Mosque 'is just like a church'

sundstrom | 20th Sep 2014 6:00 AM

AN ISLAMIC expert has explained when a mosque is not a mosque - and the answer is not what you might think.

Sunshine Coast lawyer and author of the Holy Quran Simply, Haset Sali, said a mosque was a "place of worship".

"The first mosque was very basic, very humble, it was just four walls," Mr Sali said.

"To ask 'when is a mosque not a mosque' is like asking when is a 'church not a church'.

"Once a people adopt a premise as a place of worship, that's their church or their mosque."

The issue has been raised as the Muslim Organisation of the Sunshine Coast (MoSC) faces huge protest over its purchase of a property in Church St, Maroochydore.

One of the leaders explained in a radio interview yesterday the group had "no plans to build any mosque, or not at this stage" on the site.

However the MoSC website uses quotes from the Koran to support the building of a mosque.

"Whoever builds for Allah a mosque, seeking by it Allah's grace, Allah will build for him a house in paradise," it reads.

"This is where you Brother and Sister reading this come in. More than $11,000 has been pledged by MoSC members to build a mosque on the Sunshine Coast.

"We will establish a mosque in a central area accessible to all local Muslims but if we do not act now, these areas will be fully developed."

President Ohran Dilbaz also explained to the Daily why the local community wanted a mosque

"The mosque is needed on the Coast. It is like a church, people go there to worship," he said.

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/mosque-is-just-like-a-church/2393824/