More mosques should be built to stop young Muslims becoming radicalised, Australia’s Grand Mufti has warned.
Islamic youths are increasingly turning to backyard prayer halls and “mini mosques” where self-styled imams are teaching extreme doctrine because there are not enough traditional centres, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohamed said.
The frequent rejection of building applications not only meant the number of mosques can’t keep pace with the growing needs of the faith but also led to increasing isolation and anger among Muslims, who felt they were being rejected.
Dr Mohamed said his long-term vision, along with the Australian National Imams Council, was to build mosques large enough to accommodate gyms, lecture halls and facilities for women and children.
“People need to understand a mosque is not a source of threat,” he said. “A mosque is not a radicalising factor. A mosque is a source of security. A person who has a connection to a mosque is also a person who is law-abiding, who is respectful to others.
“If you look at the percentage of Muslims in Australia and the number of churches and mosques in terms of representation, there is a vast difference. There are a lot of churches but on the percentage of Muslims there are not enough mosques to cater to their needs.”
But local councils were preventing the balance from being restored, with numerous development applications resulting in ugly court battles. While the relationship between Muslims and the broader community was “growing”, every mosque or educational facility knocked back hit hard.
“Any rejection of any mosque or Islamic school, that has a large impact on the general Muslim community,” Dr Mohamed said.
“Many elements in the Muslim community would feel the public is against us, the government or the country is rejecting us and it creates a feeling of isolation, which leads people to live in ghettos and further isolate themselves from the wider community, and this is wrong.”
Radical Islam hit the headlines this week, with a British soldier murdered on a London street and an accused Sydney rioter refusing to stand for a magistrate.
“These terrorist attacks are alien to the traditional Islamic understanding and it will put more weight and responsibility on Muslims to put Islam in a positive light again,” Dr Ibrahim said.
He said the Boston marathon bombings were the actions of “evil” men, not religious ones.
In relation to Mohammed Issaka, who cited religious reasons for refusing to stand for magistrate Jacqueline Milledge last week, Dr Mohamed said the behaviour was a confusion between religious customs and social customs.