Sydney Mosque Threats Spark Tensions Over Weekly Call to Prayer Plan in Lakemba

Death threats amid online abuse have forced a Sydney mosque to ramp up security as a dispute escalates over plans to broadcast the Muslim call to prayer once a week.

The Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA), which owns Lakemba mosque, has applied to Canterbury-Bankstown Council to install four new loudspeakers on its minaret at a cost of $22,000, as per Sydney Morning Herald.

The proposal would play the Adhan for up to 15 minutes every Friday at midday.

Council poised to reject weekly call to prayer plan amid 328 objections

Council staff have recommended rejecting the plan at next week’s local planning panel, citing “significant noise” and “unacceptable amenity impacts” raised in 328 public submissions.

Objections included noise intrusion, “religious concerns” and fears of setting a precedent. Others claimed it would hurt property prices or criticised the speaker height.

Noise modelling lodged with the application predicted the call to prayer reaching 92 decibels—similar to the volume of a motorbike or church bells—and be audible for roughly 100 metres.

While the plan meets the site’s zoning rules, council’s report said the impacts were unacceptable in its current form.

Lakemba Mosque leaders cite rising Islamophobia following death threats

LMA secretary Gamel Kheir said the debate has shifted beyond planning to targeted hostility. “We’ve had to install additional CCTV cameras after receiving death threats,” he said to SMH.

“There have been objections which are, in the worst-case scenario, purely based on Islamophobia– paranoia based on the same old thing–that Muslims are taking over, and that somehow the call to prayer is associated with a terrorist threat.”

Kheir noted many objectors live outside Canterbury-Bankstown. “No one objects to the ringing of bells at St Mary’s Cathedral or the Maronite church in Punchbowl, yet somehow the call to prayer is perceived as a threat,” he said.

Recent Christchurch-linked threat adds to Sydney mosque security fears

The Sydney mosque has faced online hate and threats before, but Kheir said the recent hostility was “on another level.”

Earlier this year, an online comment referencing the 2019 Christchurch massacre prompted a police investigation and condemnation from state and federal leaders.

The Islamophobia Register Australia’s latest report recorded 675 verified incidents between January 2023 and November 2024, a sharp uptick in both in-person and online abuse.

Independent panel to decide fate of mosque’s loudspeaker plan

A Canterbury-Bankstown Council spokesperson said the recommendation to refuse will be considered by the independent panel, which may decide to defer or reject the application.

The LMA is working with council on further noise modelling in hopes of having the project reconsidered. ““We’ve been sympathetic to the surrounding area,” Kheir said. “We’re not a nightclub keeping people awake at night,” calling it limited in nature.

According to the application, the broadcast would “foster a sense of unity and shared faith” and be a “familiar and comforting sound” for local residents.

Built in 1977, Lakemba Mosque is one of Australia’s largest and a focal point for Sydney’s Muslim community.

The dispute reflects broader questions about balancing cultural expression with neighbourhood amenity. While noise complaints about pubs, clubs and much more are common, not many attract the heat of those involving mosques.

Council’s local planning panel will consider the application next week.

Other faith-based sites in Sydney are moving ahead, including a $109 million church proposal in Rydalmere and a $123.6 million expansion at Malek Fahd Islamic School in Beaumont Hills.