Ahlul-Bait Islamic Centre
About Us
The Ahlul-Bait Islamic Centre is the main Shia Islamic centre in Ireland and is situated at Milltown Bridge, Dublin. It is commonly known as ‘Hussainia’ and was previously the only Shia Muslim Islamic centre and mosque in the whole of Ireland. It aims to serve the social, cultural and spiritual needs of the entire Shia Muslim population of Ireland and it draws Shia members from throughout the country, particularly at festival times and during Muharram. At present there are about 5000 - 7000 Shias working, studying and living in Ireland.
Historical Background
HUSSIANIA was founded in the 1970s by a group of Shi'a Muslim medical students from the Middle East who travelled to Dublin to study at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin. These students rented a modest house in Dublin's Portobello neighbourhood, and after a few years, when it became too small to accommodate everyone, they relocated to a larger property in Rathgar. This location gradually became known to other Shia Muslims living and working in Ireland. After a few years, even this home was too small to meet the religious and spiritual demands of the Irish Shia Muslim community. It was time to find a larger and more suitable location to serve this growth. This lead to the establishment of the Ahlul-Bait Islamic Centre in Milltown 1996.
Administration and Activities
The centre's Imam is Imam Dr. Ali Al Saleh, a graduate of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and a religious scholar who studied in the Hawza of Najaf, Iraq and Qum, Iran. The centre has very good relationships with many politicians and diplomats of Ireland as well as politicians and diplomats of countries abroad and also with the two other Islamic Centres of Ireland.
Imam Dr. Ali Al Saleh is a member of the Irish Council of Imams, in which he represents the Shia community. The centre is a resource for Shia Muslims in Dublin. It is an active and vibrant Islamic institution and it provides a programme every Saturday and holds daily prayers and the Jumu'ah prayer.
There is evident social commitment among the community and clear efforts to support one other in developing their spiritual lives. Friday prayers are well attended, even by those living far from the Dublin area, and the community conscientiously gathers to mark the various observances set down in the Shia calendar, especially in the month of Muharram and the holy month of Ramadan.