Victorian Mosque Open Day

MEMBERS STATEMENT - HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Yesterday I was pleased to attend two of the local mosques in the electorate of Lalor for Open Mosque Day. I attended in the company of: Dylan Wight, member for Tarneit; Sarah Connolly, member for Laverton; deputy mayor, Councillor Jennie Barrera; and Vivienne Nguyen from the Victorian Multicultural Commission. I attended the Virgin Mary Mosque, where the Imam Sheikh Abdullah Hawari welcomed us to the mosque and took us through some interesting information about Islam and the value of the mosque in the community. I'd like to thank President Sheikh Hanif and the team there. I also saw representatives of Victoria Police and the Wyndham Interfaith Network represented by our good friend Lawrence.

I then attended the Melbourne Grand Mosque in Tarneit, where Sheikh Nawas gave us a presentation on, again, growing understanding around the mosque and how it is a cultural place as well as a religious place. I want to thank President Rifai Abdul Raheem and the other directors. There was also the President of the Islamic Council of Victoria, Adel Salman.

It is my pleasure to represent the growing Islamic community in my electorate of Lalor. It brings home to us just how important that connectivity is between our communities, and I am so proud to represent a multilingual, multifaith community.