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The controversial prayer hall allegedly linked to one of the Bondi shooters was flagged as operating illegally more than two years before the local council finally shut it down.
Al Madina Dawah Centre closed in January after Canterbury-Bankstown Council issued a “cease-use” directive, claiming the centre did not have the appropriate approvals to operate as a prayer hall.
But documents obtained under freedom-of-information laws reveal the council had received numerous complaints about the centre, with one as far back as November 2023.
The prayer hall was until recently run by radical preacher Wissam Haddad, who was in the spotlight late last year over his links with Naveed Akram, one of the Bondi shooters.
Akram and his father, Sajid, killed 15 innocent people on December 14 after opening fire on a Hanukkah event held on Bondi Beach. Sajid was shot dead by police, while Naveed has been charged with almost 60 offences, including 15 murders. His case returns to court on Wednesday.
The documents obtained by this masthead also indicate that the council suspected the centre was operating a “Saturday school” on the premises at the time.
In an email chain discussing the complaint, council staff noted the centre was probably operating “without development consent”, with one staff member writing that they suspected the centre was “breaching consents by operating a ‘place of worship’ and running a Saturday school on the weekends”.
The council then launched an investigation that included a council officer attending the premises on a Friday, when Muslims pray the noon prayer in congregation. The officer saw “no evidence of congregation”, and the investigation was shelved.
Council officers noted that the centre would appear on the Go Pray app, used by Muslims to find congregations or mosques, signifying it was being used as a place of worship.
Despite that, and finding that the premises was last approved as a medical centre in June 1989, the council took no further action.
Haddad and his alleged followers were involved in numerous street preaching groups in Sydney’s west, one of which was attended by Akram in 2019. He was pictured preaching with a program called the Dawah Van, affiliated with Al Madina Dawah Centre, as well as appearing in a video for another program called Street Dawah that had previously been attended by convicted terror offenders.
Al Madina Dawah Centre was operating for about four years and was where Haddad gave lectures and lessons. Haddad has not faced serious charges or been directly linked to terrorist acts. There is no suggestion he was involved in the Bondi attack. It is unclear if Akram attended the centre while it was open.
The prayer hall was brought to the council’s attention numerous times through media requests, including one email chain focusing on a Daily Telegraph front page featuring Haddad from May 2025.
In the discussion, council staff again mentioned the prayer hall did not have the appropriate consent to operate as a place of worship but did nothing.
In the week after the Bondi terror attack, council workers reopened their investigation into the prayer hall, and sent another officer to the premises for “surveillance”.
The officers saw men “dressed in religious attire” walking into the building about 1pm on the Friday after the Bondi attack. The officers also noted that they could see the congregation through the first-floor windows.
They did not enter the building, instead making observations from across the road. They stayed for 15 minutes, but left as they reported they “did not feel safe to remain any longer as the premises was clearly being used as a prayer hall”.
Council officers again noted the premises only had approval for a medical centre, that no recent approvals had been issued for its use, and that the centre was still popping up on the Go Pray app.
It was only then that the council finally issued a “cease use” directive to the centre. In that directive, the council refers to a “schooling/tutoring centre for K-3 years”, a detail omitted from the ensuing media releases.
The centre was shut down less than a month later. The council did not respond to a request for comment.
The centre sought to distance itself from Haddad after the Bondi attack, with the organising committee saying at the time that Haddad holds “no management role, has no operational authority and is not involved in the administration or decision-making of the current organisation”.
However, the centre also shared a statement from Haddad in which he denied any involvement in the attack.
He said in the statement that there were “no verified photos” of him and Akram together, but he did not address whether he knew the alleged shooter. He added that it was “misleading” to call Akram one of his followers and denied any prior knowledge of the attack.
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