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Notes -
Second gen MENA immigrant sounds not implausible to an American but I suppose the weird interplay between Islamic and black culture that makes it not my default assumption is less known about overseas- by all appearances this guy was an actual Muslim and not part of some weird heretical cult.
Yes, I think many if not most Irish people are wholly ignorant of the role Islam plays in black American culture. To the extent that they are aware of the role of religion in the culture, it's limited to black gospel churches and so on.
Funnily enough, I'm reminded of a joke in an Irish sitcom which riffed on this. Dan and Becs was a short-lived sitcom about a young Dublin couple: Dan, an aspiring writer-director who works for the national broadcaster; and Becs (Rebecca), an aspiring actress/model. At one point Dan tells Becs about a concept he's come up with for a film revolving around a female Islamic suicide bomber. When Becs asks if she can have the lead, Dan tells her he thinks the role calls for a MENA actress. Becs is outraged, and says something to the effect of "Who says an actor has to be the same race as the character they're playing? Will Smith played a Muslim!" (A joke that instantly dates the show to the late 2000s: Becs is exactly the kind of spoilt privileged middle-class Anglophone girl who, if the show had come out eight years later, would have been horrified at the concept of a white actor playing a non-white character).
I think for a lot of Irish people in particular (and Western people in general), when they hear "Muslim" they immediately think "MENA". I've encountered many people who seem genuinely flabbergasted upon learning that there are plenty of Muslims who aren't MENA (Indonesia, Chechnya, Bosnia etc.), and plenty of MENA people who aren't Muslim (and not just apostates but e.g. Palestinian Christians).
I mean ‘Muslim=Arab’ is pretty ingrained in western culture, but I think most Americans are well aware that Arab Christians(or ‘middle Eastern Christians’ if they’re still in the old country) are a thing- most Americans would stereotype them as either hardworking small business owners(if they’re in the US) or oppressed foreigners we don’t do enough to help(if they’re in the Middle East).
The idea of not-Arab Muslims isn’t anyone’s assumption but it doesn’t surprise anyone here- people know lots of black Africans are Muslim, Pakistanis are just like Indians but Muslim, the more in the know might be aware Indonesians are, etc.
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