Australian Muslim leaders are warning that repeated opposition by local councils and residents to the building of Muslim schools and worship places is pushing the sizable minority into ghettos, reported the Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday, December 27.
“When we’re not able to do that in some places, where the approach is unfairly delayed and unreasonably delayed, then it’s forcing people to go to one particular area, even though they don’t live in that particular area,” Keysar Trad, president of the Islamic Friendship Society, said.
Proposals by Australian Muslims to build schools and worship places have repeatedly been met with strong opposition from local councils and residents. For example, it took three years and a half to get approval from the Sydney local council to open a prayer center in Penrith city in New South Wales. Earlier this year, the Camden local council rejected a proposal to build a Muslim school to serve 1200 students in the city and surrounding areas.