Muslims lived in Toowoomba since 1891 and it took over 123 years to build the first Mosque in the city. To our knowledge Mr Abdul Ahab Kaus (1891 – 1960) was the first Muslim who lived in Toowoomba. He was of Afghan origin. Among the currently living Muslims in Toowoomba some arrived in early 1970’s. There are over 2000 Muslims in the city now.
Initially Muslims primarily came to Toowoomba to work and study at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). USQ provided worshipping facility for Muslims since 1993 after Professor Dr Shahjahan Khan joined USQ. Muslims shared the Chaplaincy at the southern end of ground level of G Block for regular prayers. When the number of Muslims grew, USQ provided an underground room for Muslim prayers and meetings. To meet the increased need of Muslims an exclusive building behind the Steele Rudd College was dedicated to be the USQ Islamic Centre in 2000. Professor Khan was the Founding Coordinator of the Centre until it was decommissioned in 2014 after the first Mosque was set up in the city. Muslim students and staff used an underground room for prayers behind Alison Dixon Lecture Theatre. However, after years of sustained efforts of Professor Khan USQ established a decent Muslim Prayer facility in 2019 within its Multifaith Precinct at the northern end of G Block. There are hundreds of Muslim students and staff at USQ who regularly use Toowoomba Mosque.
Majority of Muslims in the city are highly skilled professionals including Professors/Lecturers, Doctors, Engineers, Researchers, Pharmacists, Entrepreneurs, Business operators, Accountants, Tradespersons etc. Toowoomba city being a refugee friendly zone, there are also some Muslim refugee families.
Muslims are actively engaged with the diverse wider community, especially with USQ, Toowoomba Regional Council, different Churches, Multifaith and Multicultural communities.