TV3's "The Truth About Irish Muslims"

oceanclub

Any thought from Muslims here on this show? Overall good or bad - or indifferent?

P.

irishconvert

I didn't see it. Care to give us a quick overview? And you opinion?

oceanclub

irishconvert wrote: »

I didn't see it. Care to give us a quick overview? And you opinion?

I thought it was a relatively good mix of positive and negative (the Liberties woman convert came across really well) for example. Of course, they did have to have a headbanger, in this case, Khalid Kelly. (Eoin Whelan formerly of MPAC was on but he didn't come across too badly. Thank God Liam Egan has emigrated to Saudi Arabia.) AFAIK, there was only one non-Irish-born Muslim interviewed, a woman who plays sport (noticably, the only one not in hijab).

I guess my main problem with this type of show is that by nature it's very self-selecting. By definition, converts (rather than those born into a religion), tend to be more zealous and far different to the average. The program mentioned 50,000 Muslims in Ireland, but the average of those would be born into the religion and probably more culturally Muslim than religiously Muslim.

P.

Mark Hamill

What sort of reasons did they give for converting? Where they more thought out than the ones given in that daily mail article posted in another thread a while back?

oceanclub

Mark Hamill wrote: »

What sort of reasons did they give for converting? Where they more thought out than the ones given in that daily mail article posted in another thread a while back?

Khalid Kelly has his own story on Wikipedia; it's, well, worth a read (conversion through distillation): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalid_Kelly

The others had variations of the "god-shaped hole" reason.

P.

wes

Only saw the start of it, and it seemed alright, from what I saw.

There is a clip on the TV3 website here:

http://www.tv3.ie/shows.php?request=thetruthabout

**EDIT**
Actually, it looks like it the whole thing avaliable on that page.

Bill-e

Wow, just read that article on Khalid Kelly.

He strikes me as a bit of a fool. Brewing alcohol in Saudi... making death threats etc..

hivizman

This was an enjoyable though rather mild and not particularly probing documentary. It was interesting to see Yusuf from the Ahmadiyya community in Galway, who was a regular poster in this forum until he was banned from Boards.ie, and also Khalid Kelly (also known as "Terry the Taliban"). It was particularly good that the programme concentrated on Irish Muslims rather than Muslims who happen to live in Ireland.

Looking back in the archives, I came across a post by Yusuf on Khalid, which described Kelly as a "donkey".

Thanks to oceanclub for alerting us (especially those of us who are not currently living in Ireland) to this programme, and to wes for the link.

oceanclub

hivizman wrote: »

until he was banned from Boards.ie

Any particular reason?

It was particularly good that the programme concentrated on Irish Muslims rather than Muslims who happen to live in Ireland.

Not sure about that myself - see earlier comment that Muslims who happen to live in Ireland are more representative.

P.

irishconvert

oceanclub wrote: »

Any particular reason?

.

I believe it was proselytising, but not 100% sure on that.

hivizman

oceanclub wrote: »

Not sure about that myself - see earlier comment that Muslims who happen to live in Ireland are more representative.

I agree that the Muslims interviewed were a biased sample, but I don't think that the programme's intention was to cover the broad range, but rather to concentrate on Muslims with Irish ethnicity. Having said that, the sequence in the Muslim school included a broader cross-section.

By the way, was the priest who was interviewed at the Eid celebrations at Clonskeagh still a Roman Catholic, who was participating in the Eid prayers as some ecumenical or inter-faith gesture, or was he a convert to Islam? It wasn't clear from the introduction and interview.

oceanclub

hivizman wrote: »

By the way, was the priest who was interviewed at the Eid celebrations at Clonskeagh still a Roman Catholic, who was participating in the Eid prayers as some ecumenical or inter-faith gesture, or was he a convert to Islam? It wasn't clear from the introduction and interview.

It sounded like me he is still a Catholic. Guy called Seamus: possibly this chap?

http://metroeireann.com/article/ireland-sees-its-first-allmuslim,210

Blackrock College old boy Fr Seamus Fleming first put the group together through Clonskeagh Mosque last year and is signing the team up to play in an inter-school league that kicks off this September.

The idea for an all-Muslim team started when Fr Fleming went to the Clonskeagh Mosque and Cultural Centre. He recalls: “I went over to learn Arabic and when I was in the restaurant and various other places I got to talking with the kids. They were mad to play rugby.”

P.

tatli_lokma

we had a good giggle that in the ad break following the show, the first ad was for Irish Pork farmers!

We thought it a bit of a wishy washy affair, with no real insight offered really. I also don't feel it representative of muslims in Irish society, as most of them are not Irish born. So I suppose it depends on your interpretation of what 'Irish Muslims' mean - Irish born converts, or Muslims who live in Ireland.

DorianGrayism

I only caught the last 5 minutes of the documentary but I just thought it was odd that when the man says that he named his son after a terrorist, the presenter says that there is nothing to fear.

hivizman

DorianGrayism wrote: »

I only caught the last 5 minutes of the documentary but I just thought it was odd that when the man says that he named his son after a terrorist, the presenter says that there is nothing to fear.

The name "Osama" is a transliteration of the arabic name أسامة, more usually transliterated as Usāma, Usāmah or Usaamah.

The most famous bearer of this name was probably Usama ibn Zayd, the son of Zayd ibn Haritha, a former slave who was adopted by Muhammad. Usama was one of Muhammad's companions when the Prophet re-entered Makkah, and was present when Muhammad destroyed the idols stored in the Ka'aba. Later, Muhammad appointed Usama as general in charge of an expeditionary force sent from Madinah towards Syria (at that time part of the Byzantine empire), but because Muhammad was known to be ill, the army camped outside Madinah and returned to the city when news of the Prophet's death reached it.

