Outcry over the first mosque approved for the city of Bendigo reached fever-pitch this week when residents and anti-Islamic group members spoke out at a highly charged council meeting.

The former president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, Ikebal Patel, said the anger was very disappointing and ''a slap in the face'' for Muslims.

''In this day and age that is the most frustrating part in a country like Australia, where we have had such a history of multiculturalism," he said.

''I must say, Canberra, besides a little bit of opposition to the Gungahlin mosque and the Islamic school, has been very supportive.''

A 500-capacity mosque to be built in Gungahlin was approved by the city's planning authority last year amid a backlash from a small section of the community.

The project stalled when the six-member community group The Concerned Citizens of Canberra launched legal action.

However, Canberra Muslim Community president Yasser Dabhoiwala said it had otherwise received a lot of support.

''There are two sides, there are some groups who oppose the mosque, but overall the response has been very positive," he said. ''I've been getting positive emails and phone calls from the community.''

Canberra Islamic Centre president Azra Khan said there hadn't been any opposition to the construction of a new mosque and car park, which had already begun at the centre's Monash site.

The existing building was vandalised this year but Mrs Khan said it was unclear whether the attack was connected to the expansion.

''We can only extrapolate from the broader community and other faith-based groups and individuals, who have been very condemning of the vandalism, that we are welcome to practise [our religion] and construct our mosque," she said.

''The support we received would indicate that the vast majority of Canberrans are very respectful of other people's freedom to express their faith.

''Also it's a fairly diverse kind of group in Canberra and there's a wide cross-section of communities represented here and I think that has made people more aware and less resistant.''

Islamic Society of the ACT president Abdul Hakim was saddened by the reaction in Bendigo and said Muslims in Canberra were ''very lucky''.

Mr Hakim said Muslims had a responsibility to be open about what it meant to be Muslim and what they did inside their mosques.

''It's the responsibility of teachers and parents to teach children that there are people who think differently about religion and it's not a reason to be violent towards each other.''