The carpets are burned down, the walls are burned down, the office of the Imam is completely burned down and all the glasses have been shattered"
CAIRO – Fighting hate with love, Queensland Muslim leaders asked Allah to forgive vandals of Toowoomba mosque, sending a message of peace in the Australian community.
"God forgive them for what they've done," Islamic Council of Queensland spokesman Ali Kadri told Brisbane Times on Friday, April 17.
"This is a place of worship, a peaceful place of worship."
"At the same time I urge them that they try to live their life through peace and not hatred and instead of attacking Muslims in a peaceful place of worship they try to get to know some Muslims."
Kadri's comments followed the second attacks suspected arson attack this year on Toowoomba mosque.
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As the emergency services were called to the mosque at 1:50 am, the fire was extinguished by 2:50 am.
The second attack, which came three months after the first one, had destroyed nearly 80% of the worship place.
"The carpets are burned down, the walls are burned down, the office of the Imam is completely burned down and all the glasses have been shattered," Kadri said.
Friday's overnight attack has been condemned by city's officials as an act to spoil the religious harmony in the area.
"This community works hard to nurture and celebrate peace," Toowoomba's mayor, Councilor Paul Antonio, said.
"This kind of behavior, frankly, is a terrible insult to the majority of good people who call our region home."
Muslims, who have been in Australia for more than 200 years, make up 1.7 percent of its 20-million population.
In post 9/11-era, Australian Muslims have been haunted with suspicion and have had their patriotism questioned.
The anti-Muslim sentiments further increased following recent anti-terror raids, deemed the biggest in Australian history, in which 15 people were arrested from north-western Sydney.
The raids were followed by a huge number of anti-Muslim attacks, including a mosque being defaced in Queensland and direct threats issued against the Grand Mufti of Australia.
Quite Afraid
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Looking for an alternative place to hold Friday prayer, Muslim leaders expressed shock after the attack that left the religious minority "quite afraid."
There is fear but at the same time Muslims do understand that this is a small minority of people," Kadri said.
"We go to Toowoomba often and I believe the majority of people in Toowoomba are good people. They accept the Muslim community.
"It's these kind of small minority of people who want to do things like this and it's sad."
Meanwhile, the Muslim leader has blamed the rise of anti-Muslim attacks on "Islamophobic" politicians who fuel anti-Muslim sentiment in the country.
Showing support for the Muslims after the attack, Toowoomba's mayor assured residents that Sunday's Toowoomba International Food Festival will be hosted by the Muslims community at the mosque.
"Sunday's festival will still go ahead and I encourage the community to come out and show that goodwill and human solidarity will triumph in Toowoomba," Councilor Antonio said.
Last December, the Islamic society of central Queensland welcomed people of all beliefs and faiths to dispel some of the myths surrounding Islam and promote understanding and tolerance.
More recently, Mackay Mosque, in north Queensland, held an open day last March.
Opening doors to the community, officers and their families were invited to tour the mosque where the met members of the local Islamic community.
During the event, a leading Muslim figure from Mackay city on the eastern coast of Queensland has urged members of the religious minority to reach out to the wider community, seeing interaction as the best method to erase misconceptions.
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