(Age) An Islamic centre in Melbourne’s north that has been linked to the Bourke Street attacker and Christmas Day terror plot is seeking council approval to accommodate up to 500 people at once as its community grows.
The Hume Islamic Youth Centre in Coolaroo has sought planning permission from Hume Council to increase its capacity for worshippers who attend services on Friday afternoons, its busiest time.
During a wide-ranging interview on Thursday, the centre’s head, Sheikh Mohammed Omran, disputed the centre was linked to four terrorists connected to the 2016 terror plot, despite the group’s ringleader telling police he had attended the centre every second day for five years.
He also rejected reports that Hassan Khalif Shire Ali — who killed Melbourne restaurateur Sisto Malaspina and stabbed two others in Bourke Street on Friday before being shot by police — had attended the mosque.
