Shahed Amanullah Visits Dublin

Chinedu Onyejelem, Editor of Ireland's multicultural weekly newspaper Metro Eireann meets Shahed Amanullah.

Shahed Amanullah visited Ireland from April 1 – 3. Shahed is the Senior Advisor for Technology for the Office of the Special Representative to Muslim Communities at the US Department of State, working on digital diplomacy projects for the Special Representative, who reports directly to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

On Sunday, March 31 Shahed Amanullah and the Karyn Posner Mullen (Diractor of Public Affairs at U.S. Embassy Dublin) met with influential parents and youth from the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Centre in Dublin. This Shia Mosque, commonly referred to as the Milltown Mosque, has an energized membership that is interested in both intrafaith relations within the Irish Muslim community and interfaith relations with the overwhelmingly Catholic population in Ireland. Shahed shared his vision for the Generation Change initiative that he is spearheading.

See Shahed's video explaining Generation Change

On Monday, April 2 the Embassy invited a group of Muslim youth and change makers from a variety of different backgrounds and organizations to meet with Shahed. They delivered exciting new ideas for Generation Change projects in Ireland. Three distinct projects came out of the session that addressed areas of interest such as women’s empowerment, youth outreach, and volunteerism. The 13 attendees came from Sufi, Sunni, Shia, and Christian backgrounds and worked in private business, NGOs, or were students in college.