‘When you say you are a Muslim, people look at you and think we’re all extremists’

Muslims living in Ireland are scared they will be tarred with the same brush as extremists who carry out terrorist attacks in the name of Islam.

They say their religion is about “peace” and “unity” and they strongly condemn so-called Islamic terrorists.

Abdul Gafar, 37, attends the mosque at the Al-Mustafa Islamic Cultural Centre in Blanchardstown, Co Dublin. He is married to an Irish woman, who is not a Muslim and the couple have a baby together.