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The Bendigo Islamic Community Centre
More than a mosque
Bendigo Islamic What is the BICC?
Community Centre The Bendigo Islamic Community
Centre (BICC) will be a place to pray,
but it will also be a facility for the entire
Bendigo community. It will also be
somewhere where people will be able
to meet, play sport, hold functions and
events and even grab a coffee.
Who will be able to use it?
Everyone is welcome at the BICC,
just as they are at any church or
community centre. It will be one of the
most accessible buildings of its kind
in Australia and anyone, irrespective
of their faith, will be welcome to come
into the prayer hall and observe.
How will it be built?
The BICC will be constructed in three
stages.
Stages 1a and 1b will be the first
and second floors of the multi-purpose
building. This building includes two
large rooms, ablutions (daily wash)
facilities and a commercial kitchen.
The multi-purpose building will be
used for activities such as meetings,
educational events and smaller
social, interfaith and wider community
gatherings. The initial construction
stage is the shell of the multi-purpose
building.
Stage 1c is the prayer hall. It will
house up to 375 worshipers and
will be used primarily for prayers.
This stage also includes the major
car park, driveway entry from Rowena
St and some intersection works as
required by VicRoads.
Stage 2 will see the construction
of the impressive central courtyard,
library, funeral and classroom facilities.
Stage 3 construction includes the
sports hall, café and caretaker’s
residence.
Stage 4 is the small minaret.
Who is building it?
Local company Searle Bros will build
the BICC, with construction work
providing a number of employment
and economic opportunities for locals
and for local businesses supplying to
the site. Everyone involved at all levels
are excited about the development,
what it means for the local Islamic
community and what it means for
Bendigo.
Where is the money coming
from?
About $800,000 has come from
donations made locally and across
Australia and the BICC has recieved
a $400,000 Multicultural Community
Infrastructure Grant from the
Department of Premier and Cabinet.
The City of Greater Bendigo has not
contributed any funds towards the
mosque.
How long will it take to build?
The current planning permit is for
eight years and further stages will
be built as funds are raised.
Who owns the BICC?
The BICC will be run by the Muslim
residents of Bendigo under the
Bendigo Islamic Association in close
collaboration with the Australian
Islamic Mission (AIM). The building
is owned by AIM. Think of it like the
Catholic Church owning the Sacred
Heart Cathedral, but the diocese and
the parish operating it.
Will there be a call to prayer? Bendigo Islamic
There will be no external call to Community Centre
prayer, known as the Azan. In these
modern times, the call to prayer is
Harmony. Unity. Community.
only symbolic. Most Muslims have an
Azan App on their smartphones that
alert them of prayer times. However,
the Azan is still an essential part of the
prayer ritual and tradition.
To find out more, go to
How tall will the minaret be? bicc.org.au
The tallest part of the Bendigo Islamic
Community Centre will be the elegant
minaret, which is permitted to be
21.4 metres high. The Sacred Heart
Cathedral spire is more than four-
times as high, at 87 metres. In fact, you
could put the BICC minaret inside the
main part of the Cathedral, stand on
top of it and still not touch the ceiling.
BICC – More
than a mosque
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info@bicc.org.au