Place of worship: Orange's Muslims have new mosque and hopes for the future

There has been a long-term Muslim presence in Orange, but with numbers growing in recent years, they found private homes and a room at Charles Sturt University no longer suited their needs so they started hunting for properties on the market.

The pews at the former Plymouth Brethren church in Peisley Street have made way for simple carpet and five clocks on the wall, which have helped worshippers keep track of their prayers since November.

Community spokesman Nafaris Noordeen said Friday prayers could attract up to 40 people and estimated the congregation at 50-60 families.

“We needed to have our own place because as a Muslim, you have five prayers a day, which is obligatory once you’re an adult and it’s preferred to pray in congregation,” he said.

“When you have a congregation, you can also talk about the affairs of the community and the children.”

Facebook page Stop the Orange Mosque, later renamed Mosque Watch Orange, filled social media with links to terrorist acts, a filmed site inspection by Reclaim Australia activist Shermon Burgess and a petition, which then inspired a second page to be set up in opposition, Support the Mosque in Orange.

Mr Noordeen said Islam was going through a tough time and put the negative attention down to a lack of understanding.

“The only guidance about Islam comes from two sources - the holy Qur’an and the prophetic tradition,” he said.

“The more you talk about the negative, the more you fuel them up so we didn’t connect with any of it.”

Fellow spokesman Salahadin Khairo encouraged people to ask questions rather than take incorrect information from less than credible sources.

The Muslim community has been working with Orange’s Social Justice Group on a proposal to bring some of the 12,000 Syrian refugees to the city.

It also hopes to hold an open day and explore other activities like sports days or debating competitions. 

danielle.cetinski@fairfaxmedia.com.au