Council Orders Closure of Bankstown Islamic Prayer Centre Linked To Wissam Haddad

The City of Canterbury-Bankstown council has moved to shut down an Islamic centre in Bankstown, which has been linked to controversial preacher Wissam Haddad, after determining the site was operating illegally.

Council officers issued a cease-use order to the Al Madina Dawah Centre on Kitchener Parade after an investigation found the building did not have approval to operate as a religious facility. Planning records that were uncovered show the site was approved decades ago for use as a medical centre, not a prayer hall.

Why Bankstown council shut down the Wissam Haddad-linked centre

The council said surveillance and inspections this year indicated the building was being used for regular religious gatherings, placing it in breach of its development consent. Under planning laws, the centre must immediately stop operating in its current form unless it secures the appropriate approvals.

The closure comes amid heightened scrutiny of religious spaces following recent public concern about extremist rhetoric in the wake of the Bondi mass shooting, with Haddad having previously drawn controversy for sermons that authorities and community leaders have criticised as inflammatory.

NSW Premier Chris Minns publicly backed the council’s enforcement action, praising local leadership for intervening.

“He’s taken decisive action … this is a kind of leadership that we need right now,” Minns said.

Minns also emphasised that the move was based on planning compliance rather than religious belief.

“Bilal has led that community through a number of years, he’s obviously decided this can’t go on. It’s not being used for the purposes in which the permit had been released,” he said.

Representatives associated with the centre have previously said Haddad is no longer involved in its day-to-day operations, though the site has continued to be publicly linked to him.

Under council orders, continued unauthorised use of the building could result in fines or further legal action. The council said it would continue monitoring the site to ensure compliance with planning regulations.