Lakemba Mosque
Imam Ali bin Abi Taleb Mosque · Masjid Ali Bin Abi Talib
About
Lakemba Mosque, officially the Imam Ali bin Abi Taleb Mosque and widely known as Masjid Ali Bin Abi Talib, stands at 71-75 Wangee Road in the suburb of Lakemba in south-western Sydney. It is owned and operated by the Lebanese Muslim Association, whose offices share the same address, and is recognised as Australia's largest mosque.
The community first gathered for prayer on the site in a small house purchased by the LMA in the 1960s. That structure was demolished in the early 1970s, and the present mosque rose over five years of construction, opening in 1977 with a former Prime Minister in attendance. Funds came both locally and internationally, with about half drawn from the Middle East and the single largest gift from the Saudi royal family.
While the congregation was historically of Lebanese heritage, worshippers today include Australians of Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Somali, and South-East Asian background, along with a small but growing number of converts. Most follow the Hanafi or Shafi'i schools.
The mosque offers classes in the prophetic biography, fiqh, and aqidah, and gives a platform to local shaykhs and visiting scholars. Friday gatherings draw several thousand, and Eid prayers regularly fill the building and streets, with crowds of thirty thousand in 2015 and forty to fifty thousand the next year. Since 2014 the mosque has anchored Australia's National Mosque Open Day.
History
The Lebanese Muslim Association, the first Muslim organisation established in Australia, bought a small house on the Wangee Road site in the 1960s for use as a place of prayer. That building was demolished in the early 1970s, and the present mosque took five years to build, opening in 1977 with funding drawn from the local community and from the Middle East, including a major gift from the Saudi royal family. It was only the second purpose-built mosque in Sydney.
Significance
For a congregation that has grown from its founding Lebanese community to include worshippers of Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Somali, and South-East Asian background, Lakemba Mosque anchors Friday prayers that draw several thousand people and Eid gatherings that have filled the mosque and surrounding streets with tens of thousands more. Since 2014 it has served as the home of Australia's National Mosque Open Day, welcoming visitors of every faith to see a working mosque from the inside.
Architecture
Purpose-built twentieth-century mosque architecture with a single dome and three minarets
Visiting
Hours
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Through the four pathways
Seva सेवा — Service
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Sādhana साधना — Practice
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Sandhāna सन्धान — Wisdom
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Festivals & Events
- Mar
Eid al-Fitr
9 March 2027 · annual
The festival marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, observed at Lakemba Mosque with communal prayer that fills the mosque and its surrounding streets; the exact day follows the sighting of the new moon of Shawwal.
- May
Eid al-Adha
16 May 2027 · annual
The festival of sacrifice marking the culmination of the Hajj season, marked at Lakemba Mosque with Eid prayer that has drawn crowds of tens of thousands; the exact day follows the sighting of the new moon of Dhul Hijjah.
Gallery
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