Late at night in 2007, along Lakemba's main shopping strip in south-west Sydney, a single barbecue stood tall on the footpath.
Sizzling on the grill was camel meat, and holding the tongs was then-23-year-old Abdul Obeid.
Dozens of people milled about, waiting for a burger after praying Taraweeh — a nightly prayer performed during the month of Ramadan — at a nearby mosque.
The success of the night markets has generated mixed feelings among the Australian Muslim community. Source: Getty / Roni Bintang
[We] started off serving the guys that pray[ed at the mosque] and, with the money we raise, we could give back to the community.
, when worshippers abstain from food, drink and other activities from dawn until sunset. For Muslims, it's the most sacred time of the year; they are encouraged to forfeit bad habits and increase prayer, introspection and charity.
As years passed, the market crowds grew. Dozens grew to hundreds, and hundreds grew to thousands of mainly Australian Muslims filling their stomachs before the sun would rise the next morning.
The famous food markets in Sydney's south-west were once known as 'Lakemba Ramadan Nights', until some Muslim community members wanted the religious reference removed. Credit: AAP
The 28-year-old says he started visiting Haldon Street, where the markets are held, more than a decade ago with his friends. For Chalabi, Lakemba was an "organic" meeting point, when "good food was cranking at that time of the night".
"It was always just known through the grapevine, that, 'Oh yeah, you want food? Let's go to Lakemba'," he recalls of those early years.
Now, the market's popularity has spilled into the mainstream, attracting visitors from all over Sydney. It has left many in the Muslim community conflicted.
Religious roots 'gone out the window'
Lakemba is home to more Muslims than any other suburb in the country and also features the largest mosque. According to the 2021 Census, 61 per cent of residents in Lakemba identified as Muslim.
Canterbury-Bankstown Council started overseeing the Haldon Street event in 2017, which until recently was known as 'Lakemba Ramadan Nights'.
What began as an impromptu community gathering set up by and for the Muslim community has since expanded to become one of Australia's largest multicultural food festivals. Now, 70 per cent of patrons are non-Muslim.
Council mayor Bilal El-Hayek says: "It's an absolute cracker of an event. There's no event in Australia that attracts more than 1.6 million people."
Throngs of people cram the street annually to taste a range of Middle Eastern, North African and South Asian cuisines. Around 60 local businesses are participating in this year's month-long event, which the council expects will contribute up to $50 million to the local economy.
Up to 60 local businesses are expected to take part in Lakemba's Ramadan food markets. Credit: AAP
It's so big now that there's not the religious aspect of what initially was probably intended at the start. That's gone out the window.
Removing 'Ramadan'
Imam Ibrahim Dadoun from the not-for-profit United Muslims of Australia explains that while some may think the month of Ramadan is solely about feasting, there is more to it.
"The reality is Ramadan is not just about food, it's more about spirituality, it's about getting closer to God, it's about getting close to one another as Muslims within our community and also reaching out to the wider Australian community," he tells SBS News.
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In recent years, Dadoun says some members of the community began to express concern that the event had become too commercialised and suggested removing the religious reference from its name.
SBS News has spoken with several Australian Muslims, who didn't wish to be named, who agreed that the 'Ramadan' reference should be scrapped.
Last October, the council, appearing to listen to these concerns, proposed a raft of changes, including the removal of the word 'Ramadan' from the event's branding.
Ibrahim Dadoun says some members of the community complained Lakemba's night markets have become overcommercialised. Source: SBS News
"I think that really secularises it a lot, and I think for the community who are deeply involved in their Muslim faith, it's a bit of a slap in the face," he says.
One month later, the council found a middle ground, voting to endorse the new name: 'Lakemba Nights During Ramadan'.
El-Hayek says the name was changed in the hopes it would better reflect the diversity of views within the community.
"Some people thought that this is not part of the religious element of the festival, but the reality is there were a lot of people [who] wanted 'Ramadan' to stay in there, so we've listened to the community," he says.
'Let's have a conversation'
Dadoun says despite contention around the event and its name, it offers the public a chance to connect through food, which is a soft opportunity to help combat the rising .
The Islamophobia Register Australia has reported a .
"We understand that people love food, and if it means that we need to get to the heart through the stomach, then so be it — welcome to Lakemba," Dadoun says.
"Enjoy some food to eat, and let's have a conversation, you know, get to learn more about your Muslim neighbours, get to know Islam and what it means to be a Muslim and enjoy that company with one another as fellow Australians."
For local business owner Mohammad Elcharif, it's an open door to allow people to learn about Australia’s cultural diversity on offer.
"People come from everywhere with their different culture to see our culture," he says.
It doesn't matter where they come from … It is for everyone.
Young Muslim woman Eman Alameddine agrees, saying the Ramadan spirit of the markets is still poignant.
"A lot of people who are open-minded will come, meet other Muslims and just know that we're not bad people."
