Sydney and Australia Say No to Islam...

Sydney Islamic school rejectedElicia Murray
June 2, 2009 - 2:24PM
The backers of an Islamic school are considering their options after a court today rejected their appeal for the school to be built in Camden.

The Land and Environment Court knocked back the Quranic Society's application to build a $19 million school for 900 students in a rural area on the outskirts of the town south-west of Sydney.

It found that the proposal was inconsistent with the objectives of the rural zone.


Sydney Islamic school rejected
Controversial plans for a large Islamic school in Camden have been rejected leaving many residents pleased with the results.
Camden City Council cited planning arguments when it first blocked the proposal a year ago.

But fierce community opposition to the project often relied on racial and religious arguments.

Commissioner Graham Brown found that the proposal was not in keeping with the rural character of the locality.


The case attracted international media attention when two pigs' heads were rammed onto metal stakes at the site, on the corner of Cawdor and Burragarong roads, in 2007.

And at the hearing in April, the council's evidence included a letter signed by four Christian churches stating that Islam espoused views that were "incompatible with the Australian way of life".

The council's legal team also presented a DVD featuring the views of concerned residents, one of whom said the school would be a "breeding ground for terrorists".

However the council insisted its refusal was based on planning grounds, arguing it was incompatible with the rural zoning and would cause problems for traffic and neighbouring farms.

Commissioner Brown addressed residents' concerns about planning matters in the judgment.

"Other matters raised by local residents as being in the 'public interest' have been given no weight in the consideration of the development application as they are irrelevant considerations," he stated in the judgment.

Outside court, the council's solicitor, Chris Shaw, tried to distance the council from blatantly anti-Muslim evidence presented in its case.

"The council was required to give a full assessment of the matters before the court and to bring to the court's attention the issues that the public felt were important," Mr Shaw said.

"The court gave it zero weight, it says in its judgement, and that was an appropriate assessment for the court to determine."

A Quranic Society spokesman, Jeremy Bingham, would not comment on whether racism drove residents' objections.


He said it was too early to say whether the group would find another site in the area.


"I do know they are all hard-working citizens who do want a good education for their children and I don't see them giving up on their objective. But where they go from here I don't know."

Keysar Trad, president of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia, said a member of The Quranic Society to whom he had spoken, who did not wish to speak to the media, was distraught over the court's decision.


"This has cost them (the society) a great deal of money already,'' he said.


"They are very distraught. They are finding it very difficult to understand the reasoning behind this decision.


"They are considering their options. They are not in a position to make any comment until they know what those options are.''


The Camden case has been the most high-profile bid to keep Islamic schools out of areas the outskirts of Sydney.

Since the Quranic Society's application was first blocked in 2007, several other applications for schools have faced strident opposition from communities on the suburban fringe.

One of the biggest Islamic schools in Australia - a 1200-student school in Bass Hill - will be built after its backers won an appeal in the Land and Environment Court last month.