MUSLIMS QUITTING REGIONAL VICTORIA IN AUSTRALIA

MUSLIMS are quitting regional Victoria by the dozens because there is nowhere for them to pray. Many are abandoning regional centres just weeks after they arrive because there are no mosques within hundreds of kilometres of their new homes.

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June 19, 2022

MUSLIMS are quitting regional Victoria by the dozens because there is nowhere for them to pray. Many are abandoning regional centres just weeks after they arrive because there are no mosques within hundreds of kilometres of their new homes. There are more than 90,000 Muslims in Victoria, and only four mosques in regional areas. There are further 32 mosques in Melbourne. About 30 Muslim workers have recently left Warrnambool because the nearest mosque is in Geelong – almost 200km away. The Islamic Council of Victoria said rural towns would suffer if they didn’t start providing devout Muslims with places of worship. ICV executive committee member Sherene Hassan said four mosques in regional Victoria was not a large number. Ms Hassan said the ICV would support any efforts to build new mosques, but said they must be built in consultation with the local community. Warrnambool Muslim community leader Mohamed Khanyari said that plans to bring more migrant workers to the area would fail if a place of worship was not built soon