Sydney: In a move that reflects Australia’s growing religious diversity, Lakemba Mosque—Australia’s largest and most prominent Islamic place of worship—has submitted a proposal to broadcast the Muslim call to prayer, or adhan, through loudspeakers once a week.
The mosque, officially known as Masjid Ali Bin Abi Talib and operated by the Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA), has applied to the Canterbury-Bankstown Council in Sydney to install four external loudspeakers on its minaret.
If approved, the adhan will be broadcast weekly around midday on Fridays before the Jummah (congregational) prayer. This would make Lakemba Mosque the first in Sydney to broadcast the adhan year-round.
The mosque is located in a community where nearly two-thirds of residents identified as Muslim in the 2021 census, with almost a quarter speaking Arabic at home. The LMA emphasized that the proposed broadcast is “modest in nature but deeply meaningful,” adding that it symbolizes cultural inclusion and religious expression.
A spokesperson from LMA stated, “We’ve designed this initiative to strike a balance—preserving religious traditions while being respectful of our diverse local community. The adhan is not a speech or a political statement, but a peaceful spiritual call marking prayer time.”
The mosque had previously broadcast the adhan during Ramadan in 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdowns, without public opposition. This time as well, the council has reportedly not received any formal objections. Local feedback, according to LMA, has been “respectful and positive.”
The LMA pointed out that public calls to prayer are already a norm in many global cities including London, Birmingham, Toronto, Stockholm, New York City, and parts of the Netherlands.
Opened in 1977 with the attendance of then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, Lakemba Mosque continues to serve thousands of worshippers every week and remains a key symbol of Australia’s Islamic heritage.
