Albanian Mosque (Shepparton)
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The Albanian Mosque (), also known as the Shepparton Mosque, is a rural
Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
located in a residential area of
Shepparton Shepparton () (Yorta Yorta language, Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River (Victoria), Goulburn River in northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Mel ...
, a regional city in
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. Associated with the Albanian Australian community, the mosque is owned by and the centre of the Shepparton Albanian Moslem Society (SAMS). Built in the late 1950s, the mosque is the first and oldest in Victoria.


History

Most Shepparton Albanians originate from the Korçë region in south-eastern
Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
. The Shepparton Albanian community began with immigrants arriving in
Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...
,
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
(1924), later relocating to
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
for agricultural employment, and eventually moving to Shepparton (mid 1920s) becoming one of the earliest Muslim communities to settle there. Shepparton Albanians became a well integrated successful community, with many employed as market gardeners and orchardists. In the interwar period until the 1950s, Shepparton Albanians associated being Muslim as closely connected to being an Albanian, significant elements that contributed to their place in the country and established sentiments of community among its members. Prior to the mosque's existence, Albanians wanting to perform Friday prayers would visit each other's homes, however over time with the growth of the community it became infeasible. Post-war, unable to go back to Albania, the community desired to establish a permanent structure. Unlike Christian Albanians, Muslim Albanians had no Muslim infrastructure they could access in the area and the need for a large building arose that could serve as a place to congregate and hold community events. The mosque symbolised the Albanian community's intention to remain in their new homeland. In 1953, the local Albanian community established an organisation named the Shepparton Albanian Moslem Society (SAMS). The creation of the Albanian Society was in part due to the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, its members thought that individuals with communist sympathies would be hesitant to join a mosque, unlike an ethnic-based organisation. The Albanian community perceived its actions to be line with its ethos of being loyal Australians accepted by the Australian government. Finances for mosque construction were fundraised by Albanians from within their community, and donations for the project came from its members employed in local farm work. The foundation stone of the mosque was laid by Shepparton Albanians in 1956, construction began thereafter and finished in 1960. "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." Apart from Albanians, people involved in the mosque construction were local Australians and other non-Albanian immigrants who lived in the area. At the time, the mosque location was at Shepparton's outskirts, on a dirt and at times muddy street. Shepparton council laid gravel on the road in preparation for the opening ceremony and to ensure accessibility to the mosque for arriving dignitaries and Albanian community members. At the ceremony, the mosque was opened by the Indonesian ambassador Dr. A.Y Helmi and speeches were given by non-Muslim dignitaries. Many local non-Muslims also attended the ceremony and it was broadcast and reported on by the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
national media network. The Shepparton mosque was one of the first members of the Australian Federation of Islamic Societies (AFIS). In the late 1960s, Albanians from
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
travelled far to the Shepparton mosque for Bajram (
Eid al-Fitr Eid al-Fitr () is the first of the two main Islamic holidays, festivals in Islam, the other being Eid al-Adha. It falls on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims worldwide becaus ...
and
Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second of the two main festivals in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr. It falls on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar. Celebrations and observances are generally carried forward to the ...
) celebrations and Muslim burial services (
janaza Islamic funerals () follow fairly specific Ritual#Islam, rites, though they are subject to regional interpretation and variation in custom. In all cases, however, sharia (Islamic religious law) calls for burial of the body as soon as possible. T ...
). The difficulties over geographical distances with Shepparton motivated Albanian Melburnians to build a mosque within their own city. The mosque was also used by Shepparton
Turkish Australians Turkish Australians () or Australian Turks () are Australians who have emigrated from Turkey or who have Turkish people, Turkish ancestral origins. Turks first began to immigrate to Australia from Cyprus for work in the 1940s, and then again w ...
until 1988 when they built their own mosque in another suburb of the city. Since its establishment, the mosque has been a significant place for Shepparton Albanian community activities, catering to its needs such as being important for the maintenance of its religious identity and worship. SAMS, as a committee is in charge of maintaining the mosque, its finances and membership, and organises other community events like the Albanian Harvest Festival celebrating Albanian culture and Albania, Albanian Independence day, New Years celebrations and other functions. Fundraising for the mosque and SAMS also occurs during the Harvest Festival, held annually at the Shepparton Showgrounds. These SAMS events attract Albanians from other areas in Victoria to Shepparton and are important in connecting the dispersed Albanian community. In the 1990s, some discord flared between new arriving Albanian migrants from previously atheist
communist Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania, () was the Marxist-Leninist state that existed in Albania from 10 January 1946 to the 29 April 1991. Originally founded as the People's Republic of Albania from 1946 to 1976, it was governed by the Pa ...
and the older Albanian community. The new Albanian immigrants, though many stating they were Muslims perceived SAMS as a non-secular organisation with religious overtones and refused to join it or partake in their events, instead organising their own functions for some time. For the older Albanian community, the mosque and SAMS has served as a focal point for keeping contact with friends, relatives and instilling a sense of roots in the area. The mosque for newer Albanian arrivals lacked significance and some viewed it as a barrier to integration in Australia. Albanians in Shepparton are secular or non-observant Muslims, with a few devout in
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
. In the late 2000s, artifacts from the mosque were donated to
Museums Victoria Museums Victoria is an organisation that includes a number of museums and related bodies in Melbourne. These include Melbourne Museum, Immigration Museum, Scienceworks, IMAX Melbourne, a research institute, the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Roy ...
. They include a building trowel used by R. Sherif Islam and Myrteza Adem in placing the foundation stone (1956), and a 300 year old
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
from
Ohrid Ohrid ( ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inhabitants as of ...
,
North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
, donated by Erik Lloga (late 1990s) to celebrate the establishment of a community centre extension to the mosque. SAMS for some years devoted efforts toward having the towns of Shepparton and
Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, eighth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population of the city is 51,152 and 75,994 of Korçë municipal ...
establish a
twin-town A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...
relationship, a goal achieved in 2013. In solidarity with victims of the 2019
Christchurch mosque shootings Two consecutive mass shootings took place in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 15 March 2019. They were committed by a single perpetrator during Friday prayer, first at the Al Noor Mosque in Riccarton, at 1:40p.m. and almost immediately afterwards ...
, the mosque like others in Victoria held an open day in March for the public to support or acquaint themselves with Islam and Muslims. In early 2022 to meet growing community needs, the mosque interior was renovated with new plaster, painted walls and carpet, the green garden and community centre was refurbished and a new kitchenette added. The $650,000 renovation was funded by the
Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the executive government of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Vic ...
and donations from the Albanian and wider Shepparton community. The mosque runs teaching programs for children regarding culture and religion in local primary and high schools. Apart from Albanians, in the modern period the mosque congregation is multicultural and includes people from other backgrounds. From the early 1980s until 2022, Eljam Bardi served as imam. Hysni Merja became the current imam in 2022. An outdoor shelter was built on the premises for gatherings and cultural celebrations in 2025.


