Boy's Youth ~ Summer Muslim Road Trip 2018
The Boy's Youth Club of ICCI successfully completed the first ever Summer Muslim Road Trip for boys titled:
“Ireland Bottom to Top”
“Great”, “Unique”, “Inspiring”, “Eye opener”, “Enjoyable”, “So much Fun without hurting anybody”, “Helpful”, “Adventures”, “Best Ever” were just few of the feedback comments from the boys about our trip.
The four day road trip involved one bus and a group of friends exploring many interesting places in Ireland. We travelled from the very southern part of Ireland to the north, sleeping in masjids and meeting many Muslim communities on our way.
It all began on Sunday 15th July at 7am when we set off. Our first stop was the Black Castle in Wicklow. From there we continued to Cork where we were warmly welcomed by the chair of the Cork Islamic Cultural Centre Dr. Aamir who presented a brief history about the Muslim community in Cork and the journey of the mosque. We also had the opportunity to watch the Football World Cup Final by France vs Croatia, much to the relief of the boys!
We continued our journey and our next stop was Baltimore where the boys practiced some very professional jumps and dives into the water of Baltimore quay.
From there we continued to Killarney were we found a small and beautiful town which houses the new and charming mosque of Killarney. The hosts Mr Iqbal and his team were very welcoming and took care of us for our overnight stay in the mosque. The Imam Shaikh Muhammed enlightened us that night with a humble reminder. The next day we rented bikes and set off to Killarney National Park and were awed by the beautiful surroundings. We also had our own bike race with a winner.
Our next stop was Limerick’s Al Furqan Mosque where we were pleasantly surprised to find a gym in the mosque itself. The boys tried out their power on all the equipment and between themselves. The host Sheikh Abdullah warmly welcomed us and gave us another enlightening and helpful reminder as well as information on the Muslim community in Limerick.
The road trip continued to the small town of Ballyhaunis where the first purpose built mosque was established back in1988. The “Al-Kausar” Mosquе surprised us with its unique and charming design. There were other mosques in Ireland at that time however they were all existing buildings converted to mosques. This is part of the interesting history of the Muslim presence in Ireland. We were warmly welcomed by Brother Muhammed Rahmani, a member our hosts team and well looked after. The Imam Sheikh Sheri gave a talk to the boys about the life in Jennah and everyone was very happy to hear the glad tidings of the next life. We had a good night sleep as it was needed for the next day– the day of Surfing!
Bandoran, a holiday spot in the West Coast played host to our unforgettable surfing experience. The waves were big, the surf was fast and the feeling of riding the waves was great alhamdulillah.
Our next stop was Letterkenny. Brother Rayas and Dr. Hassan, members of the Letterkenny Islamic Community welcomed us into their small and cosy Mosque. It is a rented house, which is too small for the growing Muslim community there, so we all made dua (supplication) to Allah to help them find a bigger and more suitable place for their new Mosque and Islamic Centre. We walked to the town centre and discovered that it really is a beautiful town in the very north of Ireland. In the evening after the salah, Imam Dr. Mugib touched our hearts with his beautiful reminder on our role as Muslim youth in Ireland. The night was nice and short and the last day of our journey arrived.
The plan was to reach the top of Ireland, the most northern part of Ireland “Malin Head” and we did it! We reached our destination which had a stunning canyon with unique scenery. We also discovered a nice beach beside the Malin Head quay. Needless to say that we spent some quality time there too.
Our last stop was Belfast. We arrived in Belfast Islamic Centre a bit late of plan following the great time in Malin Head and the beach. Mr. Amir the brother who was organising some activities for the youth there, warmly welcomed us, and gave us another enlightening reminder and some information on the Muslim History of Belfast and Northern Ireland and also the life of the youth in Belfast.
After Peri Peri Chicken take away at a restaurant in Belfast we set off for Dublin on the last leg of our journey back home.
Everyone shared very positive feedback of the journey and their experience.
We would like to thank Allah for giving us this road trip and to thank all the people who went out of their way to welcome us and look after us. We felt very warmly welcomed and cared for. Our hosts were very happy to meet us all and partake in our journey. May Allah reward them abundantly for their efforts.
It was a great journey and we will do it next year again InshaAllah!
