Bogor, Jawa Barat (Indonesia Window) – In a corner of Melbourne's Brunswick district, stands a building that appears unassuming from the outside.

There are no towering domes dominating the city skyline, nor is there any grand architecture that immediately catches the eye of passersby.

However, when the doors open, the modest space shows another face of Australia—the face of Islam living in diversity.

The mosque is called the Islamic Community Milli Görüş (ICMG) Brunswick.

As prayer time approaches, worshippers arrive one by one.

Some speak Türkiye, others Arabic, Urdu, English, or Indonesian. Among them are students, workers, young families, and even children running to the Quran study room.

They come from different nations, bringing with them diverse languages ​​and cultures. However, when the call to prayer (adzan) sounds, all these differences seem to melt into rows that line up in the same direction.

Perhaps this is the closest depiction to Allah's words in Surah Al-Hujurat, verse 13. It translates as: "O mankind, indeed We created you from male and female, and made you into nations and tribes that you may know one another..."

This verse finds its meaning not only in the holy book, but also in the daily life of a simple mosque in Melbourne.

From the Türkiye Community, the ICMG Brunswick Mosque emerged from the long journey of the Türkiye Muslim community in Australia.

A large wave of Türkiye migration began after the 1967 Australia- Türkiye Agreement, which opened up greater opportunities for Türks to settle in Australia.

Many families then chose Melbourne as a place to build new lives. Along with the growth of the community, there was a need for prayer spaces, educational centers, and gathering places for fellow Muslims.

According to the community, the ICMG Mosque began as a simple prayer space in 1991. Over time, the mosque grew to accommodate the growing congregation and became a center of Islamic activities in the Brunswick area.

Although built and managed by theTürkiye Muslim community through the Islamic Community Milli Görüş organization, the mosque's doors have never been open to just one ethnic group.

As Australia's Muslim community has become increasingly diverse, the ICMG Mosque has grown into a shared space for anyone who comes to worship. This is where Islam shows its universal face.

A second home.

For many Indonesians living in and around Brunswick, the ICMG Mosque has a meaning that goes beyond its mere function as a place of worship.

Brunswick itself is a popular area for Indonesian families. It is relatively close to downtown Melbourne, offers good transportation access, a comfortable environment, and is close to schools, shopping centers, and various public facilities.

Many Indonesian students who come with their spouses and children choose to settle in this area during their studies.

Amidst the routine of studying, working, and raising a family in a foreign country, the easily accessible presence of a mosque provides something difficult to quantify: a sense of calm.

It is here that they hear greetings in Indonesian again, meet fellow migrants, share stories about life in Australia, and perform congregational prayers.

The mosque becomes a space that connects them with something familiar—a slice of home that has carried over to the land nicknamed ‘Down Under.’

The atmosphere at the ICMG Mosque demonstrates how Islam has grown in Australia.

In one row, you can find a Türkish Muslim, an Indonesian student, a Pakistani worker, a Bangladeshi family, a Bosnian congregant, and even an Australian who recently converted to Islam. They may not understand each other's language.

Their cultural traditions differ, but they are united by a common faith. These differences are not erased, but rather accepted as part of a shared life.

In the context of Australia's multicultural society, mosques like the ICMG serve as spaces that demonstrate that diversity is not a barrier to brotherhood, but rather a foundation for mutual understanding, as the message of the Quran suggests.

In the long traces of Islam in Australia, the religion’s journey in that continent state is much older than many imagine.

Before the modern wave of migration, traces of Muslims were already present through sailors from the Indonesian archipelago who sailed to Australia's northern coast, followed by camel riders from Afghanistan who played an important role in opening transportation routes in the continent's interior in the 19th century.

Entering the second half of the 20th century, migration from Türkiye, Lebanon, Bosnia, South Asia, Africa, and various other regions further enriched Australia's Islamic landscape.

Islam then grew not as a single national identity, but as a mosaic composed of many cultural backgrounds. This diversity remains evident today.

The 2021 Australian census data recorded more than 813,000 Muslims, or approximately 3.2 percent of Australia's total population.

The figure continues to reflect the growth of the Muslim community as part of Australia's multicultural society.

However, Islamic life is not only reflected in statistics.

It is present in crowded Friday prayers attended by congregants from various nations, in children's education classes, cross-community social activities, interfaith dialogue, and in the growing gathering spaces of mosques like ICMG Brunswick.

For Indonesians, the ICMG Mosque may never have been intended as an ‘Indonesian mosque.’

It arose from the Türkish Muslim community's efforts to build a place of worship for their generation.

However, precisely because Islam carries the mission of ‘rahmatan lil 'alamin’ ('blessing for the whole universe), this place of worship has grown to encompass a wider community.

Under one roof, people from different nations find a space to get to know each other, to strengthen each other, and to feel that they are not alone in a land far from home.

At the ICMG Brunswick Mosque, this brotherhood is not a slogan. It is lived out daily—in every row of prayer and in every handshake during meetings, making Australia a shared home for Muslims from all over the world.

End

 Author: Daday Hidayat, Lc. (an Indonesian citizen once lived in Brunswick, Australia).