The Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA) is an Australian non-profit welfare Sunni Muslim organisation based in Lakemba, a south-western suburb of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. It is also variously cited as the Lebanese "Moslem", "Moslems" or "Muslims" Association. The Association was founded in 1962 as a

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

project aiming to serve the "social, religious, recreational and educational" needs of Sunni

Australian Muslims Islam in Australia is a minority religious affiliation. According to the 2021 Census in Australia, the combined number of people who self-identified as Muslims in Australia, from all forms of Islam, constituted 813,392 people, or 3.2% of the ...

, and to advocate on their behalf in pursuit of these aims.About the Lebanese Moslems Association
, LMA website. Retrieved on 2007-02-01.Trad, K.

,

HREOC The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of Australia, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body funded by, but oper ...

website. Retrieved on 2007-02-02. The Association also owns and operates

Lakemba Mosque The Lakemba Mosque, also known as the Masjid Ali Bin Abi Talib and officially the Imam Ali bin Abi Taleb Mosque, is Australia's largest mosque. It is located at 71-75 Wangee Road, Lakemba. Owned and managed by the Lebanese Muslim Association ...

, which is situated close to its head office and is the venue for most of its programs and events.History of Lakemba Mosque
", LMA website. Retrieved on 2007-02-02. Samier Dandan is the president of the organisation.

History

The Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA) was established in 1962 by a group of Lebanese immigrants, to provide social, religious, educational and recreational services for the Muslim community. The LMA was formally registered as an Australian company limited by guarantee in 1973 and listed as The Lebanese Moslem Association. The entity is registered as a charity, but is not entitled to receive tax deductible gifts. Between 2025 and 1977, the organisation built the Imam Ali bin Abi Taleb Mosque on Wangee Road in Lakemba. The mosque is more commonly known as

. It was the first purpose-built mosque in Sydney.

Mosques

The LMA owns and runs three mosques within New South Wales.

Lakemba Mosque

, also known as Masjid Ali Bin Abi Taleb, was completed in 1977 and was the first purpose-built mosque in Sydney. It is believed to be Australia's largest mosque. The Imam of the mosque is Shaykh Yahya Safi and the assistant Imam is Shaykh Mohamed Harby. Lakemba Mosque hosts the largest

Eid Prayers Eid prayers, also referred to as Salat al-Eid ( ar, صلاة العيد), are holy holiday prayers in the Islamic tradition. The literal translation of the word "Eid" in Arabic is "festival" or "feast" and is a time when Muslims congregate with ...

in Australia, with 40,000 people regularly turning out for the prayers at the mosque.

Othman Bin Affan Mosque

Located on Water Street in

Cabramatta Cabramatta ('Cabra') is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cabramatta is located south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. Cabramat ...

, Othman Bin Affan Mosque was opened in 1994. The mosque was formerly a

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

Hall. The Imam of the mosque is Shaykh Emad Hamdy.

Omar ibn al-Khattab Mosque

Situated in the rural NSW town of

Young Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American roc ...

, Omar ibn al-Khattab mosque serves the need of the local Muslim community which is estimated at 400 people. The mosque was formerly a movie theatre before being opened as a mosque in 1994.

Mosque Tours

The LMA conducts mosque tours at

. Visiting groups consist of schools, university students, Christian groups and other groups of individuals. It is believed the LMA offers the longest ongoing mosque tour in Australia, having delivered free tours to visitors for decades. Each year, thousands of visitors come through the mosque.

Zakat

The LMA collects and distributes

Zakat Zakat ( ar, زكاة; , "that which purifies", also Zakat al-mal , "zakat on wealth", or Zakah) is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah. It is considered in Islam as a religious obligation, and by Quranic ranking, is ...

and

Sadaqa or Sadqah ( ar, صدقة , "charity", "benevolence", plural ' ) in the modern context has come to signify "voluntary charity". According to the Quran, the word means voluntary offering, whose amount is at the will of the "benefactor". Etymolo ...

in accordance with

Shariah Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

principles.

Membership

In 2002, the LMA had more than 1100 financial members, with more than 5000 members attending Friday congregational prayers and "over tens of thousands" (members and non-members) using the Association's facilities on festive occasions.

Women's issues

A Women’s Committee has been established to support the needs of women in the community.

Activities

In early 2015 the federal government intended to establish early intervention programs to counter

violent extremism Violent extremism is a form of extremism that condones and enacts violence with ideological or deliberate intent, such as religious or political violence. Violent extremist views can manifest in connection with a range of issues, including politics ...

, as part of $630 million package. The LMA said they would not participate, with one source saying this is because the funding is "paltry" with a lack of ongoing financial commitment. The LMA received about $2m in government funds in 2014 and in 2015 it obtained several "community development and participation" grants.

Politics

For the 2011 New South Wales state election, the LMA endorsed the

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

over the

centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...

Labor Party. At that election, the Liberal-

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

Coalition under

Barry O'Farrell Barry Robert O'Farrell (born 24 May 1959) is a former Australian politician who has been Australia's High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan since May 2020. O'Farrell was the 43rd Premier of New South Wales and Minis ...

won a

landslide victory A landslide victory is an election result in which the victorious candidate or party wins by an overwhelming margin. The term became popular in the 1800s to describe a victory in which the opposition is "buried", similar to the way in which a geol ...

over the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

Labor government, led by Premier

Kristina Keneally Kristina Marie Kerscher Keneally (born 19 December 1968) is an American-born Australian politician who was a Labor Senator for New South Wales from February 2018 until April 2022, when she resigned to unsuccessfully contest the House of Repres ...

. In 2015, the LMA did not directly endorse the Liberals, during the final stages of the election campaign, the LMA criticised

Opposition Leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

Luke Foley Luke Aquinas Foley (born 27 July 1970) is a former Australian Labor Party politician who served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of New South Wales from 2015 to 2018. Foley was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Counci ...

. Foley, originally a member of the Legislative Council, won the seat of Auburn for Labor; with the seat of Auburn having one of the largest Muslim communities in the state.

Criticism

In an interview in April 2014 Sheik

Taj El-Din Hilaly Taj El-Din Hamid Hilaly (alternatively spelt Tajeddin Hilaly, Hilali, Al-Hilaly, Taj el-Din al-Hilali, Aldin Alhilali, Tajideen El-Hilaly or Tajeddine) Toni Hassan ABC Radio, The Religion Report (transcripKeysar Trad on an alternative Australia ...

was critical the LMA, saying they, "don’t seem to have any direction".

References

External links

* * {{coord, -33.9122866, 151.0733, display=inline, map sources for the Lakemba Mosque 1962 establishments in Australia Arab-Australian culture Islamic organisations based in Australia Islamic organizations established in 1962 Non-profit organisations based in New South Wales Organisations based in Sydney