Our highly respected and beloved College Imam, Sheikh Waseem and his family need our help: Their visa to stay in Australia has expired, and sadly their application for residency has been declined.
As a community, we are appealing to the Minister of Immigration to intervene, and support our request for Shk Waseem and his family to remain in Australia.
Sheikh Waseem is a very important part of Al Siraat College and has been for more than 7 years. For those not familiar, this is why Sheikh Waseem is so important to us all:
- He is the Imam at Al Siraat, leading prayers in the College Musalla
- He is a Hifz and Qur'an teacher
- For 2 years prior to COVID, he taught Maktab classes in the evenings
- He leads Friday Jummah prayers
- He provides Islamic counselling to students and families in our community
- He supports families in need when they have lost a loved one
- He continues to teach students even after they have graduated.
Sheikh Waseem and his wife tragically lost their 17 year old son two years ago. He is buried here in Melbourne, and the family visits his grave at least once a week. Leaving their son behind will add further pain to their already painful experience.
We cannot let Sheikh Waseem and his family be deported back to Pakistan, where they won’t have any support.
Please support our application to keep Sheikh Waseem and his family in Australia, so he can continue with the amazing work his does and the dedication he gives to our community.
Please sign the online petition below, and forward to everyone you know asking they sign it also.