A “racist” flyer has been circulating Oak Flats targeting Shellharbour’s Muslim Community and calling on residents to join together to “stop the mosque”.
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The Uthman Mosque on Parkes Street, Oak Flats has been operating as a place of public worship for several months and is affiliated with the Omar Mosque in Wollongong and the Wollongong Islamic Society.
There is no name or contact on the flyer which urges the community to “act now before it’s too late” and contact Shellharbour councillors to protest against the mosque’s operation. The flyer questions whether the mosque has council permission to operate as a place of worship, states that it causes traffic problems during Ramadan and creates noise affecting the value of neighbouring properties.
The site on which the Mosque is located is zoned R3 (residential) on which a place of public worship is fully permissible. Shellharbour City Council confirmed that ‘‘owners of the property are complying with regulations’’.
“Shocked” at receiving the flyer, a long-time resident on the street wrote to the Lake Times saying she felt it promoted “nothing more than racism”.
“I believe the only reason why someone is complaining about a Muslim Mosque in their community is because they are racist,” she said.
“The majority of Muslim people are living peacefully among us ... they have every right to have a place of worship, just as any other people do in Oak Flats, in Parkes Street or anywhere else.
“It is very sad that most people associate all Muslims with terrorism.”
Admitting this wasn’t the first time the Mosque had been targeted, chairperson of Omar Mosque in Wollongong Dr Munir Hussain said he had seen a shift in attitudes towards Muslims in the past year.
“We have had number plates stolen from someone’s car, another car was sprayed with paint and we have had several complaints to council,” Dr Hussain said.
“In the past year since [the rise of] ISIS, and also since Reclaim Australia, I have seen a rise in a change in attitudes towards Muslims. Particularly in Shellharbour.
“We want peace, we are not doing anything illegal and we shouldn’t be blamed for what is happening in the Middle East.
“It’s pure discrimination and racism. It is just agitation by some people.
“We don’t park on the street and we have had gravel put down on site so we can park off the street. We don’t want to inconvenience anybody, we just want to practise in peace.”
Shellharbour councillor and Oak Flats resident Helen Stewart said the current zoning meant the Mosque had permissible use but she had recently received several emails from local residents objecting to the Mosque operating within a residential area.
