Dublin Fianna Fáil MEP, Mr Niall Andrews, has said he hoped the Muslim community in Ireland "may help us return to the sense of values we had years ago" which, he felt, "others in our community have lost."
He was speaking in Dublin yesterday at the launch of the Friday Times, a new bi-monthly newspaper produced for and by the Muslim community in Ireland. He quoted approvingly from the newspaper's masthead, "in the name of Allah, most gracious, most merciful," and noted how Islam "had made a terrific contribution to our society, our country".
He said he was working on a satellite TV project which was intended to promote greater understanding between east and west.
Speaking to The Irish Times later he said this commercially-based project, which also involved Pakistani businessmen, would broadcast from London, probably by the end of this year. Studios had already been acquired, he said. Other Irish MEPs at the launch were Ms Mary Banotti and Mr Proinsias De Rossa. The newsaper's editor, Mr Tariq Elgezouli, said it was planned to bring it out on a weekly basis next year.
He said they wanted it to be "a positive newspaper". Its main aim was to help the Irish people understand more about Muslims and, similarly, to inform the Muslim community about Ireland.
An independent publication, it will be available free in halal shops, language schools, citizen information centres, libraries and mosques.
