Do you regard Ibrahim Halawa as Irish?

MakeEmLaugh · 02-12-2014 8:11pm #1

It was reported today that there are further delays in the trial of Ibrahim Halawa, the 18 year old Clonskeagh native who travelled to Egypt to protest against the ousting of former President Mohammad Morsi.

Halawa was one of 494 people arrested in Cairo, over 400 of who are charged with either murder or attempted murder, which is punishable by death in Egypt. Amnesty Ireland are calling for his release.

What is enlightening about this story is how many people – behind the relative anonymity of a keyboard, admittedly – have come out to claim that Halawa is not Irish. Here are some of the comments from TheJournal.ie today, Tuesday 2nd November 2014.

Let’s call a spade a spade. He’s not Irish and we want nothing to do with it. You and your family can do what yous want but don’t use us when sh-t hits he fan.

He’s not Irish

Let them stay there,if there Irish what are they doing over there taking part in riots ,( THERE EGYPTIAN AND ALWAYS WILL BE FULL STOP………

Not our concern,probably bought the passport.Irish when it suits them

What was an Irish Teenager doing at an anti Government protest in a foreign country?
or is this the case:
Young Islamic militant with Irish passport travels to his native country demanding the reinstatement of Islamic Government.

Irish by passport only. Irish when it suits him. Nows hes in a bit of bother he pulls the irish card out

He or any of his family are not Irish only by passport so why are the Government bending over backwards to accommodate them when there’s more urgent problems at home to attend to such as the very tragic case of a homeless man passing away yards from Government buildings? this only one of thousands of tragic stories

Of course, these posters are entitled to their views, but I don’t see a big difference between comments like these and comments found on the British National Party’s website, such as

A British soldier has been hacked to death and decapitated by two British Muslims – and that’s the first lie, because if these people lived here (they don’t ‘live’ here; they sleep here) for a thousand years they will not be British.
No more than my family of cats - generations of which have been born in the same kipper-box - will ever be herrings

BNP activists and writers should never refer to ‘black Britons’ or ‘Asian Britons’ etc, for the simple reason that such persons do not exist. These people are ‘black residents’ of the UK etc, and are no more British than an Englishman living in Hong Kong is Chinese.

What do you think? Do you regard Ibrahim Halawa as Irish?

The_Valeyard · 02-12-2014 8:13pm

Your username disappoints OP,

this will not make anyone laugh.

Irish Passport = Irish

Edit: Bit of advice, ignore the comments section on the journal, its full of trolls and some of the most obnoxious, ignorant, self serving people you will ever meet.