Islamic organizations in Australia

Islamic organizations in Australia run a wide range of groups and associations and are supported by the Islamic community in Australia. These organizations consist of large community organizations, local organizations, mosques and schools. Most Muslims in Australia are Sunni, and Shia, then Sufi and Ahmadiyyah are in the minority. Australian Muslim demographic profile(http://www.immi.gov.au/gateways/police/resources/_pdf/building_bridges.pdf)

Large organizations

Federation of Islamic Councils of Australia

The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) (known as the Muslim Council of Australia) was established in 1964 as a support organization for various Islamic groups and communities and is the most important Islamic organization in Australia. AFIC considers  its role as representing Islam and Australian Muslims in face of the Australian Government and other bodies, nationally and internationally. AFIC strives to coordinate and provide resources for the activities of Islamic councils and Islamic communities of its members.

Islamic schools run by this organization have been repeatedly investigated by the Australian government for alleged mismanagement. There are allegations of inappropriate turnover, unfair dismissal of employees, gender discrimination and hiring of teachers with fundamentalist or extremism backgrounds.Chris Ray's article entitled "Controversies going on in our Islamic schools"; Published in "The Sydney Morning Herald" on October 24, 2015.

Lebanese Muslim Association

The Lebanese Muslim Association is an Australian non-profit welfare organization based in Lacombe, in the south-western suburbs of Sydney. This association was established in the early 1960s as a social project to meet the social, religious, recreational and educational needs of local Muslims. This group runs Lacombe Mosque, which has 5,000 members.

National Council of Imams of Australia

The National Council of Australian Imams was formed in 2006 during a meeting with more than 80 imams from Sunni mosques in Australia who gathered to discuss the crisis created by Tajoddin Al Hilali's statements.

Darul Fatwa - Supreme Islamic Council of Australia

(Dar al-Fatwa - Supreme Islamic Council of Australia) is a high-ranking Islamic institution in Australia that was established in 2004 to meet the growing needs of the Australian Muslim community by the Association of Islamic Charity Projects, abbreviated as AICP, as "a symbol of hope, independence and moderation for "Muslims of Australia".

This council is located in the city of Bankstown in the state of New South Wales, Australia.

Small groups and Associations

Brisbane Crescent

Helal Brisbane was established in 2004 as a community-oriented organization in the field of promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports, entertainment, education and culture, among the Muslim community in the state of Queensland, Australia. Every Friday or Saturday, they publish an e-newsletter called "Helal Community News" on their website, which includes general news about the Muslim community as well as local events and activities.

Goroosh National Islamic Society of Australia

The Australian National Islamic Community of Goroosh (ICMG) is an Islamic forum that comprehensively organizes the religious life of Muslims. The purpose of ICMG is not only to preserve Islamic teachings, to declare Islamic beliefs and to communicate the religious duties arising from that declaration  but also, ICMG deals with all matters related to Muslims while representing their interests. The aim of ICMG is to improve the living conditions of Australian Muslims as well as to secure their fundamental rights.

Australian Islamic Friendship Association

The Islamic Friendship Association of Australia (IFAA) is a group founded by Keyser Trad, former director of the Lebanese Muslim Association.

Australian Islamic Information and Services Network

The Islamic Information and Services Network of Australia (IISNA) is an independent Islamic association based in Broadmeadows,   State of Victoria.

Australian Islamic Museum

The Islamic Museum of Australia (IMA) is a non-profit foundation which was established as  a first Islamic museum in Australia. This museum displays the artistic heritage and historical works of Muslims inside and outside Australia to the public.

Islamic Educational and Research Academy

The Islamic Education and Research Academy (IREA) is an Islamic association based in Hoppers Crossing, in State of Victoria.

Islamic Council for Women's Welfare

The Islamic Women's Welfare Council of Victoria (IWWC) is a social welfare association that supports Muslim women in the state of Victoria, Australia. The director of this group is Jumaneh Al-Matra. In 2011, the group was renamed the Australian Muslim Women's Center (AMWCHR).

