Umar al-Qadri is a Sunni Islamic scholar and Sheikh based in Ireland who was born to a Pakistani Sunni Muslim scholarly family. His father is a Sunni Muslim scholar Maulana Mehr Ali Qadri, who arrived in late 1970s in The Hague, Netherlands, to serve as an Imam. Qadri is also the Chair of the Irish Muslim Peace & Integration Council, a national representative Muslim body with presence in Dublin, Cork, Athlone, Port Laoise and Belfast.
Life in Ireland
Muhammad Umar Al-Qadri moved to Ireland in 2004 after completing his religious studies from Jamia Islamia Minhaj-Ul-Quran in Pakistan and started working full time as an accounts payable in Philips. He founded the Clonee Mosque in a residential state and in 2008 founded Al-Mustafa Islamic Cultural Centre Ireland in Dublin. Al-Qadri has traveled around Ireland, the UK and other Western countries to deliver lectures on Islam in Islamic centres, mosques, colleges and universities. His lectures are also shown on Ummah Channel. Al-Qadri represents the Muslim community of Ireland in various governmental and non-governmental bodies and organisations, including the Fingal Ethnic Network, Fingal County Council, Citizen Information Centre Blanchardstown, TCD Scriptural Reasoning Group and Council of Irish Imams. He was appointed in June 2013 as the secretary of the Fingal Ethnic Network and he served until 2014. Muhammad Umar Al-Qadri writes occasionally on Islam related affairs in Irish newspapers particularly the Irish Times.
Media lectures
Umar Al-Qadri has delivered various Islamic lectures on popular media channels including Ummah Channel, ARY Qtv, Noor TV and Minhaj TV. A recent program series "Friends of Allah" on ARY Qtv
Interfaith relations
Al-Qadri is a firm believer in interfaith and intra faith relations. As a Sunni Muslim scholar himself, he has attended many Shia Muslim gatherings and events as main guest. In the Islamic Centre that he has founded, he has also invited the national Shia leader of Ireland, Shaykh Dr. Ali Saleh. Shaykh Muhammad Umar Al-Qadri has spoken on many interfaith events and written also the preface on " A journey together, A Muslim Christian dialogue resource" published by Cois Tine. Al-Qadri has also condemned the persecution of Christians in Kenya and blamed the ignorance and false interpretation Islamic texts by the terrorists.
Integration
Al-Qadri promotes integration of Muslims in Ireland and has spoken on many public platforms and stressed the importance of Integration. Muhammad Umar Al-Qadri was mentioned in the Wikileaks US cables as one of the few Muslim voices calling for integration in Ireland.
Anti-radicalisation and anti-extremism efforts
Al-Qadri has spoken against extremism among Muslims and believes that it is his responsibility as a Muslim to contribute to a peaceful society and to fight against extremism. He has launched an anti-radicalisation website www.jihad.info to promote the true concept of Jihad and stop Muslim youth from radicalising. The launch took place in Waterford Institute of Technology on Thursday 22 January 2015 where he delivered a talk on Islam, Jihad and Terrorism. Al-Qadri is a traditionalist and considers the views of extremists like al-Qaeda as religiously illegitimate and inauthentic. He decries the failure of extremists to adhere to the classical canons of Islamic law and theology and denounces their fatwas. He unequivocally rejects suicide bombing and considers the killing of noncombatants as always forbidden. According to Al-Qadri, members of ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab and Boku Haram are un-Islamic, unqualified vigilantes who violate basic Islamic teachings. In June 2015 he organised a protest against ISIS in Dublin City Centre where he launched a Guidelines to Prevent Radicalisation among Irish Muslims.
Appearances in the Media
Al-Qadri is the only Muslim scholar to be interviewed in The Meaning of Life. The Meaning of Life is an Irish religious television programme, broadcast on RTÉ One. Presented by Gay Byrne, each edition involves the veteran broadcaster interviewing a prominent public figure. Al-Qadri has also appeared on TV3 and RTE Television and Radio channels on many occasions being interviewed about issued relating to the Muslims in Ireland. Al-Qadri has also appeared on many TV channels around the world and has also been quoted in many International Newspapers.
Al-Qadri has been the focus of several episodes of controversy from both liberal and conservative factions of society. Some examples of this controversy are:
When he called for Irish Muslims to support the "Yes" vote in the referendum to appeal the 8th amendment to the Irish constitution and legalise abortion, he was criticised by other leading Islamic scholars in Ireland and also by members of the Roman Catholic hierarchy and establishment.
Despite his attempts to portray himself as a liberal and tolerant individual, he was roundly criticised by LGBT groups for his invitation to break fast at his mosque that they viewed as "insulting" - as he continued to describe homosexuals as "sinful".
