Albanian Mosque, Carlton North

{{Infobox religious building

| name = Albanian Mosque
{{small|Albanian Australian Islamic Society Mosque}}
{{small|Carlton Mosque}}

| native_name = {{langx|sq|Xhami shqiptare}}

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| image = Albanian Mosque (Carlton North) 17.jpg

| image_upright = 1.20

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| map_type = Australia Melbourne

| map_size = 260

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| map_relief = 1

| map_caption = Location in greater metropolitan Melbourne

| coordinates = {{coord|-37.786699|144.970629|display=title,inline|format=dms|region:AU-VIC_type:landmark}}

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| religious_affiliation = Sunni Islam

| locale =

| location = 765 Drummond Street, {{VICcity|Carlton North}} 3054, Melbourne, Victoria

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| country = Australia

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| organisational_status = Mosque

| functional_status = Active

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| ownership = Albanian Australian Islamic Society (AAIS)

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| leadership = Perparim Sulaj {{small|(Imam)}}

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| architecture_type = {{nowrap|Mosque architecture}}

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| groundbreaking = 1967

| year_completed = 1969

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| website = {{URL|https://aais.org.au/}}

}}

The Albanian Mosque ({{langx|sq|Xhami shqiptare}}), also known as the Albanian Australian Islamic Society Mosque{{cite news|last=Sutton|first=Candace|title='Lit up the room': Family's tribute to murdered couple|url=https://www.coffscoastadvocate.com.au/news/lit-up-the-room-tribute-to-slain-couple/3915162/|agency=The Coff Coast Advocate|date=6 January 2020|access-date=7 August 2020|df=dmy-all}} and Carlton Mosque, is a mosque located in Carlton North, a suburb of inner Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.{{cite book|last1=Johns|first1=Anthony H.|last2=Saeed|first2=Abdullah|chapter=Muslims in Australia: The Building of a Community|editor1-last=Haddad|editor1-first=Yvonne Yazbeck|editor2-last=Smith|editor2-first=Jane I.|title=Muslim Minorities in the West: Visible and Invisible|year=2002|publisher=Rowman Altamira|isbn=9780759116726|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8fixAAAAQBAJ&dq=albanians+carlton+mosque&pg=PA199|pages=199}} The building contains a minaret, and community facilities. Associated with the Albanian Australian community,{{cite book|last=Dunn|first=K.M.|chapter=Space to Worship: Opposition to Mosque Developments in Australia|editor-last=Hawke|editor-first=David|title=Proceedings, Inaugural Joint Conference, New Zealand Geographical Society and Institute of Australian Geographers, Auckland, January 1992, Volume One|year=1992|publisher=University of Auckland|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58gRAQAAIAAJ&q=carlton+|pages=168}} "Certain mosques become associated with certain ethnic or national groups; such as the Lebanese or Lakemba Mosque (Sydney) or Albanians at the Carlton Mosque (Victoria). This is because Islamic groups or associations are usually formed along lines of ethnicity or nationality." the mosque is owned by and the centre of the Albanian Australian Islamic Society (AAIS) of Victoria, whose membership numbers some 1000 people.{{harvnb|Haveric|2017|pp=29-30.}} Construction began in the mid 1960s and was completed by 1969. The mosque is the oldest in Melbourne and listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

History

File:Albanian Mosque (Carlton North) 1.jpg

Following the Second World War, Muslim immigrants such as Albanians migrated to Victoria and found the state lacking Islamic infrastructure.{{harvnb|Haveric|2017|p=21.}} Makeshift mosques belonging to previous Melbourne Muslims existed decades before, often an adapted small room for religious services, but none were long lasting.{{harvnb|Haveric|2019|pp=79, 81.}}

In 1961, Muslim immigrants formed the Islamic Society of Victoria (ISV) to cater for their religious needs, with Albanians comprising its largest number of donors.{{harvnb|Haveric|2019|pp=83-84.}} ISV members met in an adapted small house on 1008 Drummond Street, Carlton that served for a brief period as a mosque, becoming the centre for its Islamic Community of Carlton association and of Muslim life.{{harvnb|Haveric|2017|p=29.}}{{harvnb|Haveric|2019|p=84.}} In 1963, the Albanian community established an organisation named the Albanian Australian Islamic Society (AAIS).

