أستراليا: رفض بناء مسجد بسبب المخاوف المجتمعية

خبر من مصادر إنجليزية.

وسط ارتفاع موجة الاحتجاجات المعادية للإسلام، رفض مجلس مدينة "سيسنوك" الأسترالية العام الماضي طلبَ الجمعية الإسلامية بـ"نيوكاسل" ببناء مسجد في منطقة "هانتر فالي" يتسع لـ200 مصلٍّ لأداء صلاة يوم الجمعة والعيدين سنويًّا، بعد أن أعرب الآلاف عن قلقهم من المشاكل المحتملة؛ مثل: عرقلة الحركة المرورية.

وقد دعت الجمعية الإسلامية إلى ضرورة النظر في طلبها بعد إدخال التعديلات ومعالجة كافة القضايا التي أعلن السكان المحليون عن قلقهم بشأنها، وعدم الحكم على الطلب بناءً على آراء أولئك الذين يسعون إلى عرقلة بناء مسجد في أي مكان.

والجدير بالذكر أنه تَم رفض طلب بناء مسجد بتكلفة تُقدر بـ7 ملايين دولار منذ ما يقرب من 4 أعوام في منطقة "إليرمور فال"؛ المصدر: شبكة الألوكة.

يرجى الإشارة إلى المصدر عند نقل الخبر – شبكة الألوكة.

الخبر من مصدره الأصلي:

Hunter Valley mosque plans changed after community concerns

The organisation behind plans to build a mosque in the Hunter Valley has called on the proposal to be judged on its merits rather than the opinions of those against all Islamic developments.

The Newcastle Muslim Association has lodged a development application for a mosque at Buchanan with Cessnock City Council.

When the mosque was first mooted last year, thousands took to social media expressing concern, raising potential problems with design and increased traffic.

Muslim Association spokeswoman Diana Rah said the community's feedback had been taken on board and adjustments had been made.

"The building itself has now been moved back," she said.

"The building has been softened - the design of the building.

"The carpark has been re-configured and we have got and increased amount of landscaping as well."

The development is being put forward as a way of alleviating pressure on the existing Wallsend mosque in Newcastle.

It would accommodate 200 worshippers on a Friday, as well as two festivals each year.

Ms Rah said the association had put a lot of thought into the proposal.

"We hope that our development application has addressed all the concerns of the local residents and that it will be judged on its merits and not on the voice of those who aren't particularly happy about a mosque being built anywhere," she said.

Council's director of planning and environment, Gareth Curtis, said the plans would be put on notification for two weeks just after Easter.

"We expect that there'll be a lot of community submissions on this matter," he said.

"We would hope that the community would ensure that they have addressed the issues to do with the application if they support or object to such development."

A proposal for a $7 million mosque at Elermore Vale was rejected nearly four years ago.