- The National Football Stadium at Windsor Park hosted the first-ever Jumu’ah prayer.
- The stadium welcomed 50 people from Belfast-based Muslim families to join prayer and take a tour of the stadium.
- The gesture was widely welcomed by the Muslim community, seeing it as an opportunity to build stronger community connections.
Friday or Jumu`ah prayer is a significant religious observance for Muslims worldwide, usually bringing members of the community together and allowing them to discuss community issues.
Accommodating their Muslim neighbors, the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park has hosted the first-ever Jumu`ah prayer.
The stadium welcomed 50 people from Belfast-based Muslim families to join prayer and take a tour of the stadium last month, Irish Football Association reported.
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“This is the first Jumu`ah Friday Prayer at the stadium and demonstrates our ongoing engagement with Muslim and other faith communities,” Irish FA Community Relations Officer Andy Hardy said.
“The gathering took considerable planning, but its success means we have a blueprint to repeat in the future.”
Praise
The Muslim community weclomed the gesture, seeing it as an opportunity to build stronger community connections.
“This was a special day which will live long in the memory. The Muslim community is growing in Northern Ireland. It’s important we build stronger community connections,” Abiola Sanusi, a representative from Belfast’s Muslim community, said.
“In Belfast alone, there are four to five different mosques with great community connections and a shared love of football.
“The event showed to some members of our community, who may have found coming to the stadium somewhat intimidating, that it is a welcoming place and that football really is for all.”
According to the 2016 Pew Research Centre report, Ireland’s Muslim population stands at approximately 70,000.
