Visit to Belfast as the Northern Ireland Assembly is Recalled, 8 August 2024
On 8 August, the day the Northern Ireland Assembly was recalled to discuss recent violent riots directed at asylum seekers and members of the Muslim community in particular, Oliver McTernan and Cecily Bayliss joined the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), Zara Mohammed, and representatives of the MCB and the Muslim community in Belfast, for a series of meetings with Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), the Grand Secretary of the Orange Order, and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
The meetings were arranged to ensure that the concerns of Muslim communities in Northern Ireland were fully understood by politicians, community leaders and police.
In our meeting with the First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, discussions focused on how better cooperation can be developed between the Northern Ireland Executive and the local Muslim communities in tackling the rise of Islamaphobia locally.
The Delegation with the First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, outside the Parliament Buildings, Belfast.
Prior to the debate in the Assembly, the delegation met with a cross-party group of MLAs representing Sinn Féin, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), the Alliance Party, and the Social Democratic and Labour Party. The discussion was insightful and extremely positive, with members of the Assembly reassuring us of their determination to work to promote greater understanding and a greater sense of security within the local Muslim community.
In the afternoon, the delegation met with Orange Order Grand Secretary Reverend Mervyn Gibson to discuss the history of the Order and its role in Northern Irish society. At the Police Headquarters we met with Deputy Chief Constable Chris Todd, Assistant Chief Constable Melanie Jones and Inspector Patrick Mullan of the Police Service of Northern Ireland to discuss the safety of the community and how to promote greater engagement with the local Muslim community.
