A website informing Muslims around the world that making a move to Ireland will lead to a “New golden age of Islam” has been widely discredited by the Muslim community in Ireland, with numerous questions raised about its authenticity.
The site, Hijira to Ireland, appears to have been created to promote Ireland as a destination for Muslim migrants, with promises of tolerant acceptance, tax breaks, free healthcare, and the widespread availability of entry-level positions in low-income jobs for new arrivals in the country.
Writing on its Facebook page, Hejira to Ireland says the country is undergoing a fundamental change.
“The government is actively pursuing a policy that will allow all students to attend schools of their choosing, and abolish a [sic.] the old system where Christian students had access to the best institutions,” on post reads. “By doing this, Ireland is making itself more and more multicultural, allowing Muslims to integrate into the community, while helping the nation shed its old ways.”
Hijira to Ireland also informs would-be migrants that evading law enforcement as an illegal alien in the country is easy, saying "Undocumented immigrants in Ireland are plentiful, and the economic system is able to sustain them."
But the accuracy of the information provided has been discredited by the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland.
Dr Ali Selim, a senior member of the Clonskeagh Mosque, told the Dublin Inquirer that he was unaware of the origins of the website, nor who was behind it.
“What’s the purpose of it? I don’t think it serves the interests of Muslims anywhere,” he said.
The Islamic Cultural Centre also took grave offence to the website publishing the contact details of senior members of its staff, including Imam sheikh Hussein Halawa, going so far as to contact the Gardaí to report the website.
Aoife Murphy, communications officer of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland, also criticised the website for providing misleading information to Muslims considering settling in Ireland.
“From a quick look at the website, it seems to contain some inaccurate or misleading details about the Irish immigration system. We can’t control the content of other sites, but anyone who gets in touch with us will be given correct and up-to-date information,” she told the Dublin Inquirer.
On Reddit, users sifting through the website’s credentials have also cast serious doubts over its authenticity, claiming that the site is operated by someone in the Netherlands, offering a dubious address that most likely leads to the Heineken Experience tourist attractions.
‘Hijira’ is a term used in the Muslim faith that refers to the journey made by the Islamic prophet Muhammad from Mecca after being warned of a plot to assassinate him.
