Mosque plans anger indigenous elders

11 Nov 2011, 7:11 am   -   By: Jenny Curtis
15 Comments

This video has expired

We're sorry but this video has expired. You may find another one to watch on the right or click here to return to the video page.

Share This
+ Comment
15

Swan Noongar elders say a site near Perth where the Bosnian Islamic Society planned to build a mosque is sacred, Jennifer Curtis reports.

RELATED

Plans by Western Australia's Bosnian community to build a mosque near Perth have hit another hurdle.

Local indigenous elders say the land on which it will be built is a sacred site - home to the Waugle, a snake-like Dreamtime creature.

The Bosnian Islamic Society says it was unaware of the significance of the land, and that it's too far along the planning process to build elsewhere.

Bennet Brook is a registered Aboriginal site where Bosnian Muslims from surrounding suburbs want to build a place of worship.

The indigenous community is insisting they have strong spiritual and physical connections to the site,  and it's no place for a mosque. 

 

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube

Your Comments

Display: 20 | 40 | All comments per page
Previous 10 | Page 1 | 2 | Next 10

Sacred Site @ Bennet Brook

Cindy - from Yokine, 5 months ago

It's a registered site! duh! Weren't the purchasers of the site told that when they bought the land? The Noongars from this area have every right to be concerned. They'd had it identified as a sacred site, therefore had confidence in the Govt that it would not disturbed? Good on you Swan Valley mob.

Treasures

Josh - from brisbane, 6 months ago

I think, that multiculturalism should be embraced in today's society. However not at the cost of someone elses culture and heritage. The council that approved this should be condemed for their lack of understanding and oversight of this BIG issue. Aboriginal people have had their land taken off them since the arrival of the first fleet and have never been equal since. It's about time that Councils all over Australia realised that Indigenous people are treasuers and should be treated so!

No Mosque

Joe - from Adelaide, 6 months ago

Muslims have plenty of other Mosques they can go to in Perth. You can not build a place of worship on an existing place of worship.

How Long

D - from Sydney, 6 months ago

My question is, if it becomes a mosque, how long before it is claimed as Allah's land? Afganistan was once buddist and Hindu until Tamarind Khan came through and changed this and now it is Allahs 100% ecen though it wasnt once. no offence to Muslims intended, I dont think religion of any kind should be allowed to own land in Australia including the Catholics handing back all the property they own off the backs of the poor. Go the Dreamtime

Sacred

Rashid - from Perth, 7 months ago

The question remains—if the council knew it was sacred, why did it approve the plan? The Solution? The Council pays for ITS mistake and compensates the Bosnian and Aboriginal communities and restores the site to original status. Bosnians are Muslims they should accept this as it is required of them to respect other peoples’ places of worship and maintain harmony. It is correct to suspect then as to how such a gross blunder of decision could have been made without the Council consulting the Elders!

Fiction

Sol - from Perth, 7 months ago

It is amusing when two lots of people, each believing in its own piece of fiction, have arguments like this.

No mosque

adrio - from sydney, 7 months ago

This is aboriginal land. Its sacred. Regardless, sell it and you will at least break even, so dont say that you have lost so much money.

L-O-L

John - from California, 7 months ago

As an American I find this hilarious. If ANY group here were to not want a mosque built, they'd be decried as racist, hateful, and bigoted against those poor downtrodden muslims. They'd have all sorts of stuff crammed down their throat about how important tolerance and diversity is. What's going to happen when the conflict is between two different "poor downtrodden" groups?

If it's sacred then why is anything at all being built there.

Paul - from Darwin, 7 months ago

It would appear the fact of the matter is that the land is now in private ownership (otherwise how could anyone be planning to build on it) and therefore it's a case of sorry chaps, too late to whine now. Perhaps the local indigenous could buy it? As in w/out a govt handout to do so. If it's truly a sacred to them then why not? My guess is this belated opposition has been stirred up by anglo people unhappy with the mosque whipping the local elders into some action.

Diversity is our strength.

realist - from Australia, 7 months ago

All the inner-city green voters sure are glad they have a get out of jail free card to protest this mosque. B..B...But...but..It's on Aboriginal land! I say BRING ON DIVERSITY. We have enough dreamtime lands but we certainly have less mosques. Prepare to be culturally enriched Richard Wilkes.

Display: 20 | 40 | All comments per page
Previous 10 | Page 1 | 2 | Next 10

Join the Discussion

Name
City / Suburb E.g. Artarmon, Sydney
Title
Comment
You have characters remaining.
Validation
What's this?
This is a captcha-picture. It is used to prevent mass-access by robots.
All submitted comments become the property of SBS. They are moderated, so we reserve the right to edit comments and remove HTML tags. Not all submitted comments will be published. Publication does not mean we endorse the opinions expressed. Please read our terms and conditions for more information.