Thousands of people including politicians from all sides have marked Eid al-Fitr at Sydney's oldest mosque as Muslims celebrate the end of Ramadan.
The festive day marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting month and is one of the two main holidays for 1.8 billion Muslims across the world.
Lebanese Muslim Association secretary Gamel Kheir told crowds gathered in front of Lakemba Mosque it is the centrepiece of Islam in Sydney and the beating heart of the Muslim community.
With local representative and cabinet minister Tony Burke in attendance, he urged the federal government to uphold religious freedoms and call out "human rights abuses" against Palestine.
"People should be free to accept or reject standards that do not conform with their own religious beliefs, be that in schools, in a social environment in or a work environment," he said
Premier Chris Minns, a Catholic, said it was "so incredible" to be with thousands of people at the grand mosque in Sydney's inner west on Friday morning to celebrate the end of Ramadan.
"You've welcomed people into your homes, your mosques, your community centres," he said.
"Your example of hospitality is one we should all follow in Australia."
The premier lauded the association for establishing health hubs and communicating the importance of vaccines to the Islamic community during the pandemic.
Labor MP Jihad Dib, NSW's first Muslim minister, said he was incredibly proud to be sworn in on his family's holy Koran.
Liberal MPs Mark Coure, Natalie Ward and Tina Ayyad, the first Muslim woman elected to the state's lower house, were also among notable attendees.
More than 810,000 people nominated Islam as their religion in the 2021 Census, an increase of 200,000 in five years.
Its fast growth is largely attributed to recent migration from Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Bangladesh.