Abu Bakr, Muhammad's successor, later appointed Usama to lead a sort of "expedition in force" towards Syria, which impressed the local tribes (then allied with the Byzantines), and later, under Umar, Usama commanded one of the armies that captured Syria from the Byzantines (although the main command was held by Khalid ibn al-Walid).

The name is apparently a term used to describe a lion, and, although it is a male name, it is grammatically feminine.

DorianGrayism

hivizman wrote: »

The name "Osama" is a transliteration of the arabic name أسامة, more usually transliterated as Usāma, Usāmah or Usaamah.

The most famous bearer of this name was probably Usama ibn Zayd, the son of Zayd ibn Haritha, a former slave who was adopted by Muhammad. Usama was one of Muhammad's companions when the Prophet re-entered Makkah, and was present when Muhammad destroyed the idols stored in the Ka'aba. Later, Muhammad appointed Usama as general in charge of an expeditionary force sent from Madinah towards Syria (at that time part of the Byzantine empire), but because Muhammad was known to be ill, the army camped outside Madinah and returned to the city when news of the Prophet's death reached it.

Abu Bakr, Muhammad's successor, later appointed Usama to lead a sort of "expedition in force" towards Syria, which impressed the local tribes (then allied with the Byzantines), and later, under Umar, Usama commanded one of the armies that captured Syria from the Byzantines (although the main command was held by Khalid ibn al-Walid).

The name is apparently a term used to describe a lion, and, although it is a male name, it is grammatically feminine.

Regardless of the history of the name. I just want to make sure. Did he name his son after the terrorist Osama Bin Laden or after the general?

hivizman

DorianGrayism wrote: »

Regardless of the history of the name. I just want to make sure. Did he name his son after the terrorist Osama Bin Laden or after the general?

I'd like to think that Khalid Kelly chose the name because of its history, but I somehow doubt it.

I read somewhere on the internet that Usama/Osama is currently one of the most popular names given to male babies in Pakistan (though I suspect it was on an internet discussion forum, and we all know how reliable they can be ).

ElectraX

hivizman wrote: »

I'd like to think that Khalid Kelly chose the name because of its history, but I somehow doubt it.

He made a point of saying that he had called his son after Osama Bin Laden:rolleyes:I am not Muslim, but was interested to watch the programme as I live in very close proximity to the mosque in Clonskeagh. I thought that most of the Irish Muslims in it came across well,and had obviously thought out carefully their decision to convert.From what I can see from living in the area, it seems like a close knit happy community, and peoples right to practice whatever faith they want should be respected.
Thankfully the likes of Khalid Kelly seem to be few and far between.Out of interest-what is the general view of him in the Muslim community?

Jon_459

I started to watch it and as they were going through the "preperation for prayers" .. first washing the right hand 3 times, then the left 3 times etc etc, then came the inciteful, probing question from the TV3 reporter - "What happens if you inadvertantly wash your hand 4 times"!!!!!!!

I switched channels.

irishconvert

Jon_459 wrote: »

I started to watch it and as they were going through the "preperation for prayers" .. first washing the right hand 3 times, then the left 3 times etc etc, then came the inciteful, probing question from the TV3 reporter - "What happens if you inadvertantly wash your hand 4 times"!!!!!!!

I switched channels.

Thank you for your valuable contribution :rolleyes:

oceanclub

Looks like Khalid Kelly ("Terry Taliban") has managed to get himself into trouble:

http://www.thejournal.ie/taliban-terry-still-being-held-over-alleged-obama-threats-135796-May2011/

Khalid Kelly, a 44-year-old Dubliner who converted to Islam and has been dubbed ‘Taliban Terry’, was arrested at his Dublin residence yesterday evening on suspicion of threatening to kill the US leader. He can be held for up to three days before being charged or released.

The arrest came 10 days before Obama’s arrival in Ireland and four days after a British newspaper, the Sunday Mirror, printed an interview with Kelly. He is Ireland’s most outspoken supporter of al-Qaeda and its slain founder, Osama bin Laden.

Kelly was quoted as telling the newspaper that he expected al-Qaeda to kill Obama during his visit to Ireland in part because he said gardai were poorly armed. The article said Kelly would like to kill Obama himself but was too well-known to police here. Kelly said:

Personally I would feel happy if Obama was killed. How could I not feel happy when a big enemy of Islam is gone?

Kelly says he seeks the imposition of strict Sharia law in Ireland, with public beheadings of drug dealers on O’Connell Street.

As if O'Connell St isn't bad enough.

P.

ElectraX

What an uneducated idiot.Clearly only saying things that will get him a bit of publicity.Guaranteed he couldn't back up any of his arguments if challenged. Extremists like this really do harm to the Muslim community who are just trying to live in peace in Ireland.Luckily he is in a minority:mad:

caseyann

oceanclub wrote: »

Looks like Khalid Kelly ("Terry Taliban") has managed to get himself into trouble:

http://www.thejournal.ie/taliban-terry-still-being-held-over-alleged-obama-threats-135796-May2011/



As if O'Connell St isn't bad enough.

P.

I am confused,did he change his name to Khalid

oceanclub

caseyann wrote: »

I am confused,did he change his name to Khalid

Yup he did; more here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalid_Kelly

P.

caseyann

oceanclub wrote: »

Yup he did; more here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalid_Kelly

P.

God the level of lunacy is reaching our shores now

Nodin

I'm reminded of Barry from "Four lions".