Concerns raised over alleged financial irregularities and links with extremist ideology at Dublin mosque
United Arab Emirates
-backed foundation that funds Ireland's largest mosque has sent investigators to examine alleged financial irregularities at the centre.
The Al Maktoum Foundation, which provides about €2.5 million a year for the running of the
Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland
(ICCI) in Clonskeagh, South
Dublin
, has also raised concerns about alleged links between some of the centre's members and extremist ideology.
On Friday,
a large security operation
, involving gardaí and dozens of security guards, was in place around the centre, which also houses a national school and a creche.
Gardaí have received a report that a canister containing petrol was thrown over the walls of the premises.
READ MORE
The Al Maktoum Foundation said it was concerned about potential attempts to 'forcibly take control of the premises'.
There have been several alleged threats against officials in the centre. An altercation which took place at a meeting there last Saturday was broken up by gardaí.
The controversy centres on a dispute between the board of the Al Maktoum Foundation and a group of prominent officials in the centre and their supporters.
The centre was the first big project of the Al Maktoum Foundation, which was founded in 1996 by the UAE's deputy ruler Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Following the death of Mr Al Maktoum in 2021, a new board was assigned to the foundation which began examining its ongoing projects. The board, which company records show is mostly based in Dubai, has recently queried a number of matters relating to the financial running of the centre.
[
Dublin Islamic cultural centre temporarily closed after gardaí called to altercation
Opens in new window
]
Concerns have been raised about the management of charitable donations, including funds raised for Gaza and the use of cash payments. The foundation has also raised concerns about links between officials and the Muslim Brotherhood, an international Islamist organisation which the UAE alleges is a terrorist organisation.
Zahid Jamil, a Dubai-based lawyer and a member of the foundation's board, was sent to Ireland this week to examine the finances, along with an auditor.
'The board is concerned about the financial situation and, as a result, an auditor has been officially appointed,' Mr Jamil told The Irish Times.
Some of the allegations relate to the administration of a Quranic school on the grounds of the centre. On Saturday, April 19th, a meeting for parents of children who attend the school ended in a physical confrontation between some members of the mosque and representatives of the board.
This prompted the board's decision to close the centre until further notice and to hire extra security.
The national school at the centre, which is separate to the Quranic school, is expected to reopen on Monday but with strict security and a Garda presence.
'It is the view of this board that extremism cannot be tolerated. Instead, we wish to portray the true essence of Islam. The events of April the 19th were not demonstrative of this,' Mr Jamil said.
Opposing the board are a group of officials who adhere to a more hardline view of Sunni Islam. Members of this group did not respond to requests for comment.
The dispute has led to a series of accusations and counteraccusations by the factions. This includes a complaint to the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) that the foundation's board was accessing details of members of the centre and sending them to the UAE. A DPC spokesman confirmed on Friday it has received a complaint.
In a statement, the centre said assertions circulating 'that any foreign party has made a request for any data are completely false and are categorically denied'.
'No such request has been received, nor has any action been taken in this regard.
'These statements are defamatory and baseless. The centre reiterates that rumours of pressure from abroad or any external actors/parties are false and without foundation,' the statement reads.
In a statement, the Irish Muslim Peace & Integration Council backed the board's moves and said that for 'too long' the mosque has been controlled by people 'who fail to represent the diversity of Irish Muslims'.
It criticised individuals 'who prioritised power over service, division over unity, and stagnation over progress, including elements with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
‘Shoot to Kill: Terror on the Tube' – Met Police officer who shot Jean Charles de Menezes speaks out
'Shoot to Kill: Terror on the Tube' (Channel 4) 4/5 Pat Stacey It's been 20 years since the horrific bombings in London, generally referred to as 7/7, when four Islamist suicide bombers targeted commuters on public transport during the morning rush hour, killing 52 people of 18 nationalities and injuring nearly 800 more. Two weeks later, after an attempt by four more suicide bombers to wreak further carnage on the city failed when their devices did not detonate, Metropolitan Police officers shot dead an innocent 27-year-old Brazilian electrician called Jean Charles de Menezes, who was taking the Tube to work, believing him to be one of the would-be bombers.
