Narratives of Muslim Migration to Ireland

This paper seeks to identify some of the motivations for Muslim migration to Ireland since the 1950s by looking at the biographies of Muslims who engaged in some form of religious activities upon their arrival to the country. We shall explore how the motivations for Muslim migration to Ireland have changed and are continuing to change in relation to global politics through a presentation of sixteen biographical vignettes of individuals or families. Many of the Muslims discussed in this paper, but not all of them, work in Irish mosques as professional imams. Others are community organisers, activists, or respected elders who have served as longstanding patrons of Islam in Ireland. The collection of biographical narratives is intended to establish a source of reference, or index, for inquiring about some of the important actors in the development of contemporary Irish Islam. This study aims to clarify specifically which Muslims came to Ireland, why they came, and how they contributed to the establishment of differing aspects of religiosity in a communal Irish setting. © 2017 Hartford Seminary.