Ireland’s blasphemy laws are embarrassing and should be removed through a constitutional referendum, according to Health Minister Simon Harris.

Muslim leaders in Ireland have united to condemn the Brussels attacks but have urged people to view all terror atrocities, including recently in Turkey, as equally appalling.

Muslim, Quaker, and Christian groups have called for a “conscience clause” to be included in the marriage equality referendum which would allow people to ignore gay marriage rights in certain circumstances.

Charlie Hebdo publishes cartoons about all figures in authority, be they political or religious. It has depicted the leaders of the Catholic and Jewish faith more times than it has ever featured pictures of Muslim leaders.

Tánaiste Joan Burton and a leading Islamic cleric are at odds over whether the Irish media has the right to show controversial cartoons featuring the prophet Muhammad in the wake of the Paris massacre.

It is sad to think that Dr. Ali Selim’s attempt to stifle free speech - through threat of legal action against any Irish publication that reprints Charlie Hebdo’s front page depiction of the Prophet Muhammad – can currently be supported by our nation’s laws. 

Two predictable events suggested this week that by choosing not to acknowledge that this society has changed utterly, we seem set on ensuring that an avoidable and destructive conflict becomes an inevitable one. Both events focussed on the place of religion in education and highlighted deeply-held but conflicting beliefs around this issue. Both events highlighted the complexity involved and suggested that as society becomes more diverse, this problem will become even more fraught.

A family murdered in a suspected revenge attack may have been the victims of mistaken identity, a neighbour has said.

A leading Muslim cleric has dismissed fears that armed groups are trying to recruit children from Ireland for fighting units abroad after a Co Meath schoolboy was killed on active duty in Syria.

MID-December and Christmas mania is in full swing.

Against the backdrop of a declared ‘war’ on Islam and Muslim immigration by Norwegian Christian nationalist Anders Behring Breivik, Cormac O’Keeffe looks at the Muslim community in Ireland and examines issues of identity, integration, extremism and discrimination

CURRAGH racecourse manager Paul Hensey admits he is “disappointed” the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby will clash with the Leinster football semi-final between Kildare and Dublin, but is confident that a combination of the racing, social pursuits and the chance of winning a 5-star holiday to Dubai will pack them in at Flat headquarters.

Newly released this week