Hawzah News Agency (Limerick, Ireland) - Three Muslim men in Ireland assaulted in what is believed to be two separate racially motivated attacks.

The Muslim community in Ireland in angered after two separate attacks on Muslim men in the Irish city of Limerick during the first week of Ramadan.

The first attack took place on Sunday night, the first night of Ramadan, when two Muslim men were set upon by a group of men. It is believed the men were lying in wait for the worshippers. The two men, asylum seekers in their 30s and 40s, were on their way to prayers when the attack took place. They were both hospitalized.

A third man was attacked on Thursday evening as concern grows among the Muslim Limerick community, stated Hafiz Sab from Dawat-e-Islami Mosque. 

"The man who was walking to the mosque, he approached him. The man started abusing him. He hit him on his face," Hafiz Sab told BreakingNews.ie.

"Two other people, they were sitting in cars and they jumped out as well and started beating him. They beat him very badly.

“For 24 hours he was in hospital. Today, the fifth day, he can't move properly, he can't sit, can't eat.”

Gardaí have launched an investigation believing the attacks to be racially motivated.

“Two males in their 30s and 40s alleged they were assaulted by three males. Both males were taken to hospital for minor injuries,” said a Garda spokesperson.

“No arrests have been made, and investigations are ongoing.”

“There were three people lying in wait for them, and as they passed, they came straight for them,” Local Fianna Fáil election candidate Abul Kalam Azad Talukder told the Limerick Leader.

“They were obviously very worried, and many people from our community are also angry and worried by this. Some people don’t know what to do. There are a lot of different reactions from different people.”

Talukder added that two Irishmen nearby came to their aid and accompanied them to the Garda station before they were transferred to the hospital.

“Some Irish people immediately went to help them which said a lot. This is very good that they would help them. It shows Limerick is good and it’s only a minority of people who are bad,” he said.

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