The Auburn Gallipoli Mosque is an Ottoman-style mosque in Auburn, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. More than 500 worshippers attend every day and around 2000 worshippers attend the weekly special Friday prayer at the Auburn Gallipoli Mosque, which is primarily used by Turkish Australians.[2]
The mosque’s name invokes the legacy of the Gallipoli Campaign during World War I, which played a pivotal role in the history of both Australia and the Republic of Turkey. According to mosque officials, the name is meant to signify “the shared legacy of the Australian society and the main community behind the construction of the mosque, the Australian Turkish Muslim Community.
The first mosque on the present mosque site was opened for worship on 3 November 1979. It was a house with internal walls removed to generate open space. The construction of the present mosque structure began in 1986. Its construction and external finishes were completed and officially opened on 28 November 1999, twenty years after the first opening.
The first mosque on the present mosque site was opened for worship on the 3rd of November 1979. It was a house which had the internal walls removed to generate an open space environment. The construction of the present mosque structure began in 1986. The Mosque’s construction was completed and officially opened on 28th of November 1999, twenty years after the initial opening. The current building took a painstaking 13 years to complete. The construction time was restrained due to a lack of funds and the time required to raise funds through donations. The project was initiated and largely funded by the Turkish community. The total cost of the project is about six million dollars. Many other local Muslim members irrespective of their ethnic background have greatly contributed to the costs attributed to the building of the mosque. The present congregation is approximately 50% Turkish and the remaining 50% is made up of Muslims from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The site, above which the mosque stands, has a total area of 1 acre or 4,000 square meters. The mosque was designed based on the Classical Ottoman construct characterised by a central dome and minarets. The builder for the mosque was Ahmet Asim who donated much of his time. The name of the mosque – Auburn Gallipoli Mosque – reflects the shared legacy of the Australian society and the main community behind the construction of the mosque, the Australian Turkish Muslim Community.