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Muslims children vying in the competition
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By
Wa'il Shihab, IOL Staff
DUBLIN,
Ireland, November 6 (IslamOnline.net) - The The Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland
(ICCI) launched Wednesday, November 5, its ninth Qur'an competition
with 175 Muslim children vying for the trophies.
The
competition, named after Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, United
Arab Emirates Minister of Finance and Industry and Deputy Ruler of
Dubai, is organized annually to encourage the children of the Muslim
community in Ireland to memorize their holy book.
"This
is the ninth Qur’anic competition the Centre organizes," said
Sheikh Hussain Halawa, Imam of the ICCI and General Trustee of the
reputable European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR).
"Most
of the participants in the Qur’anic competition are students at Nur
Al-Huda Qur’anic School, which is affiliated to the ICCI," he
told IslamOnline.net.
He
underlined that the school "teaches our children the Qur’an and
the Arabic Language."
For
his part, Sheikh Muhammad Ramadan, the school principal and the
organizer of the competition, indicated that the number of
participants have jumped from 115 to 175 this year.
The
competition is funded by Al
Maktoum Foundation which is sponsored by Sheikh
Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, United Arab Emirates Minister of Finance
and Industry and Deputy Ruler of Dubai.
The
foundation, which started its charitable projects in 1997 by
establishing the ICCI, founded many mosques and cultural and
educational centres across the world.
Hundreds
of Muslims have been flocking to the ICCI for Tarawih
prayer since the start of Ramadan, with new
converts showing more enthusiastic.
Because
most Muslims in Ireland are non-Arab, the ICCI provides them with
wireless headphones as a translator provides them with simultaneous
translation of brief sermons and preaching during Tarawih.
With
the start of Ramadan, the ICC opened a large Islamic book fair that
contains thousands of Islamic books, cassette tapes, video tapes, CDs
and children books.
ICC
also prepares daily Iftar for the Muslim community in addition to
daily educational sessions in Arabic and English, for men and women.
Muslims
are estimated at 15,000 of Ireland 4 million population, most of them
living in the capital Dublin.
