Islamic prayer hall permanently closes after controversial cleric comes under scrutiny following Bondi terror attack | New South Wales
It was stated that the Islamic place of worship in Sydney, owned by controversial cleric Wisam Haddad and which has been under scrutiny since the Bondi massacre, has been permanently closed.
Al Madina Dawah center in Bankstown made the announcement in an image posted on its Facebook account on Wednesday morning. “The Medina Call center has been permanently closed,” he said, without providing any additional information.
Canterbury Bankstown council issued a “cease use” order on Haddad last month after monitoring the center in Kitchener Parade and finding it had never been approved to operate as a place of worship and had only recently been approved to operate as a medical centre.
The move was backed by New South Wales premier Chris Minns, who on Monday announced plans to give councils stronger powers to close illegal places of worship as part of a crackdown on “hate factories”.
Under the new laws, councils will be required to consult with NSW police before approving any religious building, and fines for operating without a planning permit will increase from $11,000 to $110,000 per person. Fines for companies will increase from $22,000 to $220,000.
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A spokesman for the council confirmed the center was “about to close” but said it had no further comments to make beyond its initial statement.
Media reports claimed that Naveed Akram, one of the alleged Bondi beach gunmen, was a follower of a Dawah preaching movement led by Haddad.
Haddad’s lawyer said last month that he “vehemently denies any knowledge of or involvement in the Bondi beach shootings.”
In a Facebook post published on the center’s account on December 15, the day after the massacre, Al Madina Group said it had taken over management of the center from former tenants and that Haddad, also known as Abu Ousayd, did not have any management role.
“We would like to state clearly that Master Abu Usayd [Haddad] “He has no role in the management, committee or board of Al Madina Group,” it said.
“His involvement is limited to occasional invitations to give lectures and as a guest speaker, including sometimes Friday sermons.”
On December 17, the account posted a statement from Haddad; Haddad denied that Akram was part of or a follower of the Dawa preaching movement and claimed that “no verified photograph exists” showing the two together.
“No evidence has been produced to indicate any personal, organizational or educational connection between Naveed Akram and Wisam Haddad,” the statement said.
Canterbury Bankstown said in a statement on December 23 that it had issued a “cease use” instruction to Haddad the previous day.
A council spokesman said: “Our recent observations indicate there is a strong suspicion that the facility is being used contrary to its intended purpose.” The council said a review of records dating back to 1970 revealed that the center had never been given approval to operate as a place of worship and that no change of use application had been made to convert it from a medical center to a place of worship, which would require development consent.
“We have issued cease-use notices, which are effective immediately. There is no compromise and we will take further action if they fail to comply.”
In a statement that day, Al Madina Group reiterated that it was running the center and doing so independently of Haddad, and said it “rejected any attempt to conflate administrative or planning grumblings with allegations of extremism, national security or criminal conduct.”
In a later post, he said “operations have been temporarily suspended” while he filed a change of use application with the city.
“We emphasize that the center is not closing. This pause is purely to ensure full compliance with council conditions and obtain the necessary approvals.”
