Croke Park hosts Muslim celebration of Eid Al Adha

More than 1,000 members of Ireland’s Muslim community gathered in Croke Park to celebrate the festival of Eid al-Adha.

It is the fifth year that Muslims prayed in the stadium after Covid-19 restrictions prevented prayer from taking place in mosques.

Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, chairman of the Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council, led attendees in saying the Eid prayer, which remembers the Prophet Ibrahim, or Abraham, who offered his son as a sacrifice to God.

Dr Al-Qadri welcomed the record Eid attendance at Croke Park today, describing the venue as “an iconic beacon of Irish culture”.

“For us to be able to spend our day of Eid here, especially with what is happening right now, the divisive rhetoric, the racism that is becoming prevalent, it shows that institutions such as the GAA are truly committed to inclusion, truly committed to their motto of ‘where we all belong’,” he said.

“It shows to us as Muslims, Irish Muslims. We’re not just being tolerated, we’re not just being accepted, we are being embraced.”

Dr Al-Qadri, who ran as an independent MEP in the Dublin constituency this year, added that results of the local election have shown that Ireland has “no appetite for hatred or division” against minority groups.

He also encouraged the Muslim community in Ireland to “reach out to the larger Irish society” by participating in the GAA and being active in their local sporting community.

“A lot of people may not have met Muslims, but they may have a lot of negative stereotypes and images about them and prejudice about them. And the best way to tackle that is really for us as Muslims to engage with others,” he said.

In statement, GAA President Jarlath Burns extended a “warm welcome to the Irish Muslim community” to Croke Park today, adding that the continued co-operation between both groups acted as a testament to the GAA’s “commitment to diversity and inclusion”.

Eid al-Adha is the second biggest festival for Muslims after Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, and a month of fasting.