Open invite to explore Islamic culture

THE Ballarat Islamic Mosque will be open to the public this weekend as part of an annual State Government-supported initiative aimed at raising awareness about the religion and its practices.

The local mosque, called Masjid Abu Bakr Siddiq, will be one of more than 30 Victorian sites to have its doors opened for the event under the auspice of the Islamic Council of Victoria.

The mosque has been the home of the Islamic Society of Ballarat since 2016 and open day co-organiser Obaid Noor said the event is an ideal way to familiarise people with Islamic culture.

“The underlying concept behind this is to share information and to disrupt any pre-conceived notions people might have about Islams and what we do,” he said.

“It’s to bring harmony amongst the community and if people have any questions about what goes on in our mosque and what we do, they’re welcome to ask.”

As well as an information session, the event will also feature a mosque tour, barbecue, food stalls, children’s activities, henna art displays, and a section where attendees can try on hijabs.

The upcoming event will be Mr Noor’s first as an organiser, and he said he’s excited to share his story of moving to Australia 13 years ago with attendees.

“I’ll talk about my own personal experiences so people can actually relate to it in that sense and see things in a different perspective,” he said.

“I do feel it’s making a difference against Islamophobia. If you’re already coming to the open day, you’re already curious.

“When the info is passed on and they see us in person, they actually realise how wrongly we’ve been portrayed.”

The statewide initiative has been taking place since 2017 and is being supported for the next four years with $400,000 from the State Government.

The Ballarat Islamic Mosque open day will run from 10.30am to 2.30pm on Sunday at 116 Elsworth Street East in Canadian.