Islamic centre opens doors for Eid al-Adha festival

THE Bendigo Islamic Association is preparing to welcome everyone from around the region to a free, family-friendly community festival to recognise one of the most important festivals in Islam, Eid al-Adha, also known as the Festival of Sacrifice.

It all takes place on Saturday 30 May from 10am to 3pm at the Bendigo Islamic Community Centre in Rowena Street, East Bendigo.

The association’s secretary, Kym Wilton, said the event represents an opportunity to “create a space where it might demystify … what people think we’re about”.

“There’s no secret that the whole construction of the mosque and the mosque site has not been without controversy, with the protests when it originally was approved and how things have gone along the way,” she said.

“Communities don’t know what they don’t know – there’s never been a mosque in Bendigo, there’s never been a specific Islamic space.

“It’s natural for people not to know if they don’t travel and they’ve not been part of Muslim communities in the past.

“They’re potentially relying on media perceptions of Islam and Muslims, which can be unkind and untrue.

“So, creating a space that represents and reflects us as a community helps for people to see that we’re not different.”

Wilton said on the day there will be a number of different activities.

“There’ll be face painting for kids, there’ll be henna art, we’ll have a calligraphy artist there who can take your name and write it in Arabic calligraphy, plus food trucks and a jumping castle,” she said.

“In amongst the history of Islam in Australia are the cameleers, they’re a really big part of Australian history and a big connection to Islamic representation in the country, so we’ll have some camels for the kids to ride too.”

There will also be an opportunity for people to take part in ‘Islam 101’, Wilton said.

“We’ll do little talks about the top-level parts of Islam so people can ask questions,” she said.

“They can speak with the sheikh, who is our religious leader, he’ll be there, and they can also ask questions about what’s happening with the rest of the development, because there’s different parts of the precinct still to finish being built.

“We’ll have spaces where people can try on hijabs and see what that’s about.”

She said the association is proud to be able to open its doors and invite others in.

“It’s a huge milestone for us as a local community and it’s one of the first large-scale public events that we’re able to host.

“We want people to see this as an opportunity to help break down barriers and create genuine connections between us as fellow members of the Bendigo community.”