RTÉ News
6 hours ago
- RTÉ News
London bombings remembered as a 'senseless acts of evil' 20 years on
King Charles III and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and have paid tribute to the spirit of unity shown in the aftermath of the 7 July bombings in London, 20 years on from the attacks. On 7 July, 2005, four homegrown Islamist extremists detonated suicide bombs across London at Aldgate Station, Edgware Road, King's Cross and Tavistock Square, killing 52 people and injuring hundreds more. The city is holding several events to mark the anniversary, with members of the royal family expected to join those directly affected at commemorations. The king urged people to draw on the "extraordinary courage and compassion" shown following the attack. "We remember with profound sadness the 52 innocent people who were killed in senseless acts of evil -- and the enduring grief of their loved ones," he said in a statement. "In doing so, we should also remember the countless stories of extraordinary courage and compassion that emerged from the darkness of that day. "The selfless bravery of our emergency services, transport workers, and fellow citizens who rushed towards danger to help strangers reminds us of the very best of humanity in the face of the very worst." The king asked for the country to reaffirm its commitment to building a society of all faiths and backgrounds, standing against those who seek to divide. Mr Starmer echoed this sentiment. "Those who tried to divide us failed," he said in a statement. "We stood together then, and we stand together now - against hate and for the values that define us of freedom, democracy and the rule of law. "We honour the courage shown that day -- the bravery of the emergency services, the strength of survivors, and the unity of Londoners in the face of terror." The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh will attend a National Service of Commemoration at St Paul's Cathedral and survivors and the families of the victims will hold a service at the memorial to them in Hyde Park, which will be attended by the Prince of Wales. King Charles said that "while the horrors will never be forgotten", the country "may take comfort from the way such events rally communities together". "It is this spirit of unity that has helped London, and our nation, to heal," he said. Speaking ahead of the anniversary, UK interior minister Yvette Cooper warned that Islamist and right-wing extremism remained the country's most significant threats.
Irish Examiner
6 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Ireland's cocaine conundrum: 'We only know the ones we get — there could be stuff landing on beaches every night'
Amid all the recognition last week of a job well done — first with the 440kg cocaine haul in Cork and then the sentencing in the MV Matthew case — is the knowledge that an unending tidal wave of cocaine is coming across the Atlantic. 'The interception on Tuesday of the near-half tonne in Courtmacsherry was a great result for the JTF [Joint Task Force],' a security source said, 'and to have that topped-off with the sentencing on Friday of the MV Matthew, again a JTF operation, was icing on the cake'. The source added: 'The one Tuesday was a lot of coordination and logistics among the gardaí, on the surveillance and operational sides of the house, and also Customs and the Defence Forces — the Naval Service and the Air Corps.' The dramatic military intervention of the Army Rangers, fast-roping from a helicopter onto the deck of the MV Matthew in September 2023, is etched in people's memories. That too was a JTF operation [Gardaí, Revenue and Defence Forces] and the LE William Butler Yeats was involved in both. The sprawling international investigation into the MV Matthew — as revealed at the time in the Irish Examiner — identified Iranian and Hezbollah fixers and traffickers and the power of the Dubai-based Kinahan cartel. As Detective Superintendent Keith Halley of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB) said after the sentencing, these transnational organised crime networks have 'immense capabilities, unlimited resources and global reach'. Lessons from MV Matthew With the MV Matthew the traffickers had even gone to the expense and work of buying and registering their own bulk cargo vessel and directly hiring and running crews to operate it. Sources said that particular smuggling operation was 'overly complicated' and that the cartels have learned from it. More recently, the cartels are concentrating on corrupting/intimidating crews working on legitimate commercial vessels to do the work. Security sources were impressed with the operation at Broad Strand Beach last Tuesday. 