On Friday 14 August, the town of Young in the New South Wales Riverina will host one of the most significant Muslim community events in regional Australia’s history: the grand opening of the new Omar Ibn Al Khattab (Young) Mosque.
The mosque is owned the Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA), Australia’s oldest Islamic non-profit organisation, which also operates Lakemba Mosque and Cabramatta Mosque in Sydney as well as more recently acquiring places of worship in Melbourne and Adelaide, which are both being transformed into mosques.
Young Mosque itself has served the local community since 1994, when the initial masjid was established on the site of a former drive-in movie theatre.
Back then it was a modest facility, but today it sits at the heart of a community that has grown to make up close to ten per cent of the town’s population, one of the largest concentrations of Muslims in regional Australia.
Plans for this new, bigger Young Mosque had been on the table since 2017, but it wasn’t until 2023 that momentum really began to build, with the project moving off the drawing board and onto a new patch of ground on the existing seven acre Moppity Road site.
Construction ramped up through 2024 and 2025 and the pace surprised even experienced builders and religious leaders, some of whom commented that they had never seen a mosque of this size go up so quickly.
A fundraising dinner in Sydney brought in over $350,000 in a single night, while a “Buy a Block” campaign sold 8,000 bricks in just a week.
A carpet drive, funding flooring imported from Türkiye, was completed in only eight days.
The project also attracted national attention when SBS Television featured the build in March, 2025.
The new mosque will hold more than 1,000 worshippers across 500 square metres of prayer space, four times the capacity of the old building.
That expanded area reflects genuine need.
Under resident imam Sheikh Emad Hamdy, the mosque already draws 150 to 200 people to Friday prayers each week and around 50 for daily prayers.
During Ramadan, nightly Taraweeh prayers fill the mosque to capacity with about 150 attendees and youth nights draw around 50 participants.
Flashback: Senior LMA and Young Mosque officials discuss the development in its very early stages.
The Eid prayer is the biggest event on the calendar, bringing in more than 500 people from Young and surrounding districts.
The mosque has become known for its community outreach, driven by a willing and active volunteer base that turns out in force for everything from Ramadan programs to weekend working bees.
Mosque programs include a free meal drive delivering meals across the Hilltops region, support for local food banks and the community pantry and a Dawah stand in town where locals can ask questions about Islam.
The team is also known for its warm hospitality to travellers, with visitors from Sydney and further afield regularly commenting on how welcome they feel upon being greeted.
“Young Mosque has become one of the most active Dawah centres in Australia, and it’s happening in a regional town, not a capital city,” said Gamel Kheir, LMA Secretary and Spokesman.
“The Dawah stand in town says everything about this community – they don’t wait for people to come to them, they go out and welcome the conversation.”
“There is immense public interest in the grand opening and not just in the (local) Riverina area – we also expect many people to make the journey down from Sydney for what will be both a history-making and a blessed occasi0n.”
The LMA would like to acknowledge the committee established to manage and run the project, and thank the broader Young community for its unwavering backing throughout.
The burgeoning Young Mosque community has well and truly outgrown the current masjid.
That support has been a unifying force in its own right, bringing people together around a shared goal.
Young Mosque has also become something of a guiding light for reverts to Islam, and stands as an example of how a mosque in a small regional town can leave a lasting impression not only on its own congregation but on the wider, non Muslim community as well.
“What this community has achieved together is nothing short of remarkable,” Mr Kheir pointed out.
“The dedication of the Young Mosque committee, the volunteers who never stop giving of their time and a wider community that has backed this project every step of the way.”
“That’s what has made this mosque possible; it’s a wonderful story of unity and one that every Australian Muslim should be proud of.”
For a town almost 400 kilometres from Sydney, the opening of Young Mosque represents nearly a decade of planning and community effort backed by the resources of the LMA and the generosity of donors – and carried through on the ground by the dedication of the local Young Mosque team.
The outcome is a town now firmly cemented as home to the largest Dawah centre in rural Australia.
The Grand Opening ceremony will commence at 11:30am and will be followed by Jumu’ah prayer.
Hope to see you in Young on the fourtheenth – Insha’Allah.
- If you wish to be a part of the ongoing legacy of the brand new mosque at Young, you may make a donation by clicking on the following link: www.bit.ly/youngmosque
An area of the interior of the new Mosque during construction.
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