Shane Coleman, Political Editor
Pakistan-born Shaheen Ahmed – friend of Bertie – set to stand in this summer's local elections
FIANNA Fáil has selected its first ever Muslim candidate to contest an election with the party, confirming last week that Pakistan-born Shaheen Ahmed will run in the Lucan ward of South Dublin County Council in this summer's local elections.
Ahmed, who has been a member of the Consultative Council of the Islamic Foundation of Ireland (IFI) for many years and who has also served as the IFI's elected secretary, has been a senior and well respected figure in the Muslim community since coming to Ireland 28 years ago.
Commenting on his reasons for standing in the local elections, Ahmed said "politics is in my blood."
As a young man in Lahore, he had been a very active member of the Pakistan Peoples Party – the party led by Benazir Bhutto until her death. After studying in Germany, he came to Ireland in 1981 for further study in UCD and settled here, marrying a woman from Drumcondra in Dublin and together raising a family of one son and three daughters.
His wife's family were Fianna Fáil supporters and that would have been an early influence on his political persuasion, he says.
And, through his role on the IFI, he would have had regular contact with senior politicians and, in particular, former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, whom he brought many times to the Islamic Cultural Centre in Clonskeagh, Dublin.
The self-employed businessman, who played senior cricket for Railway Union in Dublin and professional badminton while a student in Germany, worked on Tom Kitt's election campaign in Dublin South in the last general election.
While there is a large Muslim community in Lucan, Ahmed is at pains to stress that, if elected, he will be representing all the people of the area, saying that he sees his role as bringing "all communities together."
"I will always be Pakistani-Irish but I consider myself Irish. I don't know the streets in my country [as I do in Dublin]," he says.
Ahmed says he is optimistic not only about his own prospects, but also those of his running mates Shane Moynihan and Edno Cooley in the ward and is sanguine about talk of a backlash against government candidates in the local elections.
"It is a natural phenomena [across the world] for a ruling party not to be popular in local or by-elections," he says, adding that local elections are more about what a candidate can do for the local community rather than the national picture.
"I'm a new candidate with a new energy. I'm going to work hard and concentrate on local issues, creating a better life for the people of the area," he says.
Like any Fianna Fáil politician worth his salt, Ahmed is anxious to pay tribute to his friends and political supporters, Amjad Hussein – who runs the Poppadom chain of restaurants – James Galvin and Kieran Brady.
Asked would he have aspirations beyond the local council, Ahmed says he doesn't know where the future will bring him but he can't see any other ambitions at the moment, before adding that he would do "whatever is best for the community."
article available here
FIANNA Fáil has selected its first ever Muslim candidate to contest an election with the party, confirming last week that Pakistan-born Shaheen Ahmed will run in the Lucan ward of South Dublin County Council in this summer's local elections.Ahmed, who has been a member of the Consultative Council of the Islamic Foundation of Ireland (IFI) for many years and who has also served as the IFI's elected secretary, has been a senior and well respected figure in the Muslim community since coming to Ireland 28 years ago.
Commenting on his reasons for standing in the local elections, Ahmed said "politics is in my blood."
As a young man in Lahore, he had been a very active member of the Pakistan Peoples Party – the party led by Benazir Bhutto until her death. After studying in Germany, he came to Ireland in 1981 for further study in UCD and settled here, marrying a woman from Drumcondra in Dublin and together raising a family of one son and three daughters.
His wife's family were Fianna Fáil supporters and that would have been an early influence on his political persuasion, he says.
And, through his role on the IFI, he would have had regular contact with senior politicians and, in particular, former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, whom he brought many times to the Islamic Cultural Centre in Clonskeagh, Dublin.
The self-employed businessman, who played senior cricket for Railway Union in Dublin and professional badminton while a student in Germany, worked on Tom Kitt's election campaign in Dublin South in the last general election.
While there is a large Muslim community in Lucan, Ahmed is at pains to stress that, if elected, he will be representing all the people of the area, saying that he sees his role as bringing "all communities together."
"I will always be Pakistani-Irish but I consider myself Irish. I don't know the streets in my country [as I do in Dublin]," he says.
Ahmed says he is optimistic not only about his own prospects, but also those of his running mates Shane Moynihan and Edno Cooley in the ward and is sanguine about talk of a backlash against government candidates in the local elections.
"It is a natural phenomena [across the world] for a ruling party not to be popular in local or by-elections," he says, adding that local elections are more about what a candidate can do for the local community rather than the national picture.
"I'm a new candidate with a new energy. I'm going to work hard and concentrate on local issues, creating a better life for the people of the area," he says.
Like any Fianna Fáil politician worth his salt, Ahmed is anxious to pay tribute to his friends and political supporters, Amjad Hussein – who runs the Poppadom chain of restaurants – James Galvin and Kieran Brady.
Asked would he have aspirations beyond the local council, Ahmed says he doesn't know where the future will bring him but he can't see any other ambitions at the moment, before adding that he would do "whatever is best for the community."
article available here
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