'This gang ran a very smooth operation,' one source said. 'The guys in the rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) were dressed all in black, come in slow, in the dead of night, on a low throttle. 'There's a van waiting, the drugs are loaded and the van is gone. They made it look very simple.' Unlucky for this gang, gardaí had intelligence, assisted by the maritime tracking expertise of the Maritime Analysis and Operation Centre — Narcotics (MAOC-N), the EU drug interdiction agency. The drugs seized during Tuesday's operation in Courtmacsherry. Picture: Gardaí And watching the gang's 'maritime team' on their fast boat as they approached Broad Strand beach, not far from the coastal town of Courtmacsherry, and the 'ground team' waiting in the van, was the secretive Garda National Surveillance Unit. The Defence Forces had the LE William Butler Yeats deployed at sea and the Air Corps was requested, with the CASA 284 taking off from Baldonnell at 3.50am. Two RHIBs on the Butler Yeats engaged in a high speed chase of the gang's RHIB as it sped away along the coast, towards Waterford. But they were no match for the armed NS Maritime Interdiction Team and were caught. Meanwhile, the two-man landing team were brought to an abrupt halt by the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) and DOCB on the road to Courtmacsherry. But experienced officers know that for every good catch they have, multiples are getting through. All you need is a beach 'The reality is we only know the ones we get,' a security source said. 'And given how simple this gang made it look, there could be stuff landing on beaches every night. 'The fact is you don't need a pier anymore. There used to be talk of all the remote piers across the country and how can you watch them. Now, all the gangs need is a beach.' There are an estimated 25 ports in the Republic. According to the Ireland Walking Guide, there are 300 beaches dotted along the coast. The threat posed by gangs using fast boats is affecting much of Europe. Last February, MAOC-N organised an operational workshop because of the 'growing use' of fast boats in maritime cocaine smuggling. It noted the 'expanding operational range' of these boats, adding they were 'increasingly difficult to track and intercept'. As mentioned, South American cartels are using legitimate commercial vessels to smuggle their consignments to Ireland. When the vessels near whatever Irish port they are scheduled to go to, the maritime team takes off and speeds towards it. 'The vessel doesn't even need to stop,' a source said. 'The RHIB comes up behind the vessel, the consignment is lowered down by the crew and the ship continues to port where it offloads its legitimate cargo.' That happened in the Courtmacsherry haul, with the bulk carrier, coming from Argentina, scheduled to dock at Ringaskiddy Port in Cork. Cell structures in drug trafficking Cell structures are not necessarily new in trafficking and the MV Matthew showed that — with bosses in Dubai calling the shots over encrypted phones. The structure often breaks down as follows: A 'control team' orchestrating everything by encrypted phones, in contact with the captain or crew of a mother ship, and tracking its movements, and the various teams at the receiving end; A 'boat team' on the vessel, which exits a South American port, either with the drugs already on board or collected en route and rendezvous with a team at the receiving country; A 'maritime team' is based on a departure point on the coast of the country and when told by the control team, leaves on a RHIB to a designated area at sea and collects the drugs and brings them to a landing point — separate to their departure point. This team then travels either back to their original staring point or another one and leaves; A 'ground team' collects the drugs from the maritime team and loads into a waiting van and typically in Ireland's case drives by motorway to the North and gets a ferry to Scotland, unless some or all the haul is for Ireland. In some cases, the control team might have a second ground team ready, just in case. In addition, authorities are aware of specialist 'all Ireland' gangs, typically based along the border, that provide the ground team service. 'This is a sophisticated system,' a security source said. 'It doesn't always work, as we know, but they don't need it to work all the time and they factor in that shipments will be lost, but that have billions to throw at this.' Ireland bombarded by cocaine shipments At we can see at the map, Ireland is being bombarded by huge cocaine shipments coming across the Atlantic. Estimates based on Garda and Revenue figures indicate that around 930kgs of cocaine has been seized so far this year, compared to about 760kgs of cocaine in 2024. 