Most imams and sheikhs will urge Australian Muslims to back the Indigenous voice to parliament during Friday prayer sermons, according to the Australian National Imam’s Council (ANIC), which has launched a final push in support of the referendum.
With Anthony Albanese also tipped to visit a Sydney mosque on Friday, the ANIC is urging all mosques and imams to dedicate their traditional Friday sermons to the yes vote.
In the statement urging Muslims to vote yes, the council said it had based its decision on a number of key religious factors, such as the importance of justice in Islam, the longstanding historical relationship between Muslims and First Nations people, and the importance of “standing with the marginalised.”
“The Voice will contribute to shaping a positive future for all Australians, and Australian Muslims should be a part of this significant change,” the council wrote.
“It is essential to acknowledge that the First Nations people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes, were the first sovereign nations of the Australian continent and its adjacent islands for thousands of years.”
Muslims make up about 3% of the Australian population – or about 800,000 people – and the ANIC said it expected its message to be preached at more than 80% of the nation’s 250 mosques. Friday prayers usually begin about 1pm.
The statement also provided details on what the referendum question will look like and when the vote will take place.
Attending a Friday prayer and sermon is obligatory for Muslim men, and is often the largest platform for messages intended for the community.
The sermons are usually reserved for spiritual messages, often containing reminders of the ritualistic obligations Muslims have or for how they should act towards one another.
However, in the past, they have been used to deliver messages encouraging Muslims to vote at federal and state elections, to give to various charitable causes or to raise awareness of community issues.
Some criticised the ANIC’s message in response to its post on Facebook, arguing politics did not belong in mosques, and many indicated they would vote no. But others backed the move, noting sermons had been used to educate people in the past.
The prime minister is expected to attend and speak at Friday prayer at Lakemba mosque, one of the largest mosques in Australia.
While the Lebanese Muslim Association, the organisation behind Lakemba mosque, has so far provided no comment on the voice or the referendum, it did announce that a “very special guest” would attend its Friday prayers.
The ANIC is been a consistent backer of the voice and signed joint resolution of peak religious organisations backing the proposal in 2022.
An earlier statement from ANIC in September directly urged Muslims to vote yes, urging the community to avoid being influenced by misinformation.
“We also urge that Australian Muslims not be misled by misinformation and attempts by many to exploit the uncertainty and lack of knowledge which people may have about the concept of the Voice,” the ANIC wrote.
