Islam one of largest religious groups

MUSLIMS are among one of the largest religious groups in Ireland, the 2002 Census figures reveal.

The Islamic leader in Ireland Sheikh Hussein Halawa said more than 40 nationalities make up the 19,147 Muslims.

He said the four-fold increase since the 1991 Census began to manifest itself between 1993-96 with the arrival of refugees from war-stricken European states such as Bosnia.