A Mosque for All: Bendigo’s First Mosque Nears Completion
On the outskirts of Bendigo, a minaret now rises from an industrial block where the city’s first mosque is taking shape. There are no fences — a deliberate choice, says Sameer Syed, vice-president of the Bendigo Islamic Community Centre.
“We wanted something very welcoming … very open, very visible,” he said. “We want people to feel the same way. Just drop in, have a coffee,” The Guardian quoted him as saying.
The mosque is part of the Bendigo Islamic Community Centre, envisioned more than a decade ago as an “open mosque.”
At the time, the plan met fierce resistance. Protests by far-right groups made international headlines, turning a local planning issue into a flashpoint over religion and identity.
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In 2015, a mock beheading staged by United Patriots Front leader Blair Cottrell and two others outside the Bendigo council chambers led to Victoria’s first racial vilification conviction. A high court challenge to stop construction failed the following year.
Syed said the community’s persistence, along with outreach efforts and a grassroots campaign called Believe in Bendigo, helped shift attitudes. “We need to normalise the Muslim community,” he said. “We’re everywhere.”
Centre spokesperson Aisha Neelam said the focus is now on connection, not conflict. “The highlight is all the people that did the work that got the mosque to where it is and the cohesion the mosque created in the community, not the division,” she said.
Neelam, who has lived in Bendigo for almost 20 years, said those tense years became “not even a blip in our whole story.” The controversy, she added, sparked “a lot of dialogue and a lot of respect.”
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Construction began in 2019 but was delayed by COVID-19 lockdowns. The project has received more than A$1 million in grants, though most funding came from community donations and fundraisers in major cities.
When finished, the mosque will hold 375 people and include a sports hall and courtyard. “Our vision has always been that this mosque is not just for the Muslim communities,” Syed said. “It’s for Bendigo.”
Source: Agencies
