QUEENSLAND MOSQUE OPENS DOORS TO PUBLIC

**During the event, hosted by the mosque, the imam of the Mackay Mosque said he would like to see a deeper relationship with local police.** (Photo: On Islam)

Mackay, 19 Jumadal Awwal 1436/10 March 2015 (MINA) – Amid increasing misconceptions about Islam and Muslims, a leading Muslim figure from Mackay city on the eastern coast of Queensland has urged members of the religious minority to reach out to the wider community, seeing interaction as the best method to erase misconceptions.

“When you keep seeing each other and talk to each other, that will reduce any possible fears that can arise,” Waseem Razvi, the president of the Islamic Research and Educational Academy said, On Islam quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

“So I think there are already initiatives but an added initiative is to go out of the mosque and attend church events and multicultural festivals which larger Mackay has.”

Razvi was the guest speaker at a community day at the Mackay Mosque, in north Queensland, held on Sunday.

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During the event, hosted by the mosque, the imam of the Mackay Mosque said he would like to see a deeper relationship with local police.

Opening doors to the community, officers and their families were invited to tour the mosque where the met members of the local Islamic community.

“We have regular meetings with the police, the patrol cars come around all the time to make us feel safe,” Imam Eshfaq Akbar said.

“If we have any needs we give them a call. Our brother, Ifrain, is in regular contact with the police, so we have a very good relationship.

“The police should be able to be feel comfortable to be able to interact with us, ask questions about our different societies and different traditions and things like that.

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“So just to build a deeper relationship, we thought that we would have a Sunday barbecue.”

Praise

The event was praised by police officers, who encourage more local officers to visit the mosque and work with the community.

“As we always say, understanding creates tolerance and sometimes people’s lack of understanding is where their intolerance comes from, so anything that we can do to sort of create that in the community and get that message out there, is the better,” acting Inspector Craig Sanderson said.

“Like anything, and religion is one of those things, if you haven’t been exposed to it then people’s understanding of it probably isn’t as strong as it could be.

“So these type of events provide us the opportunity to talk to people in person and get a real understanding of what the faith is about and some of the concepts that are involved with the religion.”

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Last December, the Islamic society of central Queensland welcomed people of all beliefs and faiths to dispel some of the myths surrounding Islam and promote understanding and tolerance.

Muslims, who have been in Australia for more than 200 years, make up 1.7 percent of its 20-million population.

In post 9/11-era, Australian Muslims have been haunted with suspicion and have had their patriotism questioned.

The anti-Muslim sentiments further increased following recent anti-terror raids, deemed the biggest in Australian history, in which 15 people were arrested from north-western Sydney.

The raids were followed by a huge number of anti-Muslim attacks, including a mosque being defaced in Queensland and direct threats issued against the Grand Mufti of Australia. (T/P006/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)