By the late 1960s, Albanians in Melbourne travelled far to the Albanian mosque in Shepparton, Victoria for Bajram (Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha) celebrations and Muslim burial services (janaza). Due to wide geographical distances between both Albanian communities, phone calls were expensive and telegrams sent only when a death occurred. The situation motivated the Melbourne Albanian community, who by that time were to varying degrees financially established to build a mosque within the city.{{harvnb|Haveric|2017|p=25.}}{{cite book|last=Jupp|first=James|title=The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, its People and their Origins|year=2001|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wgoFxfSTfYAC&dq=albanians+carlton+mosque&pg=PA166|isbn=9780521807890|pages=166}}

File:Albanian Mosque (Carlton North) 20.jpg

Fundraising was successfully undertaken by AAIS with one of its founders, Memet Zyka, a community leader seeking and receiving donations from Muslim, Catholic and Orthodox members of the Albanian community.{{harvnb|Haveric|2017|pp=30, 34-35.}}{{harvnb|Haveric|2019|pp=85-86.}} AAIS purchased a property at 765 Drummond Street, Carlton. It contained a Victorian period two story house, previously the home of past Victorian Police Commissioner Thomas O'Callaghan, and an adjacent large empty plot of land.{{cite book|last=Haveric|first=Dzavid|title=Muslims making Australia home: Immigration and Community Building|year=2019|publisher=Melbourne University Publishing|isbn=9780522875829|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QBemDwAAQBAJ&dq=Albanian+Australians&pg=PT133|page=86}}{{cite news|title=Melbourne's First Mosque Celebrates 50 Yrs with Street Festival!|url=https://www.medianet.com.au/releases/180501/|agency=Medianet|date=17 October 2019|access-date=5 August 2020|df=dmy-all}} The initial design of the mosque building was square with brownish bricks. Construction began in 1967{{harvnb|Haveric|2019|p=85.}}{{cite VHD|89016|Albanian Mosque - Carlton North|ho=326|accessdate = 2020-08-05}} and finished in 1969.{{cite book|last1=Saeed|first1=Abdullah|last2=Prentice|first2=Patricia|title=Living in Australia: A Guide for Muslims New to Australia|year=2020|publisher=National Centre for Contemporary Islamic Studies - University of Melbourne|url=https://arts.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/3426712/Living-in-Australia_Interactive.pdf|pages=11}}{{cite journal|last=Donohoue Clyne|first=Irene|title=Seeking Education for Muslim Children in Australia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lB_tAAAAMAAJ&q=inner+city|journal=Muslim Education Quarterly|volume=14|issue=3|year=1997|pages=6}} "the Albanian Muslim community has established two mosques, a rural mosque at Shepparton opened in 1960 and another in an inner city area of Melbourne in 1969."

The mosque since its establishment, apart from being a centre for Albanian religious and cultural activities has also provided assistance to other communities. For instance, Albanians in the 1970s shared their mosque with newly arriving Turkish immigrants, becoming at the time an important centre for the Turkish Australian community.{{cite news|last=Kilic|first=Nilgun|title=Albanian mosque celebrates 50th year|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/node/1653408?language=ku|agency=SBS|date=3 December 2019|access-date=5 August 2020|df=dmy-all}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Other arrivals, such as students from Southeast Asian countries (Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia) received assistance from the mosque. In the 1970s and 1980s, a Muslim Palestinian volunteer at the mosque, Omar Hallak taught the Quran and Arabic language.{{harvnb|Haveric|2017|p=28.}}

In 1981, Rexhep Idrizi, became the imam at the mosque.{{cite journal|last=Haveric|first=Dzavid|title=Muslim Minorities in Victoria: Building Communities and Interfaith Relations from the 1950s to the 1980s|url=https://ajis.com.au/index.php/ajis/article/view/55|journal=Australian Journal of Islamic Studies|volume=2|issue=3|year=2017|pages=30}}{{cite news|last=Zwartz|first=Barney|title=Inside Muslim Melbourne|url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/inside-muslim-melbourne-20050827-ge0rm5.html|agency=The Age|date=27 August 2005|access-date=6 August 2020|df=dmy-all}} A minaret was added to the mosque in 1994, after permission was granted by the High Court of Australia. The building underwent major renovations in 2003 resulting in the addition of a number of new facilities, the mosque exterior painted white and the installation of red carpet, to reflect the colour of the Albanian flag. In the late 2010s Bekim Hasani was imam of the mosque.{{cite news|last1=Renaldi|first1=Erwin|last2=Weedon|first2=Alan|title=Ramadan is a month of self-discipline but many Muslims remain divided over festivity excesses|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-12/ramadan-fasting-can-lead-to-weight-gain-and-food-waste/11065740|agency=ABC|date=12 May 2019|access-date=6 August 2020|df=dmy-all}}

File:Albanian Mosque (Carlton North) 3.jpg|Mosque on Drummond St

File:Albanian Mosque (Carlton North) 9.jpg|Close up of mosque

File:Albanian Mosque (Carlton North) 13.jpg|Mosque entrance

File:Albanian Mosque (Carlton North) 18.jpg|Covered mosque portico

File:Albanian Mosque (Carlton North) 16.jpg|Mosque minaret

File:Albanian Mosque (Carlton North) 21.jpg|Metal plaque informing people about the mosque

