Fatima Halloum
For Muslims in Wyndham, the new Melbourne Grand Mosque in Tarneit is not just a place to pray.
The $8.5 million centre was funded by the community, took almost 14 years to complete and has the capacity to fit more than 2,000 worshippers.
The mosque also provides a community centre, a youth hub, sports stadium and childcare facilities.
“You can pray anywhere, even if you are in an airplane, but it’s a centre of education, discipline, positivity, responsibility and productivity,” Wyndham resident Saied Altabaa said.
“The bigger picture of importance comes from the word ‘jaame’e’ which aims to gather hearts and people for unity, mutual respect and a core element of learning.”
Prior to the new mosque opening, many Wyndham residents were restricted to a 400 capacity mosque, in a municipality with a population of more than 16,000 Muslims.
Despite being a sacred place of worship for people of the Islamic faith, Mr Altabaa said everyone is invited to attend.
“Mosques have always been and will stay forever open for everyone, regardless of their background, faith, race or skin color.”
Mosque Committee President Rifai Abdul Raheem said the place of worship had received attention from interested visitors across the country.
“A lady called from Alice Springs to congratulate us and said ‘I want to visit Melbourne so I’ll definitely visit your mosque’,” Mr Abdul Raheem said.
“One elderly couple they came from Frankston and the gentleman asked us ‘can we visit again?’ and we said, you can visit every day.”
