CAIRO — Many Muslims are quitting regional cities of Australia’s south-eastern state of Victoria over the rarity of mosques, Melbourne Herald Sun reported on Monday, June 2.
“There are many Muslim families here and we have many visitors who are disappointed when we tell them there is no mosque,” said Mohamed Khanyari, leader of the Muslim community in Victoria’s south-western city of Warrnambool.
“I am already bringing people here to work, but they just cannot stay, because they are very religious people and they must have somewhere to pray.
Khanyari noted that the nearest mosque to Muslims living in Warrnambool is almost 200km away.
Sherene Hassan, a member of the Islamic Council of Victoria’s Executive Committee, stressed that mosques are indispensible for Muslims.
“For devout Muslims a mosque is a central aspect of their lives.”
In Victoria’s 30 regional cities there only four mosques compared to 32 in Melbourne, the state’s capital and largest city.
Many Muslims therefore quit regional cities just weeks after moving in and relocate to Melbourne.
There are more than 103,000 Muslims in Victoria, Australia’s second most populous state with an estimated population of 5,205,200 as of June 2007.
Impact
Muslims leaders caution against the negative effect of this on the state’s economy.
“If Muslims are leaving towns because of this, then this is affecting these towns economically,” argues Hassan.
“The people I am bringing here are good, skilled workers, but they simply leave because of the situation,” agrees Khanyari.
“It would be good for us, yes, but also good for the town and tourism.”
Hassan called for building more mosques in the state to meet Muslims’ religious needs.
“We would want the wider community to support it, and would urge Muslims to consult as widely as possible.”
Muslims, who have been in Australia for more than 200 years, make up 1.5 percent of its 20-million population.
Islam is the country’s second largest religion after Christianity.
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