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Introduction
Belfast Islamic Centre is situated in South Belfast, which is the multi-cultural hub of Belfast city. Belfast is the capital city of Northern Ireland. Belfast is considered the most important city in Northern Ireland as it represents the largest cultural and economic centre in the province.
The two main universities in Northern Ireland (Queen’s University Belfast and The University of Ulster) attract hundreds of Muslim students from all over the world. Muslims began arriving in Northern Ireland in the early 1950’s according to records, mainly as students and menial workers. There is evidence however, of visits by Muslim trading ships from Africa and Asia to Irish ports a long time before the 1950’s. Some Muslim scholars actually wrote of their visits to Ireland centuries ago.
Today there is almost Ten thousands Muslims in Northern Ireland, with the Muslim community increasing almost on a daily basis. This has increased further especially after the period of relative peace experienced in the province subsequent to the Good Friday Agreement. As well as this increase a lot of Muslims from other parts of the U.K. have decided to settle in Belfast and make it there home.
The Belfast Islamic Centre, formally set up in 1977, is the only mosque in Belfast. It is a large terrace house which is used mostly for daily prayers, Friday prayers, funeral prayers and tarawih prayers. The Mosque also organises some social programmes for the community such as weekly study circles for men & Women. The Mosque conducts Nikah (Marriage) procedures for marriages, which is then followed by legal registration from the Belfast City Hall. There is also a school for children (5-16years) to teach them Quran and Religious instruction classes. At this present moment there are almost one hundred students at the school. This number has the potential to increase to around two/three hundred if there was adequate facilities and space for the school. As well as these there are also many other different religious and social activities in the mosque.
The Belfast Islamic Centre is a registered charity organisation, run by an elected executive committee. This committee is elected every 2 years. Travelling to & from Belfast:
Air
There are two airports serving Belfast: Belfast City Airport (http://www.belfastcityairport.com/) is three miles from the city centre, connected by rail (Sydenham - Great Victoria Street). Belfast International Airport (http://www.bial.co.uk/) is nineteen miles from Belfast at Aldergrove. A shuttle service connects with the city centre, operated by Ulsterbus.
Note - Taking a taxi directly from Belfast International Airport to the University is expensive - approximately £20-£25.
Many airlines fly regularly to Belfast, including: Aer Lingus http://www.aerlingus.ie, British Airways http://www.britishairways.com, BMIBABY http://www.bmibaby.com, British Midland http://www.flybmi.com, Easyjet http://www.easyjet.com, flybe http://www.flybe.com/
Sea
A selection of routes and ferry operators are available. Belfast is most easily reached from the following ports:
Belfast Port is located 1.5 km from the city centre and can be reached by bus, taxi or on foot.
Larne lies 32 km east of Belfast, with bus and rail connections.
Dublin is over 160 km south of Belfast but well connected by rail and bus services.
The following operators run ferries across the Irish Sea:
Belfast-Heysham: Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (Seacat) (http://www.steam-packet.com/ )
Belfast-Liverpool: Norse Irish Ferries (http://www.norsemerchant.com/ )
Belfast-Stranraer: Stena Line (http://www.stenaline.co.uk/ )
Belfast-Troon: Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (Seacat) (http://www.steam-packet.com/ )
Belfast-Douglas (IOM): Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (Seacat) (http://www.steam-packet.com/ )
Larne-Cairnryan: P&O European Ferries (http://www.poirishsea.com/ )
Larne-Fleetwood: P&O European Ferries (http://www.poirishsea.com/ )
Dublin-Holyhead: Irish Ferries(http://www.irishferries.com/ )
Dublin-Holyhead: Stena Line(http://www.stenaline.co.uk/ )
Dublin-Liverpool: Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (Seacat) (http://www.steam-packet.com/ )
Coach
The following companies provide long-distance services to Belfast, including cross-channel routes and Belfast-Dublin:
Ulsterbus (UK & Irish services) (http://www.ulsterbus.co.uk/ )
Bus Éireann (UK & Irish services) (http://www.buseireann.ie/ )
National Express (UK & Irish services) (http://www.buseireann.ie/ )
Rail
Rail connections are available from both UK and Dublin.
NI Railways (http://www.nirailways.co.uk/ ): Belfast-Dublin Enterprise service.
Information on connecting services sometimes available from ferry operators. Road
All ferry ports and airports are well connected by road. Within Northern Ireland, motorways link Belfast with the north and the west of the Province, and the Westlink between the M1 and M2 and a city ring road make it easy to navigate Belfast's traffic system. A good road link connects Belfast with Dublin in the south. Bus
Local bus services within Belfast are provided by Citybus. Long-distance services across Northern Ireland are run by Ulsterbus.
Taxi
Taxis are relatively cheap and easily available. London-style metered cabs operate from airports and railways stations: private cabs are plentiful and can be booked by telephone.
Value Cabs :02890323000
Fon A Cabs : 02890233333
City Cab :02890242000
Other useful links
Northern Ireland Tourist Board (http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/ )
Belfast City Council - Tourist Information (http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk
http://search.yell.com/
http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/
Accommodation
There are a number of estate agents which you can get in contact with through these websites:
http://www.propertynews.com/
http://www.findaproperty.co.uk/
http://search.yell.com/search/DoSearch
Also there is university accommodation:
Queen's university Halls of Residence (Queen’s ELMS):
78 Malone Road,
Belfast,
BT9 5PW
Tel: 02890974525
Halal Meat and Halal Restaurants
(1) Top- Mark: Linfield road (Behind the Europa bus stand)
(2) Asian Supermarket: Ormeau road
(3) Cam-Seng: Off Lisburn road (entrance after post office before Tesco)
(4) Esperanto Restaurant: Lisburn road.
(5) Jaipur Tandoori: Donegall road (Shafstbery Square)
(6) Monsoon Restaurant: Bradbury Place
Health information - You have to register with medical centre on arriving to Northern Ireland and there are a lot of medical centres according to your residence area, the nearest for the Islamic centre and to Queen’s university are:
Queens University Health Centre
5 Lennoxvale
Belfast
BT9 5BY
02890335551
Dunluce Health centre
1 Dunluce Avenue
02890204060
There are many hospitals in Belfast but the main and the nearest two hospitals to the Islamic centre and to Queen’s university are:
Belfast City Hospital
Lisburn Road, Belfast, Tel: (028) 9032 9241
Royal Victoria Hospital
Grosvenor Road, Belfast
BT12 6BA Tel: (028) 9024 0503
Opening a Bank Account
Banks here in Northern Ireland are different than that in England but you still can find branches for HSBC bank, Halifax and Abbey National banks. There are a lot of other local banks. You can use any cash machine to manage your account if you have an account with other banks. Opening a bank account is easy all you need is an I.D. with signature and a proof of address, however, every bank has its rules in opening an account and you can get more information from the branch. Complete listings of banks which are available in Belfast are available from yellow pages or on the http://search.yell.com/ website. Sterling notes here are different than that in England but English notes are valid here, Euro currency also can be accepted in some shops.
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Visitors Guide
