Mosque attack in Sydney leaves community reeling

Sydney's Islamic community is reeling tonight after a violent attack on the Auburn Gallipoli Mosque.

Worshippers were forced to flee after a man began smashing windows and throwing furniture off the second-floor balcony

CCTV showed a barefoot young man hitting a large TV with a Quran, before he ripped the television off its stand and hurled it over the balcony.

He then found a large metal pole and smashed the building's glass windows, before throwing it like a javelin at the antique chandeliers.

Video shows the man throwing a vacuum cleaner over as well, and taking a fire hydrant off the wall, before calmly walking out.

He was confronted by a woman as he left.

"Why were you breaking things in the mosque?" she said.

"Why did you do it?"

The mosque has already been on high alert due to rising tensions regarding overseas conflicts.

"We've very thankful that no-one was injured, it could have easily gone the other way," Enver Yasar of the Gallipoli Turkish Cultural Foundation said.

Auburn MP Linda Voltz said the mosque was not a "lightning rod for other people's issues".

The mosque remained closed today as the mess was cleaned up, with the bill of damage expected to run into tens of thousands of dollars.

A 20-year-old man faced court today charged with malicious damage.

He is now being assessed for mental health issues.