Orange’s Muslim community opens doors for mosque open-day

The former Plymouth Brethren church has been operating as a mosque for the past year and its members wanted a chance to thank the Orange community for their acceptance.

The event, on Saturday 29 October, is being timed to co-incide with ‘National Mosque Open-Day’ events throughout Australia.

Community spokesperson Khalid Tufail said he is delighted at the warmth of the welcome from Orange residents since the new building began to be used regularly for prayers.

Mr Tufail has lived in Orange with his wife and three children for the last six years. He works as a hospital scientist at the Orange Health Service.

“The new building is working very well as a mosque. We’ve completed some minor renovations inside, so now we want to open the doors to Orange residents who may be interested in seeing how the mosque is used,” Khalid Tufail said.

Community spokesperson Salahadin Khairo is an economist with the DPI. Originally from Ethiopia, he has lived in the central west for 14 years with his wife and 4 children.

“There are only a few regional cities with their own mosque so we expect there are many people in Orange who’ve never set foot inside a mosque,” Salahadin Khairo said.

“It’s only a small building and there’s not a lot to see, but we’re hoping this will be an opportunity for people to come along and ask those questions they’ve wondered about.”

“When we first opened the mosque we hoped it would create opportunities for Orange residents to get to know about our Muslim community and how we’re involved locally.”

Community spokesperson Sulaiman Siddiqui works as a high school Maths teacher in Orange. Originally from Pakistan, he has lived in Orange for 5 years with his wife and two children.

“We’ll be hosting some brief tours throughout the day and there’ll be a free sausage sizzle. Our regular daily prayers will be happening as usual from 1.30 so people are welcome to come along and be there then,” Sulaiman Siddiqui said.

“One of the many good things about the Muslim community in Orange is that it is very internationally diverse and is made of at least 15 nationalities and ethnic backgrounds.

"We’ll provide some tea and coffee along with some light food that shows how many different parts of the word we come from.”

The open day will be held on Saturday 29 October from 10 am to 3 pm at the mosque at

344a Peisley St in Orange.