Cumberland Council prayer breaks: Meeting to pause for 15 minutes to pray

A western Sydney council will pause its public meetings to allow councillors a prayer break. The change was labelled part of a ‘loony-left agenda’ after originally dubbed a ‘Muslim amendment’.

Cumberland Council’s now Labor-dominated chamber has voted to allow a 15-minute prayer break as part of changes planned for its draft code of meeting practice.

It comes almost a month after the proposal was labelled a “Muslim amendment”.

Newly-elected Labor councillor Sabrin Farooqui, a practising Muslim, requested the amendment to the clause drafted by Mayor Lisa Lake and Deputy Mayor Kun Huang.

Fortnightly council meetings already begin with a prayer from a community religious leader but this is the first time it would be interrupted for prayer.

On March 2, a rescission motion was put forward by Our Local Community (OLC) councillors Paul Garrard, Eddy Sarkis and Steve Christou.

Cr Garrard slammed the proposal and said ratepayers wanted the council to provide facilities and keep up to date with responsibilities.

“That’s what they want to see, that’s what they want to hear — not to go off on some loony-left agenda that’s going to set us in another direction and not deal with the issues that we should be dealing with,’’ he said.

“No other council in Australia does this. While I would like Cumberland Council to be the leader in most things, I don’t see how it should be cutting new ground in an area which is not going to add value to what ratepayers put us here for.’’

However, members of the public, including those from other faiths including Catholic and Buddhist women, supported the right to stop meeting for prayers and it won support from the chamber.

Devout Buddhist and Sydney Alliance member Maheshi Bandara supported the prayer time as a “birthright”.

“We stand in solidarity with the Muslim community, who has been specifically targeted with this motion. Power for one is power for all,’’ she said.

“This motion is not only about the Muslim community but it is about all of us, every faith, every religious community and their right to be represented on the local council.’’

In February, Labor councillors Lake, Huang, Farooqui, Glenn Elmore, Mohamad Hussein, Diane Colman, Ola Hamed and Suman Saha, and independents Michael Zaiter and Greg Cummings supported the plan for the proposal to go to public exhibition.

Councillors Garrard, Sarkis, Christou, Joe Rahme and Helen Hughes opposed it. Opponents insisted they did not single out the prayer break as one strictly for Muslim councillors.

At its first meeting of the year on February 9, Cr Garrard slammed the plan as unhelpful and described the idea as a “Muslim amendment’’ that is “looking after a particular culture”.

“I don’t know why this particular clause is here,’’ he said.

“I think everybody should be totally inclusive. The idea of going out the back and having a prayer, I don’t think that is acceptable under general standards within our community. I don’t think they’re going to be helpful to our council operation and they will be divisive.’’

He withdrew and apologised for the comments about the Muslim amendment later in the meeting during another debate.

But Cr Hamed, who is also Muslim, criticised Cr Garrard’s comments referring to people having 23 hours a day to pray.

She said it showed how little he knew about the topic.

“As a Muslim women, Muslims have a particular time when they can pray,’’ she said. “Ramadan is around the corner and there is a particular ritual, at a particular time of the day, that has to occur.’’

Cr Farooqui, a Labor councillor representing the Regents Park ward, rejected the OLC’s suggestion to rename it a health break.

“Cumberland Council shouldn’t set this example with such a large Muslim community. This might be a good political strategy but it is devastating for the community,” she said.

Cr Farooqui likened it to childcare centres being introduced in parliament, which made it easier for women to join politics.

“Cr Garrard was saying it doesn’t indicate inclusivity but in my opinion it does because no one should feel excluded for their culture, faith or gender,’’ she said.

“If somebody has to pray at a particular time, we should create that particular opportunity so that he or she doesn’t have to choose between attending the meeting or stay outside for the prayer. It can be the need not only for councillors here, it can be the need for people in the gallery because we are from the same community.’’

In February, Our Local Community councillor Hughes and independent Joseph Rahme suggested clause 5.8 in the draft code was changed to a “health break” to allow everyone to be involved, but it was rejected.

Under the Islamic faith, Muslims are required to pray five times a day and during the month of Ramadan, which runs from April 1 to May 2, it should be observed after sunset when fasting is broken. Council meetings begin at 6.30pm.

However, Imtiaz Ahmed, who is the assistant imam at Australia’s largest mosque, Baitul Huda Mosque, Marsden Park, said Islam allowed flexible prayer times, even during Ramadan and prayers could be said in five minutes.

“If someone is not able to pray at 1pm, he will combine the second and third prayers (of the day). In Islam, this is allowed because maybe he’s in an office and not able to pray immediately after sunset; he’s allowed to pray at home.’’

Imam Imtiaz Ahmed said Islam allowed flexible prayer times. Picture: Carmela Roche

But Muslims who addressed the council this month dismissed that and said concessions to break prayer times were only granted for ill people, travellers and those in life-threatening emergencies.

Mohammed Al- Zoubi said Muslims who delayed prayers were committing a serious sin.

“It is very important for a Muslim to pray in a certain time in the beginning and we cannot exceed that time when salah (prayer) comes,’’ he said.

The Cumberland council area is home to one of the largest Muslim communities in NSW with more than 47,000 people — 25 per cent of its population — being Islamic.

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