Controversial mosque opens after a decade of heated opposition

A controversial mosque in the Victorian city of Bendigo has officially opened despite more than 10 years of protests and legal action by upset locals.

Premier Jacinta Allan, Labor MPs Maree Edwards and Lisa Chesters and Mayor Thomas Prince attended the opening ceremony of the Bendigo Islamic Community Centre on Friday, although some sections of the facility are still under construction.

The mosque proposal sparked large protests in 2015, including a mock ISIS-style beheading of a mannequin by nationalist activists Blair Cottrell, Neil Erikson and Christopher Shortis that resulted in the trio being charged and eventually found guilty of “inciting serious contempt of Muslims”.

A group of residents then lost legal challenges in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and Court of Appeal in 2015, and finally at the High Court in 2016, and construction began in 2019 with the help of $400,000 in funding from then-Premier Daniel Andrews.

In 2022 the mosque received another $100,000 in federal taxpayer funds from the Albanese Labor government as part of an election campaign promise to help the Islamic centre reach completion.

Locals continued to demonstrate against the facility, and late last year a Muslim immigrant resident of Bendigo told ABC News a group of protesters were still turning up at the mosque with placards.

In a post about the opening ceremony on Monday Ms Edwards accused opponents of the Islamic centre of being motivated by “bigotry and hatred”, and said she was “thrilled and proud that Bendigo has embraced this brilliant facility”.

Ms Chesters called the opening an “important milestone” which “reflects many years of collective effort to establish a welcoming space for worship, education, community connection, and broader social inclusion in Bendigo”.

But many Bendigo residents reacted with anger to the news of the mosque opening in a community group on Monday.

“Muslim-only community centre. What a great way for some more division. Hey Anthony Albanese I want to build a White-only centre can I get 100k?” read one popular comment.

“Vote harvesting at its finest,” said another.

Header image: The mosque opening ceremony (Facebook).

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