The Albanian Mosque (), also known as the Albanian Islamic Centre Mosque and Albanian Sakie Islamic Centre, is a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

located in

Dandenong Dandenong ( ) is a southeastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, about from the Melbourne CBD. It is the council seat of the City of Greater Dandenong local government area, with a recorded population of 30,127 at the . Situated m ...

, a south eastern suburb of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is one of the earliest mosques in the country. The mosque is a large building, built next to

Dandenong Creek The Dandenong Creek (Aboriginal Bunwurrung: ''Narra Narrawong'' or ''Dandinnong'') is an urban creek of the Port Phillip catchment, located in the eastern and south-eastern Greater Melbourne region of the Australian east coast state of Vict ...

and residential neighbourhood, with a

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

, and community facilities. Associated with the Albanian Australian community, the mosque is owned by and the centre of the Albanian Sakie Islamic Society of Dandenong.

History

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

immigrants mainly from Kišava (), a village in south-western

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

arrived and settled in Dandenong from the early 1960s onward and over many decades became a large and concentrated community living in the area. A mosque was built and opened in 1985. At the mosque, Albanians are in charge of administrative functions, whereas the Islamic Association of Australia, an organisation with multicultural members also uses the premises. Mosque membership is mainly composed of Albanians with a Kišava origin. The committee of the Dandenong Albanian Sakie Islamic Society, an influential organisation among Dandenong Albanians, has it stipulated in the mosque constitution that only individuals with Kišava Albanian origins can be on its board. The mosque holds sway over the provision of services conducted by the imam, such as Islamic prayers, Sunday school, and undertaking other events (circumcisions, weddings, funerals and so on). Only people with membership can have a funeral at the mosque, although exceptions have occurred for other non-Albanian Muslims. Albanians in Dandenong are composed by

cultural Muslims Cultural Muslims, also known as nominal Muslims, non-practicing Muslims or non-observing Muslims, are people who identify as Muslim but are not religious and do not practice the faith. They may be a non-observing, secular, or irreligious individu ...

, some of them are religious. In the early twenty first century, regular attendance to the mosque consists of a small number of Albanian men. The rest of the congregation are mainly

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...

, some

Afghans Afghans (; ) are the citizens and nationals of Afghanistan, as well as their descendants in the Afghan diaspora. The country is made up of various ethnic groups, of which Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks are the largest. The three main lan ...

and Muslims from other backgrounds. Few women, often elderly, go to the mosque, unless in the event of a funeral where attendance increases especially if it is of a woman. According to community members, low attendance by local Albanians is due to work and raising children preoccupying people and making it difficult to visit the mosque and pray. Individuals attending mosque school are from a non-Albanian background. Mosque sermons are mainly conducted in the

Albanian language Albanian (Endonym and exonym, endonym: , , or ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid, Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan group. It ...

, with some

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

for non-Albanian Muslim worshipers.

Gallery

File:Albanian Mosque (Dandenong) 14.jpg, View of mosque from bridge over Dandenong Creek File:Albanian Mosque (Dandenong) 2.jpg, View from Dalgety Rd. Mosque (left) and its community facilities (right) File:Albanian Mosque (Dandenong) 3.jpg, Mosque and car park File:Albanian Mosque (Dandenong) 8.jpg, View from Canberra Ave.

References

External links

Official Website
{{Mosques in Australia Dandenong, Victoria Mosques in Melbourne Mosques completed in 1968 1968 establishments in Australia Albanian diaspora Buildings and structures in the City of Greater Dandenong Mosque buildings with minarets in Australia 20th-century mosques in Australia

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links