Corruption scams linked to sham marriages are being reported by Muslims in Ireland
IT IS a Wednesday night at the Blackpitts mosque in south Dublin and Sheikh Ismail Kotwal, a British-born Muslim with Pakistani roots, is preparing to say evening prayers.
A group of more than 20 men – some wearing tracksuit bottoms, others jeans and a few wearing traditional baggy pants and long shirts – take off their shoes and bow towards Mecca.
The group includes people from Afghanistan, Malaysia and at least one Irish-born Muslim. But Blackpitts is particularly popular among Pakistanis as Sheikh Kotwal belongs to the Deobandi sect, which is centred on a strict interpretation of Islam that is common in Pakistan and India.
Sheikh Kotwal’s sermon, which is broadcast to a separate room downstairs where women are attending prayers, is a story about deceit that has become all too common in Dublin.
“I recently came across one of our brothers who had €10,000 taken from him. He was offered marriage to a foreign woman for money to help him stay in the country. But when he paid the money to the gang organising this marriage, they disappeared with the money,” he says.
“I was very angry when I heard this. These types of marriages are forbidden in Islam. I know many of our brothers have come from poor countries. They have sold land, motorbikes or other things to come here. But it is not right to get married to try and stay in Ireland.
“This is deception, fraud. Your faith is the most important thing in your life and you have to account on your day of judgment . . . This is hurting the reputation of Pakistanis in Ireland,” he says.
Sheikh Kotwal has invited The Irish Timesto hear his sermon about sham marriages – used as a way to gain residency rights here.
“Corrupt people are looking for any way to make money. They see easy prey: people who speak the same language and people who are desperate,” he says.
Failed asylum seekers and non-EU nationals whose work or student visas have run out are typically approached by gangs organising the scam. They arrange marriages with east European women either over the internet or through recruiters in countries such as Latvia for fees of several thousand euro.
Last year marriage registrars estimated 10 to 15 per cent of all civil ceremonies could be sham marriages. Registrars believe the numbers have fallen since the Garda, under Operation Charity, began objecting to some marriages. But they expect a recent High Court ruling, which found marriages of convenience are valid in Irish law, could lead to a renewed surge in sham marriages.
Sheikh Kotwal, who attracts more than 500 people to Friday prayers, says most people engaging in sham marriages do not request a religious ceremony. “They know if they came to the mosque they would be interrogated and I’d just send them back. I think all the imams in Dublin are unanimous about this. It is not allowed . . . Islam is all about honesty,” he says.