Those in Favour at the Local Level-

The development caused much outcry in an otherwise quiet suburb. In the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper article, Mosque plan rejection sparks racism claim, Mayor John Griffiths stated: "In 25 years... I have never seen so many people object to an application".

But in reality Mr Aly noted that: "The Annangrove Progress Association represents a very small number of people in Annangrove". He stated that many people of Annangrove had expressed their full support, and some former members of the Association left it in disgust. Councillor van der Weg went so far as to say that residents had told her they were "frightened" by the actions of their own neighbours.

Mr Aly also picked up on the point that many of the Annangrove residents' hands were tied. "Nobody can support it in Annangrove... People rang me and said look, we gave them (the Annangrove Progress Association) $100 but we did it because if we said no it would have just created a problem".

Councillor van de Weg felt the objections themselves were very exaggerated. "I didn't feel the complaints we were receiving, which were numerous, actually reflected the application before us". Traffic concerns the Councillor found to be without solid grounds. She compared this proposal to a racetrack which used to be up the road until a few years ago, and it had hundreds of people frequenting it without issue.

(Annangrove Rd, which has a steady amount of traffic at present- taken on public holiday afternoon)

Councillor van de Weg felt that some of the research conducted was "flawed". She said she understood that people felt threatened by large congregations of people from unfamiliar backgrounds, but a large congregation was very unlikely. She distinguished this case by explaining that Mr Aly and his congregation belonged to a particular sect of the Muslim religion of which there were only 900-1000 people in all Australia.

The opposition to the development used a bizarre line of reasoning by discussing High Court of Australia cases regarding brothels, and how people have taken offence to those. "I thought lumping a place of worship with a brothel was a very odd comparison," said van de Weg.

The Councillor discussed how the others who had voted against the proposal had in fact gone against their own legal advice. She said the only problems that arose, for example those regarding water treatment, were ones which had been passed before. "You pass the application subject to certain conditions which if not complied with mean the development doesn't go through".

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Those Against at the Local Level-

The major group that was in opposition to the development were the so-called "Annangrove Progress Association", whose name in itself displays an inherent irony.

The Secretary of the Annangrove Progress Association, Elaine White, declined to comment on the situation as they were legally advised not to. They claimed to have suffered extreme backlash from the media.

She explained that the case had gotten away from its "real issues" and that they merely saw the prayer centre proposal as an "inappropriate development". Mrs White did not embellish that point.

The Association's primary concern has been that the development will change the character of the area and increase the influx of people considerably. The Council's barrister voiced concerns about the prayer hall being located "smack in the middle of a village... right next to a park"- Hills News, Prayer Centre Delay.

The Federal MP for Annangrove, Steven Pringell of the seat of Hawkesbury, had similar concerns regarding the traffic and environment in the "semi-rural" area. He recognised it was, "primarily a local government issue... State and Federal members have a lesser level of impact", but admitted he was "looking forward to the judgment". He referred to the proposal as a "large scale development"- a common perception in the eyes of those in opposition.

In a transcript from ABC Radio's AM broadcast, Local Council rejects mosque construction, Deputy Mayor Michael Blair stated: "Why should a community be subjected to a development that it does not want? It's as simple as that."

"There are very few, if any, of that faith that live in that neck of the woods... people will come from outside the area and interfere with an existing lifestyle". The Deputy Mayor has brought it back to 'numbers' and is seeing the proposal as an "interference".

The Mayor of Baulkham Hills, John Griffiths, is refusing to speak on the issue until the Land and Environment Court's judgment is handed down. In the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper article, Mosque plan rejection sparks racism claim, he denied the decision was race-based: "I don't think it would matter what religion it was, it would have gotten the same response".

However, the Mayor is recorded as saying that he felt the safety of "girls and ladies" would be put at risk if such a prayer centre was built. With comments like this it isn't surprising Mr Aly and his supporters are very concerned about the sad level of tolerance that exists in their Shire.

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