Mosques of Sydney and New South Wales: Research Report 2014

The ever increasing suspicion and scrutiny over the Muslim community in Australia seems to have reached new heights with the emergence of ISIS from the wounds opened by the 2011 Arab Spring revolution in Syria. Accused of unwilling to integrate, Muslims are often portrayed as alien to Western and Australian values. Media images of bearded men with puritanical rhetoric hurled in the backdrop of mosques only served to grow the suspicion and enigma of mosques. The inevitable outcome of such framing coalesced in campaigns against the establishment of mosques throughout Australia. Yet, mosques as places of worship are fundamental in the lives of observant Muslims, a feature highlighted by this report, researched and prepared by Husnia Underabi in collaboration with ISRA Australia, Charles Sturt University and the University of Western Sydney.