Australian Muslim Relief Society

Muslim Aid Australia (MAA) is a supportive and relief organization based in Australia, whose main work is humanitarian aid in Muslim countries. This association was established in 1989. This organization is a branch of the Muslim Relief Organization in England.

The group raised funds from Australians to help victims of the 2004 Tsunami in Southeast Asia. This group has been criticized due to the lack of clearness  in how the collected funds are distributed.

Muslim   Business   Network

Muslim Business Network (MBN) was established in 2006 with the aim of creating a network for Muslim businessmen and promoting Muslim business interests. The heads of this group are Farooq Adam and Mohammad Khatri.

Muslim community Advisory group

The Muslim Community Advisory  Group was an  consultative  body for the Australian federal government that was established from mid-2005 to mid-2006 by the Australian Prime Minister Howard's government.

Muslim Women's Association

Muslim Women's Association (MWA) was formed in 1983. Its executive director is Mrs. Maha Abdoh and the head of the group is Mrs. Jumna Harris. At first, this group only consisted of women from Lebanon, but over time, women from other Muslim countries such as; Türkiye, Singapore, Egypt and... participated in it.

This group supported the former Mofti of Australia (Sheikh Tajoddeen Al-Helali) during the  critical attack on Mofti. The group also supports women who have been subjected to violence or other types of abuse at work or at home. MWA has also established childcare centers in local communities. This group supports the Islamic women's magazine called “Reflections”. According to the annual report of this group, in 2013, the annual budget of this association was about 950 thousand Australian dollars.

Australian Muslim Women's National Network

The Muslim Women's National Network of Australia (MWNNA) is a Sydney-based association representing a network of leading Muslim women's organizations and individual Muslim women. MWNNA runs events and projects for Muslim women of all ethnic backgrounds and represents their views in the media and government agencies. This association was founded in 1990 by Azizah Abdul Halim, and Zubaydah Rayman is the current president of this association.

National Zakat Foundation

The National Zakat Foundation is one of the Australian Islamic organizations which established to distribute Zakat for each of the eight categories of needy Muslims.

Islamic radical groups

Some  of  the Australians people are members of this group known as radical youth. In some cases, some of these people joined ISIS.

Ahl al-Sunnah wal Jama'ah Association(ASWJA)

ASWJA is a Salafi and Wahhabi organization founded by Sheikh Muhammad Emran. Ahl al-Sunnah wal Jama'ah is a general term that refers to the Sunnah of the Messenger of God and those who follow the Sunnah of the Messenger. The followers of this Salafi  movement are scattered in Australia, United States, England and Canada.

Ahl al-Sunnah Wal Jama'ah Association of Australia is an organization that has an impact on the society and the youth and implements programs to educate them based on the imitation of the teachings of the Sunnah at the time of the Messenger of Allah. Ahl al-Sunnah Wal Jama'ah Association of Australia is associated with the Australian Islamic Information and Support Center. It is also said that this organization has a close relationship with Al-Qaeda.

Global Islamic Youth Center

Global Islamic Youth Center is an association founded by Feyz   Mohammad in Liverpool area, Sydney. This center is affiliated with ASWJA. Local residents have objected to the premise that the group wants to spread a fundamentalist form of Islam.

Andrew Stoner  spokesman of  education  as a opposition said the NSW state government should closely monitor the center and what it may teach to ensure that "extremist views" and "messages of hate" are not teaching in this center.

Hezb   Al-Tahrir

Hezb   Al-Tahrir   is a radical Muslim group that operates in Australia. The group adheres to a form of Islamic fundamentalism and is reported to be calling on Australian Muslims to reject democracy and not cooperate with Australian law enforcement officers. A speaker associated with the group was criticized for his comments on honor killings, leading to the cancellation of one of his speeches.

Hezb   Al-Tahrir Australia's spokesman has "threatened to make the Jews pay the blood price". The group has been monitored by the Australian government, although no legal action has been taken against it.

Islamic Youth Movement

The Islamic Youth Movement is a sub-group of ASWJA. This group was attacked by ASIO after the September 11, 2001 incident. This group runs the Sydney-based online magazine "Call of Islam". This group has been criticized for publishing inflammatory material condemning bin Laden in the West, Christianity and Judaism.

