Sydney Mosque Receives Death Threats Over Adhan Proposal

Sydney Mosque Receives Death Threats Over Adhan Proposal
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Lakemba Mosque, one of Australia’s largest mosques located in Sydney, has received death threats and abusive messages after the Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA) submitted a proposal to broadcast the Adhan, or Muslim call to prayer, once a week on Fridays, IQNA.ir reported. The proposal includes installing four new loudspeakers on the mosque’s minaret to broadcast the prayer call for up to 15 minutes.

LMA secretary Gamel Kheir stated that the objections are often driven by Islamophobia and are based on the unfounded notion that “Muslims are taking over.” He also noted that many of the people objecting do not live in the immediate area. Although the mosque has faced threats since 9/11, the current messages are described as being “on another level.”

A council report on the proposal concluded that while the speakers are permissible under zoning, they would create “significant noise impacts” and cannot be approved in their current form. The LMA is now in discussions with the council to provide further noise assessments in hopes of having the proposal reconsidered.