This week, the Islamic Center of Clermont withdrew an application from Lake County for a change of zoning to accommodate a new building and the renovation of its food pantry.
The withdrawal is temporary and will be resubmitted at a later date, but the community furor that the application was submitted at all has divided South Lake.
Neighbors started a petition against the rezoning, mistakenly believing that the ICC is planning to build two additional mosques that will bring extra traffic to an already crowded area of Hancock Road/John’s Lake Road. A traffic study has already been completed that indicates building an Activity Center to accommodate ICC’s future plans will not generate problems.
Other people claim that the ICC is dangerous, that Sharia law will permeate into the area and that Clermont will be home to a much larger, and dangerous Muslim community.
The ICC invited the Clermont Sun Editor Sharon Keeble to spend some time at the mosque. Read on and make-up your own mind armed with the details and facts.
As a newspaper Editor with a platform to educate and inform, I wanted to give the mosque a chance to tell their side of their story after the controversy that has erupted over their plans to improve their center.
I’ve seen so much information spouted on social media regarding traffic and environmental concerns, plus postings from people who condemn the Muslim faith, so I decided to find out more with absolutely no agenda.
I was greeted by President Asif Ally and Sy Khan, who manages the food pantry on the eight-acre site that includes a modest mosque. The building is old and falling apart, so it is part of the ICC’s plans to renovate the building to make it more accessible.
The food pantry is open the first and third Saturday of each month and is funded by donations from Second Harvest Food Bank, local chain supermarkets and donations from ICC attendees. Volunteers also deliver to people in trailer parks once a month.
Anybody, no matter their religion, can show-up for free food and they do! The pantry averages more than 250 recipients in total every month to pick up or have delivered hampers, that are filled with meat, milk and eggs, grocery items and fresh vegetables and fruit.
“We have been serving the community since 2022,” said Sy Khan, who manages the food pantry. “We now have more than 500 people registered for the food pick-up and we are the only ones who deliver to people’s homes.
“This building is old. It needs so much work. We need more space as the need increases and it’s growing all the time. We are going to renovate this building as part of the plans we have for our campus, and we are working on those now.”
“One of the things we must do is stop and listen to our neighbors and that’s why we are taking our time to talk to people to get those plans right,” said President Asif Ally. “We are very peaceful people, and we want people to know that we are willing to listen to their concerns.”
Social media and news outlets reported that the ICC is hoping to build two new mosques, which simply isn’t true and was a break-down in communications.
“We want to create more car parking here,” he said. “We want to renovate the food pantry, and we want to build a new Activity Center building in front of the mosque where we can celebrate Ramadan and host community events. Right now, they are all held in tents, which isn’t good given the extreme Florida weather.”
After the tour, I was invited to Jummah Prayer and Lecture, that takes place every Friday afternoon from 1.30-2.15pm.
The Muslim religion calls its God almighty Allah and contrary to popular belief, he is the same Christian, Catholic and Jewish God who is worshiped by millions around the world. Muslims follow the Quran teachings, which means ‘Word of God.’
I wore a headscarf like all the women in prayer and was told that it is a mark of respect to Mary, Jesus’ mother, who is always seen wearing the hijab in religious depictions. It is worn by Muslim women as a form of modesty and respect for God and the practice is tradition, much like the Kippah that Jewish men wear.
The lesson for the day, about why does God allow suffering if he is supposed to care about his flock, could have been lectured in any church by any pastor. The reading was done in part in Arabic for the older Muslim congregation, and in English for everyone else. I noticed that there were people of different nationalities visiting in the mosque, three I later discovered are white Americans.
One of them, Jeffrey Kipperman, from Winter Springs in Florida, read about the plans on the internet and wanted to show his support.
“I read about the expansion plans on social media, and I was so sad to see the comments, hatred and ignorance directed at the mosque, Islam and Muslims in general,” said Kipperman. "It broke my heart to see. I grew up as Jewish – I felt that I wanted to show up and give my support as a human being. People see things as black and white, but they are not. I wanted to show that there are still kind people out there, no matter what religion they follow.”
Several prayers were made during the 45-minute Khutbah before everyone left to go about their day. There was nothing sinister about the proceedings and I was made welcome by every single person I met which I think is the point – the center is open to everyone, regardless of religion. Anyone is welcome to attend ICC programs.
I asked the center’s executive team about Sharia Law and the fact that people genuinely seem terrified of it and what it represents. I’m from the UK and I know that this has been an issue over there for many years with reports of unfairness to women and their rights, and horrific punishments to Muslims who don’t live by it. But we are not in the UK, we are in South Lake County in America.
By definition, Sharia law is the religious, moral, and legal framework of Islam that guides Muslims on how to live a faithful and ethical life. It represents God's overall moral and spiritual guidance for humans, focusing on personal worship, charity, honesty, and good character rather than government rules.
“Sharia is a practice in how to live your life peacefully,” said President Ally. “It is about how you pray, how you treat others and how to be a good person. People hear the words Sharia law and they think the worst.
“They think of countries who have adopted the Sharia Penal Code, like Saudi Arabia. For example, that means they can give the harshest punishments like cutting someone’s right hand if they have been proven guilty of stealing. We do not follow such a Penal Code in the US. Our Sharia law follows the fundamental laws of peace.”
In the Quaran are two verses that are particularly relevant to the situation. One is Living with Neighbors in Peace that commands believers to worship God and be good to those around them, specifically naming parents, relatives, orphans, the needy.
The other is Never Forcing Anyone into Religion and that verse teaches that faith is a matter of personal choice and sincere conviction. This verse explicitly states that people cannot and should not be forced or coerced into accepting Islam or any other faith because true guidance is distinct from error.
“We believe in those verses,” said President Ally. “We live by them. We don’t want to force anybody to follow our religion, and we want to live with our neighbors in peace no matter what.”
The ICC is going to be revising and submitting more plans to the Lake County Board of Commissioners. Given the community’s divide on the subject, their mission is to educate the public.
“We want more time to engage with and better inform the public of our plans. We believe that a better understanding of our intentions can help right misconceptions and adjust concerns,” said Spiritual Leader Imam Husman. “Our hope is that with a better understanding of some of the negativity surrounding the project will be transformed and give an opportunity for dialogue, understanding and a stronger community relationship. We look forward to re-engaging with the community.”