A proposal to install loudspeakers on the minaret of a southwest Sydney mosque so it can broadcast a Muslim call to prayer across the local area has been rejected.
The Lakemba Mosque, the largest in Australia, wanted to blast the Arabic prayer call for 15 minutes every Friday, but Canterbury-Bankstown Council’s local planning council turned down the proposal on Monday night after the plan sparked a furious backlash.
All but one of 329 public submissions opposed the proposal, with many raising concerns over noise, amenity impacts, and housing prices, but last week the Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA), which owns the mosque, blamed the objections on “islamophobia”.
LMA Secretary Gamel Kheir claimed the proposal had led to threats “on another level” – causing the mosque to ramp up security – and that most submissions had been from outside the local area.
“There have been objections which are, in the worst-case scenario, purely based on islamophobia,” he told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“The paranoia has been purely based on the same old thing that we hear constantly – that Muslims are taking over the place and that somehow the call to prayer is associated with a terrorist threat.”
But local residents said their concerns were about noise and religious favouritism, after the mosque argued it should be be allowed because the the suburb was 61.2% Muslim and 68% of residents were born overseas.
“It’s not an issue of restriction of attendance, it’s a restriction of noise emanating from a particular area,” local resident Michael Lakkis said at the Monday meeting, The Daily Telegraph reported.
“Are the members of the council aware of restrictions placed on churches and the bell ringing? It’s been limited or nullified.”
He also also whether councils would compensate locals if the weekly prayer call negatively affected property prices.
The Lebanese Muslim Association is now reviewing the feedback and plans to submit an amended application, Sky News Australia reported, while NSW Premier Chris Minns said: “Perhaps there’s some kind of compromise that can be reached where the call to prayer can take place in a reasonably limited way.”
Planning documents compared the midday Friday “adhan” prayer call to Catholic church bells, and described the loudspeakers as “a simple addition to the existing Mosque that will meet the religious needs of the Muslim community in the Lakemba region”.
“The main objective of the proposal to provide a local call of prayer for Lakemba Mosque to create a cultural and Islamic sense of community within the context of the mosque and its surrounds,” the documents stated.
The plans also include a translation of the prayer call, which the mosque wants played for 15 minutes: “Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah. Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah. Ashadu anna Muhammadan Rasool Allah. Ashadu anna Muhammadan Rasool Allah. Hayya ‘ala-s-Salah. Hayya ‘ala-s-Salah. Hayya ‘ala-l-Falah. Hayya ‘ala-l-Falah. Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! La ilaha illa Allah.”
An acoustic report prepared by the mosque found noise levels from the prayer call are expected to reach 81 decibels at neighbouring commercial properties, between 63 and 68 at residential properties, and an estimated 62 inside a proposed school classroom.
“Some people may welcome this call to prayer, others may not. The call to prayer is intended to be heard throughout the community,” the report authors wrote in response to a checklist from the EPA Noise Guide for Local Government.
The Sunni mosque, also known as the Masjid Ali Bin Abi Talib, was built in the 1970s with donations from the Middle East, including from the Saudi Royal Family, and is regularly visited by prime ministers.
After the Cronulla anti-immigration protest of 2005 hundreds of Muslim youths gathered at the mosque on successive nights before going on violent revenge rampages through Sydney’s eastern and southern suburbs.
Header image: Left, Lakemba Mosque. Right, Muslims pray in the street outside the mosque (Facebook).
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