Mosque application faces obstacles from council

An application to operate a mosque and to build a 1200 square metre car park in Old Guildford was rejected by Fairfield council in December last year, contradicting the opinion of the Independent Development Assessment Committee.

The IDAC recommended that a decision be held for six months to allow the applicant time to address problems with the proposal.

Labor councillor Lawrence White said the suggestion was not followed because ultimately, 4080sq m is a “very small site” and an inappropriate location for a mosque.

“What happens is that they start out small,” said Mr White. “But if they’re good, within time they’ve grown because they’ve become more popular.”

This would be an unsurprising phenomenon, with an estimated Islamic community of almost 8,000 in Fairfield and only one mosque located at Bonnyrigg.

Although Mr White said the rejection was based purely on planning grounds, he also emphasised that it was a very quiet area and an inappropriate site for a mosque. “This would be a huge change.”

Shady Elriche, President of the Rahma Islamic Association stated that Muslims pray for five minutes, five times a day and were unlikely to disturb residents.

“Friday prayers are the same as a Saturday or Sunday mass, it’s the only day that it’s a full house,” said Mr Elriche. “If I were to buy a factory in an industrial zone would that make it easier?”

Opposition to Islamic institutions has become a pattern in NSW, with a school in Camden denied approval because the council deemed it didn’t fit with the rural character of the area in June 2009. In May last year residents in Cecil Park rallied against a proposed Islamic school and in October a mosque at Roselands received a vicious response after it sought to extend its hours of opening from three days a week.

Mr Elriche anticipated that an application for a mosque would come under scrutiny but said developments should be about finding a balance in the area, and that the Muslim community in Fairfield needed a local place of worship.

“All faiths preach the same thing,” he said. “I’m working for the cause of my community and my satisfaction is with God.”