After two years of no iftar gatherings or taraweeh prayers, Muslims were overtaken with joy as they returned to the Noor Islamic Cultural Center in Dublin Saturday for the first day of Ramadan
“I was dreaming to have, you know, people back to the mosque here, and praise be to God, last year was OK, but this year, we almost came back to normal,” said Abdel-Moneim Dobal, imam for Noor Islamic Cultural Center, NBC4 reported.
During the past two years, Dobal used to pray alone in the mosque, missing his friends and community members.
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“So many people came yesterday, with no distance,” he said.
“They still have the masks a little bit here in the mosque, but no distance. Give us a chance to have more people in the mosque.”
No Restrictions
Though the COVID restrictions were largely eased, some pandemic changes are still followed.
“We still have some restrictions, right now,” said Azhar Masood, Noor’s executive director.
“We used to have what we call when we break our fast in the evening, Eid al-Fitr, we’re not doing that right now still.”
Instead of indoor gatherings for iftar, the community center is providing boxed meals for everyone to take home for after their fast.
“It was really, really hard on all of us, but then, slowly, when people start coming in, it was a relief,” said Azhar Masood, Noor’s executive director.
“So now this year, we are totally open.”
According to the 2016 Pew Research Centre report, Ireland’s Muslim population stands at approximately 70,000.