Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have never felt a warmer welcome than when I am with Melbourne's Muslim communities, and now is a special time, as Muslims right around the world are observing Ramadan, a month of fasting and charity. This month is a time when people come together. An iftar is served at the end of the day during Ramadan to break the day's fast. Iftar is a religious observance of Ramadan, often done as a community, with people gathering together to break their fast with one another. As one popular meme circulating at the moment puts it, during Ramadan every night is date night.

Ahead of Eid this weekend, I would like to share with others in parliament some of the great things happening in Melbourne during Ramadan. It was my pleasure to again host a community iftar for the local community in my electorate. This is the fifth time I have hosted an annual local iftar and the first with my two young daughters. I would like to thank all my staff members, but especially Mukhtar Mohammed and Farhiya Mohamed, for their work in making this possible. I also want to thank Yasseen Musa for his tireless efforts as a community leader.

My Greens colleagues have also hosted iftars during Ramadan. Senator Richard Di Natale and the Greens team welcomed the community to the Coburg iftar last weekend, and a women's iftar was hosted by Senator Janet Rice in Fawkner. Senator Rice was joined by women from communities across Melbourne and organisations including the Islamic Council of Victoria Women's Office, the Board of Imams and the Islamic Museum.

Melbourne has been home to many wonderful community events that show the spirit of Ramadan. Many mosques open their doors nightly to share meals with the community. In Melbourne these include the Australian Muslim Social Services Agency in North Melbourne, the ICV City Mosque and the Melbourne Madinah. The Oromo community is this week holding a public iftar in North Melbourne, hosted by Ayyantu Ali and the Melbourne Oromo community. I look forward to attending that. The Somali community has hosted a range of iftars. The Eritrean Jeberti community collaborated for the first time with the Moreland Turkish Association to host its multicultural harmony iftar, and they were supported by Multicultural Arts Victoria and the City of Moreland through Councillor Mark Riley. The Community Connect network holds an annual street iftar, sharing food with people experiencing homelessness in inner Melbourne. Farnham Street Neighbourhood Learning Centre in Flemington held its annual iftar dinner, and the Somali Women's Development Association and the Hotham Mission hosted a shared iftar meal in Kensington that doubled as a youth art exhibition, where young people's artwork on themes of diversity and social inclusion was displayed. The delicious shared meal was catered by the social enterprise Kuljar Kitchen. Congratulations to Sainab Sheikh and Beth Stewart-Wright for their work on this excellent event. Other organisations like the Victoria Police, the Muslim Legal Network, the Victorian parliament, the AFL, Rotary and others have also hosted iftar events.

Around Victoria, Muslim communities and organisations have worked to bring people together. The Islamic Council of Victoria hosted a major interfaith iftar in Ballarat, welcoming people of all faiths and bringing together the Ballarat community. The Bubup Wilam centre, an Aboriginal children's and family centre in Thomastown, welcomed the Muslim community to the centre for a shared meal. Children welcomed their visitors to country, and first nations and Muslim attendees participated together in a smoking ceremony and Tarawih prayers.

Ramadan is a special time, but interfaith and community events hosted by Muslim communities happen throughout the year. Earlier this year, Melbourne was home to the Islamic Council of Victoria's Mosque Open Day. Mosques around Melbourne opened their doors to visitors from all faiths and backgrounds to learn about the Muslim faith and community. I was delighted to visit the Albanian Australian Islamic Society mosque in Carlton North and I would like to thank the mosque and its volunteers for the very warm welcome that I received. I encourage all my colleagues here to visit, or to continue to visit, mosques in their electorates. None of these events and activities could happen without the wonderful contributions of volunteers. Volunteers from across the community give their time and work to make this time of sharing possible.

What I would like to say to my colleagues here in parliament today is: these are the building blocks of social cohesion. These are the building blocks of multiculturalism in Australia. This time of sharing and open doors is Australia at its best. At a time when too many politicians are attacking Muslims, or are failing to stand up for the people in their communities who are under attack, people in Muslim communities are doing the real work of building social cohesion. Social cohesion does not get built without the kinds of activities and actions that we have seen from our Muslim communities right across Melbourne and right across Victoria. To members of Muslim communities in Melbourne and around Australia: Ramadan kareem and Eid mubarak.