Sinéad O’Connor’s Muslim funeral Imam says she “never moved away from God”.
Sinéad O’Connor’s Muslim funeral Imam says she ‘never moved away from God‘
Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, chief Imam at the Islamic Centre of Ireland, conducted the private service for friends and family in the singer’s former home of Bray, Co Wicklow in her native Ireland after her shock death aged 56 in London on 26 July, after she converted to the religion in 2018 and started using the name Shuhada’ Sadaqat.
He said: “The funeral was obviously private (for) the family and it was a very moving ceremony and I think it really reflected the beautiful personality of Sinéad.
“It was very spiritual and it reflected her Irish identity as well as her Muslim identity.
“So I was with the members of the Muslim community and we performed the Janazah prayer, which is the Islamic funeral prayer, over Sinéad.”
He added the ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ singer “never moved away from God” unlike others who had “difficulties” and “trials” in their lives.
The Imam said: “She was an amazing human being who was not just a great musician, artist, but one that would reach hearts of millions of people because of her voice but also because of the amazing content... she had always had strong faith and conviction in God.”
Among the mourners at Sinéad’s private funeral were U2’s Bono and the Edge, as well as Sir Bob Geldof, Irish president Michael Higgins and the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
Thousands of fans of the singer and fiery human rights activist wept, sang and cheered as a VW camper van playing her and her hero Bob Marley’s hits lead a black hearse carrying her body through the streets of Bray.
Her coffin was barely visible under a sea of flowers after it inched through crowds of at least 5,000 who threw bouquets and clasped mementoes of Sinéad including her photos and albums.
Sinéad’s home in the town had a pink chair placed outside in memory of the one she used to chat to passers-by during Covid lockdown.
She was also beloved in the town as she paid impoverished residents’ medical bills.
Irish president Michael Higgins said in a statement ahead of the funeral: “The outpouring of grief and appreciation of the life and work of Sinéad O’Connor demonstrates the profound impact which she had on the Irish people.
“The unique contribution of Sinead involved the experience of a great vulnerability combined with a superb, exceptional level of creativity that she chose to deliver through her voice, her music and her songs.
“The expression of both, without making any attempt to reduce the one for the sake of the other, made her contribution unique – phenomenal in music terms, but of immense heroism.
“However, achieving this came from the one heart and the one body and the one life, which extracted an incredible pain, perhaps one too much to bear.
“That is why all those who are seeking to make a fist of their life, combining its different dimensions in their own way, can feel so free to express their grief at her loss.”
Sinéad’s cause of death has not yet been made public.
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