2023 was a record year, with approximately 3.45 tonnes of cocaine seized. Even excluding the MV Matthew's 2.25 tonnes, an additional 1.2 tonnes was seized during the rest of the year. There has been a massive rise in seizures of just five or 10 years ago. Between 2016 and 2021 the annual total seized ranged from a low of 52kgs in 2017 to a high of 138kgs in 2020. Trying to estimate just how much gets in, without being seized, is very difficult. 'You are never certain how much we are seizing and how much is getting in, but the 10-15% estimate is probably true,' said one security source. The consignments of cocaine bound for Europe that are being seized indicates the sheer scale of cocaine smuggling. MAOC-N made two record hauls of cocaine last year — each of them a colossal 10.5 tonnes. Both consignments were seized by the French Navy, one in the Caribbean and the other Gulf of Guinea, off west Africa, a major supply route to Europe. Drugs hauls around Ireland since April 2023. ie070725 In all, MAOC-N and partner countries seized a total of around 70 tonnes of cocaine in 2024. So far this year, the figure stands at 34.5 tonnes, including one nine-tonne haul, again by the French Navy in the Caribbean, and a 6.4-tonne seizure by the French in the Gulf of Guinea. The EU Drugs Agency (EUDA) said in June that record quantities of cocaine have been seized in Europe in 2023, for the seventh year in a row — 419 tonnes, compared to 323 tonnes in 2022. And just this month the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported record high cocaine production levels, nearly doubling since 2020. 'Europe is being bombarded with cocaine and has been since the start of 2023 and Ireland is on the west coast of Europe,' a security source said. The EUDA and Europol, the EU police agency, have been warning in recent years that because of increased security at the two biggest ports for cocaine importation in Europe — Antwerp and Rotterdam — cartels are redirecting part of the trade to smaller ports in Europe, such as ones in France, Sweden and Denmark. Experts here believe Ireland is definitely part of that trend: 'Absolutely, 100% yes,' said a source. 'Every port in Europe is vulnerable. Cartels look for weaknesses wherever they can find them.' Ireland a weak spot in Europe Compounding this factor is the perceived poor levels of maritime security in Ireland. 'Cartels see and hear that Ireland is a point of least resistance, with the well-publicised lack of naval assets and air cover and the crisis in staffing,' a source said. The Naval Service struggles to get more than one long range patrol ship out at any one time, while a dire shortage of controllers at Baldonnell is restricting and delaying Air Corps patrols and their ability to respond to requests at speed. One security source said the drug operations don't always need a physical aircraft in the sky — namely the Air Corps CASA C295 — and that drones would do the job. 'These gangs are so clever that a RHIB might leave point A and, you think, it's to deliver to point B, say a beach, but the RHIB collects the drugs from the vessel and drops the load at point C, somewhere else, to be picked up by another vessel that you don't know about. If you don't have air surveillance we don't know this.' Some other sources differ to a degree, saying the CASA may actually be cheaper than similar military-grade drones with a similar sensor suite. There can also be issues with endurance of drones and their sensor payload. Another source with knowledge of the Air Corps said that the Defence Forces was 'years behind' where they should be in MALE (medium altitude long endurance) drone space. 'They are like little small planes and have endurance for nine to 12 hours and can give persistence in an operating area in surveillance, say over a mothership," the source said. You could then bring a CASA in, which could react quicker and have better sensors, at least in radar. The source said that the central problem limiting the Air Corps — which has received extensive publicity recently — is the lack of controllers, operating, thought to be at less than 50% capacity. 'Without controllers you can't dispatch a CASA, so if there is a call from the gardaí or Customs for air cover outside nine-to-five Monday to Friday, there is going to be a delay as you have to call in a controller on a rest day and scramble a crew. 