17-18 October 2022
Our ground-breaking project Islam and Ireland was launched in October 2022 with the aim of addressing the questions of how Irish Muslims are represented and misrepresented and how the Irish Muslim experience compares to the experience of Muslims in other countries.
The launch event at the Museum of Literature Ireland in Newman House included a keynote panel discussion between former President of Ireland Dr. Mary McAleese and UK Shadow Minister for Crime Reduction Naz Shah MP, as well as speeches from Minister Simon Harris and Acting UCD President Mark Rogers.
The workshop on the second day featured three themed panel discussions on Islam in Ireland; Politics and Governance; and the International View. Speakers included representatives from Irish Muslim communities as well as Dr. James Carr (University of Limerick), Dr. Roja Fazaeli (TCD), Dr. Dahlia Fahmy (LIU Brooklyn) and Zara Muhammad (Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain).
Left to right: Prof. Mahan Mirza (Notre Dame Ansari Institute); Stephanie Mirza; Assoc. Prof. Daniel Esmonde Deasy (UCD Newman Centre); Prof. Mark Rogers (Acting President, UCD); Dr. Mary McAleese; Martin McAleese
A report on recommendations emerging from the event will be published in late 2023.
The event was organised by the Newman Centre for the Study of Religions (Religion and Society Project) in collaboration with two research centres based in the University of Notre Dame: the Clingen Centre for the Study of Modern Ireland (in the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies) and the Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion. The organisers were supported by Dublin City Interfaith Forum, the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland,UCD Global, and John Barry and Susan Lysaght of UCD Major Strategic Partnerships.
The project launch received significant media coverage, including from RTÉ (the Irish national broadcaster) and the Irish Times newspaper. For RTÉ coverage, see here. For Irish Times coverage, see here.