RITE & REASON: Asylum seekers from Darfur find comfort in Allah and peace in Belfast
DURING RAMADAN last year, Ahmed Ishaaq stowed away in a container on a ship bound for Europe.
Observant Muslims do not eat from morning to evening during the holy month, which is currently under way.
"I did not know day from night so I could not know when to break the fast," he says, explaining why he did not fulfil his religious duty.
Ishaaq (23) was fleeing his village in south Darfur, which he says was often attacked by government troops. "I used to run to another village. Everyone just ran to hide," he says.
Tired of this, Ishaaq decided to make one final dash and found his way from Sudan to Libya by car. Then he boarded a ship to Europe and ended up in Northern Ireland.
"Ramadan started in Libya," he recalls.
Even as he made his perilous journey across Libya, Ishaaq had this nagging sense of being a bad Muslim by not fasting.
The dangerous journey from Darfur is usually followed for the asylum seekers by months of waiting, as immigration officers assess whether refugee status can be granted. In 2007, the majority of applicants from Sudan were denied such status.
Ishaaq says God becomes a constant companion for many on this thorny passage. One of the first questions he asked the officially assigned interpreter was: "Where is the mosque?"
He resumed fasting for Ramadan in Belfast and took his evening meal with other Muslims at the place of worship.
The mosque, part of the Belfast Islamic Centre on High Street, is a refuge for many weary travellers.
"Free food is given for 30 days and 30 nights during Ramadan," says Osama Mustafa, secretary of the Islamic Centre.
Imam Sheikh Anwar Mady says the mosque is frequented by Muslims of diverse ethnicities and races, who are escaping different conflicts.
Religious leaders estimate that there are 6,500 Muslims in Northern Ireland.
Mohammad Akram, who came from Pakistan to Northern Ireland 35 years ago, finds that the Belfast panorama has changed starkly in the past five years.
"It's good to see so many new faces after so long," he says.
The mosque on High Street takes centre stage in this change by giving moral support and practical help to the asylum seekers. Mustafa says the staff are available for translation and generally making things less daunting.
"We provide English language courses, give money, recommend lawyers and sometimes even find accommodation," he says. He is originally from Palestine.
"These people need help," he adds. "They come after paying a lot of money to smugglers and half of them are deported back."
Adam Mohammad Hassan (20), another asylum seeker from Sudan, estimates that he paid $1,000 (€705) to the smugglers to get into Europe. Hassan left his village in west Darfur after it was attacked by the Janjaweed, the government militia, last year.
At his camp, Hassan met volunteers from Canada and the US who introduced him to "Tupac", he recalls. His forehead puckers up in concentration as he tries to remember -"Simon?" - and then his face brightens: "Paul Simon".
Hassan shows off some modest additions to his wardrobe and proudly displays his neat room. Purple walls are connected with a dull blue carpet and a small television faces a tidy set of shelves containing cornflakes, washing powder and three pair of boots.
"I am happy here," he says, serving Coca-Cola in a big white coffee mug.
The young asylum seeker believes Allah wanted him to escape even if it meant leaving his family behind. He caresses a picture that was taken in Khartoum with his father and brothers wearing white flowing robes standing against a bright red curtain.
"I love Sudan but I will never go back," he says.
Despite all the atrocities he has seen, Hassan's faith in God is intact. He is confident that the Khartoum government will face God's wrath on the day of judgment. "Allah is watching, Allah is listening and Allah is writing," he says.
• Betwa Sharma is a student at the graduate school of journalism at Columbia University, New York. She and colleagues visited Ireland last March to study the growing diversity of religion here