(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - "They were afraid there was going to be a mosque there or noise from call to prayers or whatever," Councilor John Fry, who supported the plan, told the Herald Sun newspaper on Tuesday, March 27. "There didn't seem to be an understanding of what the actual proposal was."
An Islamic school was proposed to be built on a heritage site in Mernda by the Great Prophet Center, an Iraqi community group. But residents objected the Islamic school plans, correcting 2,000 signatures to veto down the proposal.
Only 75 objections came from Mernda area, while more than 90 percent of the total objections were coordinated through a group called Friends of Mernda Heritage Site, according to a report by the council planning officers. Though the council's planning officials recommended building the school, the council rejected the proposal.
Councilor Fry confirmed that the 125-student school was barred due to anti-Muslim sentiments stirred by ignorance. "There is an unfortunate thing that people who don't understand different cultures can react negatively," he said.
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