Australian City Approves Construction of First Mosque for Growing Muslim Community
Shamsul Haque said the local Islamic community was elated and had been raising funds for the project since 2009.
"When we came here from Bangladesh, the first thing we noticed was that there was no mosque in Wagga or any of the surrounding towns," Dr Haque said.
"We have been praying every week in different places and we needed a fixed place where we could pray."
Wagga Wagga's Islamic population has risen from 92 people to more than 650 in the past two decades, according to census data.
Dr Haque and his wife, Jesmin Aktar, said the mosque would serve as a community hub and attract even more Muslims to the region.
"It's not only a place for prayer. People can come together to share their experience and interact," Dr Aktar said.
Culmination of a decade-long dream
The mosque project was launched by the Muslim Association of Riverina Wagga Australia (MARWA) when it began to outgrow its facility at Charles Sturt University.
The group has since raised more than $1.8 million through donations from across Australia and overseas.
MARWA vice-chair Sajid Latif said there were "people in tears" when the approval was handed down by the council.
"We were really, truly happy and we appreciate the support," he said.
"This will be a central place where everyone comes to connect with each other, which is why we have been desperately waiting for it."
Mr Latif said the community had spent the past decades praying in a single room at the university campus and growing numbers had forced them out.
The group has since travelled across the region to pray in whatever locations are available, including basketball courts and school halls.
The mosque will cost around $2 million to construct and MARWA is hoping it will be complete in mid-2024.
'Putrid views' attract backlash
While on public exhibition, the mosque development attracted more than 50 submissions from residents, including 11 that called for it to be rejected.
Labor councillor Dan Hayes said most of the negative submissions were simply used to spout racist views.
"The majority of those objections were really not relevant to the development at all," Mr Hayes said.
"The objections were really just an opportunity for a small minority of people to espouse what I think was quite disgusting and putrid views of members of our community."
The anti-Islamic letters caused the development to go before the council, rather than simply being considered by council staff.
Mr Hayes said this slowed progress on the project and wasted the organisation's funds.
"It delayed the approval for a number of weeks and also reports had to be written up for the council meeting, so there's a cost added to that as well," he said.
Mr Hayes called for the council to update its submissions policy so irrelevant letters could be removed.
Source: abc.net.au
