Toowoomba’s Garden City Mosque rebuild heals community, 10 years after double-arson attacks

In a period of intensifying hate crime rates against both Muslim and Jewish Australians, a regional Qld mosque that suffered two arson attacks 10 years ago has offered insights on how to heal fractured communities.

As Toowoomba’s Imam Dr Mohammad Aminul Islam Azhari walks through the Garden City Mosque today, it is hard to imagine the sacred site as the scene of a horrible hate crime a decade ago.

“People are enemies to the unknown and from when the mosque was established in the beginning and how people used to look at it – it’s completely different now,” Dr Azhari said, reflecting on the social progress made since the mosque was the subject of two arson attacks in 2015.

“During that time only a few people used to come here to worship, and people were behaving like, ‘we don’t know what’s going on in the masjid (mosque)’.”

Arson attack on Garden City Mosque in West Street; Toowoomba. Police and Fire Service on the scene. 24th January. pic David Martinelli

With the nation coming to grips with a new wave of hate crimes against places of worship, Dr Azhari said he wanted Australians to see Toowoomba as a shining example of multiculturalism that other communities could draw upon.

This was underpinned by a rare visit from Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who addressed the gathering on Tuesday just weeks out from the 10th anniversary of the second of the infamous incidents.

Australia is in the midst of a shocking rise in hate crimes, with rates of both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia skyrocketing at differing levels in the 18 months since October 7, 2023.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visiting the Adass Israel Synagogue after a firebombing in Melbourne, Tuesday, December 10, 2024. PICTURES SUPPLIED BY THE OFFICE OF THE PM

This was punctuated by an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue in December, before a teenager was arrested for threats made to carry out a “Christchurch 2.0” shooting at a Sydney mosque on Wednesday.

Reflecting on Australia’s imperfect pursuit of multiculturalism, Dr Azhari said Toowoomba had become a beacon of hope because the wider community had chosen to embrace all faiths.

He added that the Muslim community wanted the mosque to be more than a place of worship, but a community centre that hosted regular events.

Imam Dr Mohammad Aminul Islam Azhari at Toowoomba Mosque eid al-fitr celebrations. Wednesday, April 10, 2024 Picture: Christine Schindler

“Members of the Islamic Society of Toowoomba, they don’t feel insecure here because they’ve already made a place with a physical existence of Muslims in this community,” Dr Azhari said.

“We made it a very good place and it’s by plan – it’s not by accident.

“It’s from the co-operation, not only from us, it’s from Toowoomba Interfaith Working Group and we have the churches around us.

“So the wider community is more familiar with Muslims and their actions, and we frequently invite the wider community to come to the Masjid and to practically see what we do, how we worship, what we recite.”

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke (centre) visits the Garden City Mosque in Toowoomba on March 4, 2025, as the city's Islamic community approaches the 10th anniversary of an infamous arson attack.

This sentiment was supported by Mr Burke, who said the 10-year project to rebuild and reopen the Garden City Mosque was an example of Australian multiculturalism at its best.

“I was so moved, when I was told that after that first attack happened that the repairs were paid for through fundraising from a local church — that is what we want modern Australia to be,” he said.

“I’ve had visits to the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne, and I realised something when I went on my second visit that surprised me — you can come back about a month later and you can still smell the burning, you can still smell the anger and viciousness of what happened.

“Around here, the repairs you’ve done are not only the repairs to the physical – they’re repairs to the soul as well.

“It’s not just a credit to the (Islamic) community here, it’s a credit to Toowoomba.”

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke visits the Garden City Mosque in Toowoomba on March 4, 2025, as the city's Islamic community approaches the 10th anniversary of an infamous arson attack.

Dr Azhari paid tribute to Mr Burke for accepting the mosque’s invite, saying his appearance and speech was reassuring to Toowoomba and Queensland’s Islamic community.

“Every time we meet our parents, our guardians, it makes us so happy and safe and the Minister’s visit was for us, giving a feeling of safety and security – that they feel this place is safe and this place is an example of real multiculturalism,” he said.

“His kind words made us feel that we are really included – we’re not ‘we’ and they are not ‘they’; we all are ‘we’.

“So he is a really kind person, his visit made us feel really honoured and acknowledged and feel welcomed.”