Irish — it is similar to the translation of this prayer into Irish.”
Shaykh Al-Qadri explained that there are two Eids during the course of the year – Eid marking the end of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting that took place two months ago, and Eid ul-Adha, which was celebrated this week, to commemorate the event in which God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac in his honour – an event described in the Holy Bible.
“That is how you reach hearts and make connections and, in my view, it is a beautiful language,” he said.
He also said it must be acknowledged that Irish had come close to being wiped out entirely as a result of colonialism, and that colonialism has had an impact on Muslim countries across the world. “We understand those impacts — and that is something we have in common with each other,” he said.
He said further that learning a language is a way of demonstrating commitment against injustice and in support of the country that Ireland’s Muslims have called “home” for many years.
He indicated that he regularly uses greetings such as ‘Dia dhaoibh/Dia dhuit’ when welcoming visitors to the Islamic centre that the Muslim community operates in Coolmine in Dublin.
The Journal’s Gaeltacht initiative is supported by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
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