Islamic militant groups

Ahmed Y group

An Algerian man known as "Ahmed Y" arrived in Australia in the late 1980s. Ahmed founded a small militant group in Australia in 2001 and supported the idea of ​​establishing the Islamic State in Australia and using violence against Australians.

Benbrica Group in Melbourne

This group, led by Algerian cleric Abdel Nasser Benbrika, announced its existence in Melbourne. The members of this group were arrested by the Australian police in 2005.

Chikho group in Sydney

This group also operated in Sydney under the leadership of Khaled Chikho until the Australian police arrested its members in 2005 under an operation called Pendennis.

Lashkar-e-Tayyebah

Lashkar-e-Tayybah is one of the terrorist organizations that operates in India and Pakistan. This organization created a branch of terrorist activity to carry out terrorist operations in Australia. Willy Bridget, who was accused of planning an attack on Australia, was a new Muslim who was trained by Lashkar-e-Tayyebah.

(Islamic Group) - logical terror group four

Jama’at al-Islamiya is one of the terrorist organizations affiliated with al-Qaeda, which was founded by Abdul Rahim Ayyoob in the 1990s in Southeast Asia (Indonesia). This organization created a branch of terrorist activity called logical 4 to carry out terrorist operations in Australia. This organization was responsible for the failed terrorist operation to attack people during the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. At the end of the period Ayyoob resided in Perth, Australia.

Al-Shabaab

It is believed that the Al-Shabaab terrorist group was behind the terrorist incident at the Holesworthy  barracks in Sydney.

Syrian syndicate

A group called the "Syrian Syndicate" has been accused and questioned for sending Australian Muslims to fight in the Syrian civil war.

Illegal terrorist organizations

In January 2015, 20 organizations in Australia were determined by a court and a government agency for  actively participation  in terrorism operation  and prevent their activities. All these organizations except one case were Islamist. Quoted from the Australian National Security website.

Mosques

It is said that there are 384 mosques and Praying  places  in Australia. A list of this number of mosques and Praying  places  are  maintained by Islam Online web site.Online Islam web site.

The media

Muslim Times Australia

The Muslim Times of Australia is a newspaper belonging to the Sunni community in Australia that provides news and views related to Muslims by using multimedia technologies.

Muslim Community Radio

The Muslim Community Radio (2MFM) is a radio station for the Sunni community of Australia, located in Chester Hill, Western Australia. This center is associated with (Dar al-Fatwa - Supreme Islamic Council of Australia) and Salameh College.

One Way Television Network

One Way Television Network was established in 2015 to counter Islamophobia and mainstream Australian  negative media's d attitudes towards Islam. This network belongs to Ahle Sunnah Australia.

School

Islamic schools in Australia are mainly located in New South Wales and Victoria.

New South Wales

List of Islamic schools in New South Wales are as follows:

Islamic Science and Research Academy of Australia (ISRA), including university and faculty

Al-Kowsar Institute

Al-Feysal College

Vahdat Grammar College

Al-Nuri Muslim Primary School

Qiblah  School

Al-Zahra College

Arcana College

Australian Islamic College in Sydney (formally King Abdulaziz College)

Australian Erfan College

King Abdulaziz School

Malik Fahd Islamic School

Noorolhoda Islamic College

Resaleh College

Sol Cllege

Victoria

Al-Serat College

Australian International Academy (formerly King Khaled Islamic College)

Darul Uloom College

East Preston Islamic College

Elim College, Australia

Menara College

Al-Taqwa Islamic College

Isiyk College

Queensland

Brisbane Islamic College

International Islamic College of Australia

South Australia

Islamic College of South Australia

Western Australia

Longford Islamic College

Australian Islamic College

Al-Hedayah Islamic School

Footnotes

1- Australian Muslim demographic profile

(http://www.immi.gov.au/gateways/police/resources/_pdf/building_bridges.pdf)

2- Chris Ray's article entitled "Controversies going on in our Islamic schools"; Published in "The Sydney Morning Herald" on October 24, 2015.

3- Quoted from the Australian National Security website

4-Online Islam web site