A controversial mosque has been quietly approved on the Sunshine Coast, but with strict conditions that would limit worship to only three hours a week.
Responding to community fears about the Islamic place of worship, the council has also imposed a limit on the number of people allowed to pray together.
The old house on Church St, Maroochydore — to be used as a mosque and caretakers’ residence — can only operate on Fridays between 12-3pm, with just 25 people attending.
Two special days a year will be allowed for religious observances such as Ramadan — between 7am and 10am and limited to 40 people.
Sunshine Coast Regional Council planning chairman Christian Dickson said the strict mosque conditions reflected residents’ concerns about prayer noise, but were also accepted by the proponent.
“We’ve taken some specific concerns of the residents and put them in the conditions,” Cr Dickson said.
“So, no — there’s not going to be people praying in the street and no, there’s not going to be 4am calls to prayer; that’s not going to happen.
“There will not be 100 people.
“We actually approached the applicant and asked how many people will you need and what hours will suit your group and we put them into time frames they were comfortable with.”
To worship outside those hours or with more people, the Islamic community would have to reapply to the council.
Cr Dickson said council would enforce the conditions.
The mosque was the focus of an ugly community protest in September last year which descended into aggression and vilification.
However other Sunshine Coast groups such as Sunshine Coast Safe Communities, which opposes Sharia law, have also indicated their concern at the perceived spread of Islam.
The application was approved by council officers this week without having to go to a council vote because it was “code-assessable”. This meant the mosque was consistent with the use of that site, which borders Christian churches.
Cr Dickson said it was not the council’s role to look at religion, but to assess an application based on the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 and the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014.
“You’re absolutely not going to please everyone, and many in the community would have liked to see the application refused,” he said.
“But when you apply the fairness test of law there’s no reason to get into a religious or ideological debate.
“All individuals in Australia have the right and expectation to practise their chosen religion in a peaceful and non-threatening environment.
“Regardless of our own personal beliefs, under the Sustainable Planning Act, neither council officers nor councillors can base their assessment of this application on direct or indirect discrimination.”
However he encouraged anyone with concerns about Sharia law, mosques and other elements of Islam to contact their local federal member.