A greater grasp on Islamic culture

THE Ballarat Islamic Mosque was brimming with activity on Sunday with the site one of more than thirty places of worship to have its doors opened as part of an initiative through the Islamic Council of Victoria.

Shoes were left at the front door with people seated inside for presentations while stalls used for food, and hijab trying lined the site’s open space.

The local event was run by members of the Islamic Society of Ballarat, who’ve occupied the Canadian-based site since its opening in 2016.

Co-organiser Aasiya Furniturewale gave a speech around the hijab and women’s equal rights, and said the event was a great opportunity to showcase Islamic culture to those unfamiliar with it.

“There’s been more people than we expected this year,” she said. “There’s more than 70, 75 people here and we have communities represented from Pakistani, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia.

“We think there’s more people here because of the reach of Islamic culture now. I have friends who weren’t even aware before that there was a mosque in the neighbourhood.

“For my presentation I was representing Islamic women and the concept of hijab which is often misrepresented. Islam granted women equal rights 1400 years and the hijab is a badge of honour I wear on my head every day.”

The mosque is used each week for Friday prayers, which Ms Furniturewale said averages 50 men and 25 women with greater numbers seen during cultural occasions.

As well as presentations, the event included henna hand painting demonstrations, children’s activities, and an info stall on the Palestinian conflict.

Ballarat Central’s Simone Ryan attended the event after being told about it by her neighbour and wanted to show her support for the Islamic community.

“I wanted to attend because of the Palestinian situation,” she said.

“I don’t have any Islamic friends but I’m a secondary teacher and have taught comparative religion and understand the different religions, and this is a religion connected to people who are being oppressed.

“The interesting thing they had was a presentation on Islam and Christianity, things I’d never learnt about. The food’s been amazing as have the talks.

“It’s definitely given me a greater understanding on the variety of cultures here.”