Women ordered to stop praying in park ‘in case they hurt their backs’

Two Muslim women were stopped from praying in a Dublin city park because they might injure their backs and sue the council.

One of the women, whose first name is Sajida, said they felt threatened and humiliated when the driver of a security van drew up and shouted that there was “no praying in the park” as they knelt in Griffith Park, Drumcondra, for one of the five daily calls to prayer that Muslims must observe.

Sajida, who moved to Ireland from Britain 17 years ago, said the women had “never experienced anything like it before”.