Luck of the Irish Muslims

I came across this article by the religion editor of the Chicago Sun-Times about Muslims in Ireland. In the body of the article she mentions the open response she received when she called an Islamic center there, and how calls to Muslim centers in the US have been mixed in terms of reception: "It's understandable. American Muslims, too often, are put in the position to defend themselves and their faith against the violent actions of a few scoundrels who claim their murderous actions are done in the name of Islam. More often than not, reporters call only when something's wrong. So I was surprised -- stunned, really -- when I rang the Dublin mosque late one afternoon, introduced myself as an American religion writer and asked if I could come the next morning to speak to someone about what life is like for the Muslim community in Ireland. Without a moment's hesitation, the friendly man on the other end of the phone said, in typical Irish form (although he said it with a heavy Malaysian accent), "You're more than welcome."

You can read the whole article here if you're interested.