In solidarity with victims of the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, the mosque like others in Victoria held an open day (17 March) for the public to support or acquaint themselves with Islam and Muslims.{{cite news|last1=Webb|first1=Carolyn|last2=Pearson|first2=Erin|last3=Preiss|first3=Benjamin|title='We stand against hate': Thousands attend mosque open day|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/oceania/we-stand-against-hate-thousands-attend-mosque-open-day-20190317-p514wu.html|agency=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=17 March 2017|access-date=6 August 2020|df=dmy-all}}

File:Albanian Mosque (Carlton North) 19.jpg

AAIS held a celebratory outdoor festival at the mosque on 17 November 2019 marking its 50th anniversary, attended by some 3000-4000 people.{{cite news|last=Kajtazi|first=Sani|title=50th Anniversary of the Albanian Mosque, Urim Balla head of the Albanian Australian Islamic Association|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/audio/50th-anniversary-of-the-albanian-mosque-urim-balla-head-of-the-albanian-australian-islamic-association|agency=SBS|date=23 November 2019|access-date=5 August 2020|df=dmy-all}} It included Muslim Australians of Albanian and other backgrounds, non Muslim Australians of other faiths, political representatives and heads of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).{{cite news|last=Şakar|first=Recep|title=Xhamia Shqiptare në Melburn shënon 50-vjetorin e themelimit - Fotografi|trans-title=The Albanian Mosque in Melbourne marks the 50th anniversary of its founding - Photographs|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/sq/pg/galeria-e-fotografive/xhamia-shqiptare-n%C3%AB-melburn-sh%C3%ABnon-50-vjetorin-e-themelimit|agency=Anadolu Agency|date=17 November 2019|access-date=5 August 2020|df=dmy-all|language=sq}}{{cite news|last=Kajtazi|first=Sani|title=Adam Bandt - Federal Member for Melbourne at 50th Anniversary of the Albanian Mosque|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/audio/adam-bandt-federal-member-for-melbourne-at-50th-anniversary-of-the-albanian-mosque|agency=SBS|date=23 November 2019|access-date=5 August 2020|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|last=Kajtazi|first=Sani|title=Danae Bosler - City of Yarra Mayor at 50th Anniversary of the Albanian Mosque|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/audio/danae-bosler-city-of-yarra-mayor-at-50th-anniversary-of-the-albanian-mosque|agency=SBS|date=23 November 2019|access-date=5 August 2020|df=dmy-all}} Simultaneously, an exhibition was held inside the mosque showcasing its history.{{cite news|last=Şakar|first=Recep|title=Xhamia Shqiptare në Melburn shënon 50-vjetorin e themelimit|trans-title=The Albanian Mosque in Melbourne marks the 50th anniversary of its founding|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/sq/bota/xhamia-shqiptare-n%C3%AB-melburn-sh%C3%ABnon-50-vjetorin-e-themelimit/1647960|agency=Anadolu Agency|date=17 November 2019|access-date=5 August 2020|df=dmy-all|language=sq}} For the occasion and the first time in its history, the call to prayer (adhan) was performed by Amet Balla from the mosque minaret and heard in the surrounding area through its loudspeakers.

During its 50-year history, the mosque congregation, including donors has become diverse and originating from various ethnicities.{{cite news|last=Renaldi|first=Erwin|title=Masjid Pertama di Melbourne Dibangun Oleh Pendatang Asal Albania|trans-title=Melbourne's First Mosque Was Built By Albanian Migrants|url=https://www.abc.net.au/indonesian/2019-11-19/perayaan-50-tahun-masjid-pertama-kota-melbourne/11717024|agency=ABC|date=19 November 2019|access-date=5 August 2020|df=dmy-all|language=id}} Imam Hasani left the mosque in 2020 to become head of sharia affairs at the Islamic Coordinating Council of Victoria (ICCV).{{cite news|last=Waters|first=Carly|title=Melbourne Imam helps spread COVID message|url=https://7news.com.au/news/health/melbourne-imam-helps-spread-covid-message-c-1130414|agency=Seven News|date=28 June 2020|access-date=6 August 2020|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|last=Renaldi|first=Erwin|title=Melbourne Muslims feel 'unfairly tarnished' by reports linking them to rising COVID-19 cases|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-15/muslims-melbourne-raising-concern-over-covid19-reports/12454846|agency=ABC|date=15 July 2017|access-date=6 August 2020|df=dmy-all}} The current imam is Perparim Sulaj.