Tuesday, 5 April 2022

Islamic community

Ms CONNOLLY (Tarneit) (12:44): I would like to take this opportunity to wish Victoria’s many, many Islamic communities, especially the countless wonderful families living in my electorate of Tarneit, a very warm and positive start to Ramadan. For our Muslim community Ramadan is a special time of reflection and solidarity. It is a time where families come together to think on and consider their faith. It is also a time to remember those who are less fortunate than others and less fortunate than ourselves, as demonstrated by the daily fast from sun-up to sundown.

In my electorate we are an incredibly diverse community of many faiths, and we are fortunate today to have not one but four vibrant mosques and two very awesome Islamic schools servicing the many young families that have moved out west to call Melbourne’s outer western suburbs home. The newest of these mosques is the recently completed Melbourne Grand Mosque, which just opened its doors to the community last year. I watched the construction of this mosque take place from start to finish in the time since I was first elected, and I can tell you I am very excited to get down and join in the community festivities there this Ramadan.

Our Islamic brothers and sisters repeatedly showed us that they were able to pull our community together during the health pandemic that we have just been through, whether it was through pop-up clinics, by providing meals or by highlighting the importance of getting vaccinated. The charity and generosity of so many has been on constant display year round, year upon year, not just limited to the time of Ramadan, so I say to Victoria’s Muslim community ‘Have a very happy Ramadan’.