Our Story
A Community Finds
Its Home
From fewer than ten people praying in a small community house, to Gippsland's first official mosque. This is the story of belonging, faith, and what a community can build together.
~200
Muslims in Baw Baw Shire
2021 Census
150%
Population growth
2016 → 2021
45 km
Nearest other mosque
Before we opened
200+
At our first Jum'ah
In the new building
Where It All Began
A small house in Warragul
Before there was a mosque, there was a community house. A handful of Muslim families in Warragul, fewer than ten, would gather to pray together, finding comfort in each other despite the distance from the nearest mosque, over 45 kilometres away.
Word spread. People drove from across Gippsland, some travelling more than an hour each way, just to worship alongside others. The space was small. The community was growing. People were being turned away at the door because there simply wasn't enough room.
“When we started off there were less than ten people, then it grew to more than 50.”Fahad Zakaria, BINAI President
The Journey
From announcement to home
The Early Years
A community gathers in a house
A small group of Muslim families in Baw Baw Shire begin holding regular prayers in a community house in Warragul. With no mosque within 45 km, it becomes a spiritual lifeline, the only place Muslims in the region can come together to pray.
21 September 2024
We announce our mosque journey
BINAI publicly announces its mission to establish a permanent mosque for Baw Baw Shire, the first of its kind in Gippsland. The community rallies behind the vision, and the fundraising campaign begins in earnest.
1 January 2025
We get the keys to 72 Victoria Street
On New Year's Day 2025, BINAI receives the keys to a former Uniting Church building at 72 Victoria Street, Warragul, a beautiful, historic place of worship that had been privately owned since 2006. A new chapter begins.
Early 2025
Gippsland's first Jum'ah in a real mosque
The first Friday Jum'ah prayer in the new building draws almost 200 worshippers, a powerful moment that illustrated just how deeply this community had needed a home. Many had been driving over an hour each way for years.
March 2025
Opening the doors to everyone
Warragul Mosque hosts its first community open day, welcoming neighbours of all faiths to try Islamic calligraphy, taste traditional food, ask questions about Islam, and witness a prayer session. A featured story in ABC Gippsland puts the community on the national map.
Our Home
A place of worship, reimagined
The building at 72 Victoria Street has long been a place where people seek something greater than themselves. Originally a Uniting Church, it passed into private hands in 2006 before BINAI recognised its potential: a beautiful, historic structure with the soul of a sanctuary.
“We wanted to preserve that history as a place of worship,” BINAI President Fahad Zakaria said. Today, the building carries forward that tradition, now as a mosque where hundreds gather weekly to pray, learn, and connect.
A Sense of Belonging
“Ever since the mosque opened, we have been noticing a spike in a sense of belonging.”
For Muslim families in regional Victoria, distance from a mosque isn't just inconvenience: it affects social wellbeing, community connection, and the ability to express and live out your faith. Having a local mosque changes everything.
“People have been a lot happier, and they have been coming very regularly to pray and to connect.”
Fahad Zakaria
BINAI Ex-President
“If you don't have a local mosque, then it is very hard to express your faith, and that impacts your social wellbeing.”
Waseem Razvi
Islamic Research & Educational Academy
“We need places for people to feel like they're part of a community. We all need that because we're human.”
Tricia Jones
Baw Baw Deputy Mayor
The Community
Muslims in Gippsland
According to the 2021 Australian Census, approximately 200 Muslims call Baw Baw Shire home, up from just 80 in 2016. That's a 150% increase in five years, making Islam the 13th largest faith in the shire and the fourth-fastest growing.
Across greater Gippsland, the Muslim population is spread across a vast regional area. Before Warragul Mosque opened, the nearest place of worship was more than 45 kilometres away, meaning families were spending hours each week simply travelling to pray.
13th largest faith in Baw Baw Shire
Out of all religious groups in the 2021 Census
4th fastest growing faith
In Baw Baw Shire, growing at 150% between 2016–2021
45+ km to the nearest mosque
The distance many Gippsland Muslims travelled before we opened
The only mosque in Gippsland's east
Warragul Mosque serves the entire Baw Baw and Latrobe region
Life at the Mosque
Open to All
A space for the whole community
Warragul Mosque isn't just for Muslims. From the very beginning, BINAI's vision has been to build a space that serves the whole of Baw Baw Shire, a place of welcome, dialogue, and shared humanity.
The mosque hosts multicultural story time sessions, school tours, interfaith events, and community open days. Visitors have tried Islamic calligraphy, tasted traditional food, tried on hijabs, and sat with Muslim families to ask any question they wished.
“The house of God is everybody's house.”Mohamed Mohideen, Islamic Council of Victoria President
Who We Are
BawBaw Islamic Network Australia Inc.
BINAI is a registered, not-for-profit incorporated association in Victoria, Australia. We exist to serve the Muslim community of Baw Baw Shire and greater Gippsland, providing a space for daily prayers, Islamic education, youth programs, and community events.
We are entirely community-led and community-funded. Every dollar donated goes directly toward running the mosque and our $800,000 goal to permanently own the building, securing Gippsland's Islamic centre for generations to come.
Building Fund: $800,000 Goal
Help us own this mosque permanently
The building at 72 Victoria Street is currently leased. Our goal is to purchase it outright, securing a permanent home for Gippsland's Muslim community that will serve worshippers, students, and neighbours for generations.
This is an opportunity for sadaqah jariyah, a continuous act of charity whose reward endures long after this life. A mosque built through your contribution will continue to give.