A leading Islamic scholar has said a fire, which destroyed a building earmarked to house asylum seekers in a rural part of Galway, was caused by a “lack of dialogue on immigration.” Gardaí are investigating the cause of the fire amid suspicions that it was deliberately started.
Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadr, the chair of the Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council, last night told a meeting in Dublin that growing anger at the government’s immigration policy, combined with a refusal from the Government to meaningfully discuss the issue, was the ultimate cause of the fire.
The government’s continued refusal to consider the concerns of local people was leading, according to the Shaykh, to anger and frustration amongst local populations. This anger and frustration was understandable, he said, but in some cases was being manipulated.
Al-Qadri said that immigrants who ‘work hard and pay their way’ in Ireland were increasingly being painted with the same brush as those who ‘skip the queue’ by making bogus asylum claims. The growing frustrations felt by people were, he said, shared by immigrants who had gone through the proper processes and were contributing to the country.
Al-Qadri has previously said about the fire that “Such actions not only tarnish our nation’s image, but also hinder the crucial conversations about real immigration concerns,” and that the fire, if deliberately set, “is a shameful act committed by an extremist minority.”
The Shaykh also expressed dismay at how services were becoming less and less available in the country due to a lack of medical staff saying how a close family member had had a surgery cancelled at the last minute because no surgeon was available.
He emphasised the need for a common sense sustainable immigration policy.