'Now they did it on Tuesday (CASA departed at 3.50am, although not clear when request came in) but, generally, there's a significant issue there.' This source blamed 'inaction and mostly lack of ambition' at both DFHQ and Department of Defence level in pushing the need to invest in a military-grade maritime drone. A second source agreed: 'We need drones now, but there seems to be very little movement.' The programme for government makes the following commitment: 'Fund innovative law enforcement technologies including unmanned drones to patrol our coast and ports and detect the trafficking of illegal drugs. 'This will supplement the work of our air and naval services in this sphere.' A Maritime Interdiction Team (MIT) receiving a briefing at sea. Picture: Gardaí Asked about steps to implement this pledge, the Department of Justice did not say if was not working on this area and said queries around the operational requirements of gardaí were a matter for Garda HQ. It said the procurement and use of drones by the Defence Forces in an Aid to the Civil Power [ATCP] capacity, including drug interdiction at sea, was a matter Department of Defence and Defence Forces. In a statement, the Department of Defence said: 'The Air Corps currently does not operate unmanned aerial drones for the patrolling of Irish territorial airspace or waters. 'However it is proposed that this capability will be developed in future in line with a specific recommendation in this regard made by the Commission on the Defence Forces. 'The timeframe for this will be outlined in the updated Detailed Implementation Plan for the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, which is due to be published shortly." It said the two C295 maritime aircraft, specially equipped with state-of-the-art surveillance and communication equipment, were delivered to the Air Corps in 2023. "These new aircraft provide a significantly enhanced maritime surveillance capability and, like all Defence Forces capabilities, can be deployed in an ATCP role in support of An Garda Síochána and in support of the Joint Task Force on Drug Interdiction," it said. The 2.25 tonnes of cocaine that was seized from the MV Matthew, a Panamanian-registered bulk carrier, had an estimated value of more than €157. The cargo ship was boarded in a dramatic operation by the Army Rangers, a specialist wing of the Irish Defence Forces, in September 2023. File picture: Larry Cummins It said that, at present, the Naval Service operate a selection of "non-military specification drones" for tasks such as search and rescue, intelligence gathering and fishery protection. Sources have said that the necessary military-grade drones — one with the necessary technology, endurance, operational and regulatory capabilities — do not come cheap and that countries typically buy them in pairs. US prices would suggest two would cost around €100m. (The next CASA has a price-tag of €59m). European manufacturers, such as Airbus, also manufacture similar grade drones. 'It all depends on what exactly you want to do and what you want to spend,' one source said. 'But a drone would not be just for counter-drug operations, it could also be used for fisheries and monitoring offshore and coastal critical infrastructure.' If you are serious about security, you need to spend the money. If you don't, you pay the price. Other sources point out that cartels are constantly improvising and investing in research and engineering — including in semi-submersibles. In December 2019, Spanish authorities intercepted the first ever transatlantic semi-submersible or 'narcosub' in Europe. In March 2021, the first ever semi-submersible being constructed in Europe was uncovered in Spain. In March this year, the Portugese navy intercepted a narcosub in the Azores after travelling from Brazil with a colossal 6.5 tonnes of cocaine — and five crew — on board. Last week Colombian Navy seized a narco-sub with a satellite antenna on the bow, possibly allowing it to be operated remotely by cartels without the need for a crew. Some sources here suspect cartels will also begin using drones to transport cocaine consignments. 'The west African cocaine route is a major supplier to Europe, so use of drones across the Mediterranean is very possible," said a security source. "You could also start seeing the likes of a cargo ship out in the Atlantic launching a drone — without the need for RHIBs." Another source said: 'Cartels are spending billions on technology. They have more cocaine than they know what to do with and people in Ireland and across Europe are desperate to shove it up their noses and not think about how it got there. 'Meanwhile, our navy and air corps is depleted and the government just makes statements and promises. This problem is getting bigger and bigger and we need action — now.'
