Tensions are high in a northern Melbourne suburb, over plans to build a mosque next to an Assyrian Christian church.
Members of the church say they are mainly refugees from persecution in Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East, and the local council is being insensitive and inflammatory in approving a permit for the mosque.
And they say the council should not have ignored warnings that it could even lead to violence.
Hannah Sinclair reports.
In the northern Melbourne suburb of Coolaroo, an empty property lies next to the Assyrian church, St Mary's Ancient Church of the East.
Hume Council has now approved a permit to build a mosque on the property.
Parishioners at St Mary's say this would bring back traumatic memories for a large portion of the congregation who came to Australia as refugees fleeing religious persecution.
Victorian Senate candidate for the Australian Christians party, Vickie Janson, says it's an issue of proximity.
"There's a vacant lot next to the church which they'll be building on so it'll be the immediate neighbour looking straight at the church with a 26-and-a-half metre minaret towering over the church. Now for a people who have been, you know, sort of dominated and hasn't had legal status the same as their neighbours in their country of origin who have suffered the way they have, this is very difficult for them. They just want some space. They're just saying can't it be down the road, further? Can't it be somewhere a little bit away? it's too much."
Hume Council has faced fierce opposition since a development request was made by the Shia Muslim Al Sadiq Foundation in February.
Over one-thousand objections have been made opposing the development, with the Council receiving only two letters in support of the plan.
In an official report, Hume Council noted the reasons people had for objecting the proposal included the potential to ignite violence between the worshippers of two different faiths.
A member of the congregation at St Mary's, Mark Tomas, says the objections should be understandable.
"The biggest concern that it will create disharmony in the area. Just because it's two groups from the Middle East and those groups may have had problems in the past."
The Council says it considered Victoria's human rights and responsibilities law when assessing the impact the mosque would have on individuals in the community.
In deciding to grant a permit to the applicants, the Council concluded the location of the mosque is not provocative and that Islamic communities also have a right to freedom of expression.
It said no evidence was found to suggest that people who would attend the proposed mosque would act in an intimidating or provocative way.
Executive Director of the Islamic Council of Victoria, Mohamad Tabbaa says the assumption that a mosque would result in violence is Islamophobic and offensive.
"Why would such assumptions be made about a group of people whom haven't even started to worship or anything? Why would a claim of violence be made about a place of worship in the first place? It's inherently Islamophobic and offensive to make those remarks."
Australian Christians candidate Vickie Janson says members of the congregation at St Mary's don't necessarily have an issue with Islam or with mosques.
Ms Janson says the issue is that the Islamic faith triggers painful memories of persecution and trauma for some members of the community.
"They've come to seek refugee in Australia. They're not against mosques per se. But you know anybody who is involved in torture and trauma and so-forth knows that there are triggers to trauma. And to have the sights and sounds of things associated with what will be going on next door happening, it will be a trigger."
The Islamic Council of Victoria says trauma due to religious persecution is a sensitive area worthy of consideration.
But Executive Director of the Council, Mohamed Tabbaa says objections based on trauma should be considered within the context of multicultural Australia.
"The people who are building the mosque are not the people who have traumatised them. They're living in Australia. They're Australian citizens. So I mean that claim could be made of any group at any time. And of course if we want to be a multicultural tolerant country than we need to exist side-by-side. And it's basically calling for an apartheid of sorts between religions, which is not multicultural at all I don't think."
Objectors to the plan now have 28 days to appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Congregation member Mark Tomas says the future of St Mary's is at stake.
"The community has mentioned a lot of times that they won't be coming to church if the mosque is built. And obviously that will force the church to close down."
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