Structure

File:Albanian Mosque (Shepparton) 19.jpg, Mosque (left) and community centre (right) on Acacia St File:Albanian Mosque (Shepparton) 5.jpg, Mosque entrance File:Albanian Mosque (Shepparton) 22.jpg, Interior of mosque File:Albanian Mosque (Shepparton) 8.jpg, Side view of mosque The mosque is a large structure and reflects a building style that incorporates parts of traditional architecture with popular architectural elements in 1960s Shepparton. The brickwork is of a white cream colour. Atop on all sides is a crenellated parapet that contains some decorative brown infill brickwork and the roof has four small domes. There are vertical pointed lancet windows on one side and rectangular windows on the other, all with white frames. The entrance is a centralised white rendered panel and its upper section has a pointed arch with coloured glass. Above that is written in gilded letters "Moslem Mosque". The second half of the centralised panel consists of two white framed doors with glazed rectangular panes, and in front the canopy has two squared brick columns. There are landscaped gardens on the premises. File:Albanian Mosque (Shepparton) 20.jpg, Rock monument and its nearby flagpole honouring mosque founders File:Albanian Mosque (Shepparton) 9.jpg, Back view of mosque (right) and community centre (left) File:Albanian Mosque (Shepparton) 24.jpg, Mosque car park sign File:Albanian Mosque (Shepparton) 25.jpg, Mosque car park on Maple St


See also

*
Islam in Australia Islam is the second-largest Religion in Australia, religion in Australia. According to the 2021 Census in Australia, the combined number of people who Self-concept, self-identified as Australian Muslims, from all forms of Islam, constituted 8 ...
*
List of mosques in Australia This is a list of mosques in Australia. A listing of mosques () and musallahs in Australia was maintained by ''Islamiaonline'' until around 2016. Australian Capital Territory The following is a list of mosques in the Australian Capital Territo ...


References


External links


Official WebsiteFacebook
{{Mosques in Australia Shepparton Mosques completed in 1960 1960 establishments in Australia Victorian Heritage Register Mosque buildings with domes in Australia 20th-century mosques in Australia