Election 2024: Muslim faith leader chooses not to canvas people's homes due to 'security threat'
Founder and chairperson of the Irish Muslim Council, Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, is running as an independent candidate in Dublin West and says he has chosen not to do canvassing of people’s homes because of social media attacks on him. File photo: RollingNews.ie
A well-known Muslim faith leader running for election in a Dublin constituency says he has been accused of planning to introduce Sharia Law into Ireland as part of a series of personal attacks against him during his campaign.
Founder and chairperson of the Irish Muslim Council, Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, is running as an independent candidate in Dublin West and says he has chosen not to do canvassing of people’s homes because of social media attacks on him.
He also says that several of his posters in the constituency have been vandalised or removed. While he says that other candidates have also had their posters damaged, he believes that a disproportionate number of his have been targeted.
In February, he said he was the victim of a hate crime in Tallaght in Dublin and required medical treatment as a result.
He told the : “As a migrant, I am facing this challenge that others in my constituency don’t have. I am the only migrant running in my constituency and I am vocal against racism.
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“It is absolutely disheartening and it is unfair to migrants and to people in my constituency. Because of the incident in February and the ongoing threat, I have not been able to go canvassing to people’s houses.”
His canvassing instead has been confined to public areas including in shopping centres, he said. He added: “I want to be able to go to people’s homes but cannot because of the security threat.”
Dr Al-Qadri ran as an independent candidate in the European elections in June and secured more than 4,700 first preferences.
He says that although he has lived in Ireland for more than two decades, he has been told to “go home” and said that “ongoing online threats make campaigning difficult”.
Dr Al-Qadri said that family members and other people close to him are concerned but he said that he does not intend to withdraw his candidacy.
He explained:
He said he has been accused of wanting to increase migration to Ireland and labelled an extremist but he said he is “a steadfast advocate for a secular state and the principles of equality and democracy enshrined in the Irish Constitution”.
Adding that his campaign is hallmarked by his values of equality, democracy, and peace, he said: “I want to represent all voices in Dublin West in the Dáil, particularly those from migrant backgrounds.”
He said he was aware that his candidacy would result in him being racially targeted but added: “I wanted to do this to serve Ireland.”
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