Cleric lured to fake meeting and attacked
Chairman of Irish Muslim Council is taken to hospital
A SENIOR Muslim cleric has said he was the victim of a “deliberate hate crime” after he was lured to a meeting and brutally attacked.
Gardai have launched a probe after the chairperson of the Irish Muslim Council Shaykh Dr Umar Al-qadri was set upon in the Tallaght area of Dublin on Thursday night.
It is understood he was attacked from behind by two Irish nationals who had posed as migrants to arrange a chat with the cleric.
Taking to social media platform X, Dr Al-qadri said: “I have experienced a deliberate hate crime attack in Tallaght a few hours ago.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the kind Irish lady and two Irish gentlemen who assisted me when I collapsed and safely helped me into my car.”
The well-known Muslim cleric, who operates a mosque out of West Dublin, went on to say he was treated in hospital.
He added: “I was hospitalised last night and underwent a CT scan.
“Thankfully, there is no brain injury or broken jaw, but the left side of my face is severely swollen and my front teeth are damaged.
“It appears that this was a planned attack, as I met two Irish individuals who had arranged a meeting in Tallaght.
“The next thing I remember is feeling disoriented in my car, surrounded by helpful Irish neighbours of the area I was visiting, as the gardai and ambulance arrived.”
“Having lived in Ireland for 21 years, this has never happened to me.
“This incident doesn’t change the fact that I deeply appreciate and cherish Ireland and its people. Is brea liom Eire.”
Gardai have since confirmed the matter is under investigation as an alleged assault and robbery.
It appears this was a planned attack as I met two individuals DR AL-QADRI CHAIRMAN OF IRISH MUSLIM COUNCIL
CONDEMNATION
Speaking to this paper via text yesterday after his tweets went viral, Dr Al-qadri said he wanted to insist that nothing of value was taken from him.
He said: “I had a precious watch and phone and car but nothing was taken. Just I was attacked.”
Dr Al-qadri also told us that he was surprised that the men he met appeared to be Irish, after he’d expected to meet migrants.
Asked how he was feeling now he said: “I am feeling better but in pain.”
The attack on Dr Al-qadri has been met with widespread condemnation – including from friend Tomi Reichental, a survivor of the Holocaust.
In a statement he said: “This hate crime against a leading Imam who has stood with me in support of integration and tolerance is a despicable development that I know most Irish people will join me in condemning without reservation.
“I wish Shaykh Umar a full recovery from his injuries and I look forward to joining him again in the campaign to keep Ireland an open, democratic, and pluralist society where all can practice what they believe and all can exercise their rights as citizens without fear of ethnic, racist or sectarian intimidation and violence.
“As a Holocaust survivor who has spoken from the pulpit in Shaykh Umar’s mosque I know only too well where such hate can lead us.”
Speaking on RTE’S News at One, a friend of Dr Al Qadri, Assad Ali, said he recalled arranging to meet two people about a wedding but when he arrived to the address he was given, there was no one there.
He said when he got out of his car he was hit in the face and knocked down.
Mr Ali added: “He was very thankful to the guys that rescued him, it could have been worse. A huge credit goes to the locals who ran in and saved him straight away.”