Those who travel along Sunbury Road are probably familiar with a three-story shell of a building near the I-270 underpass.
The concrete and steel structure is tucked behind a chain-link fence and exists alongside “no trespassing signs” and the roar of traffic. Its sign, all but weathered away on one side reads, “Coming Soon: Muslim Community Youth Center.”
Center for American Islamic Relations (CAIR) director Khalid Turaani said that the family spearheading the project began with a budget of $2.7 million.
“They spent the $2.7 million, and they're still not finished with it, and now they need about $2 million more to get it completed,” Turaani said.
The project began in 2019, but it was waylaid by the pandemic and funding troubles. The Youth Center is meant to be a 20,000-square-foot facility with a gym and gathering spaces for Muslims and non-Muslims alike, Turaani said.
“It’s important to have these kinds of institutions in any society, really, where people can gravitate together and do positive things,” he said.
Turani still hopes the Muslim Community Youth Center will be a gathering place one day, but it has a long way to go.
MAS Columbus Expansion Project
Meanwhile, near Forest Park, the Columbus Muslim American Society operates out of a small, non-descript white building.
It has bigger aspirations, however. Its website shows a rendering of a towering building with tall, decorative windows and a grand entrance. It’s called the expansion project and is billed as a youth community center. The building would have prayer areas, classrooms, a lounge, gym, kitchen and more.
MAS Columbus purchased land for the project in 2020.
“More than just a building, this center will serve as a pillar of opportunity — a place where our youth can grow, thrive in their faith, and build lasting bonds of fellowship,” MAS Columbus' website states.
It goes on to make a plea for funding. The project has hit just 10% of a $100,000, according to a fundraising website connected to the project.
Like the Youth Center on Sunbury Road, it seems like MAS’ expansion just hasn’t found its funding yet.
“We are Columbus. We are part of it, we're part of that mosaic."Khalid Turaani, CAIR executive director
Noor Ohio building
In Hilliard, Noor Islamic Cultural Center has a different problem with its intended expansion. A subsidiary of Noor bought the former BMW Financial Services building on Britton Parkway in Hilliard in the hopes of putting a prayer area and community space into the building, along with offices, a school, shops and more. Noor Islamic Cultural Center now calls the facility the Noor Ohio building.
Last year, Hilliard City Council denied a zoning change that would have allowed Noor to move forward. Now, Noor is suing.
“They were willing to give us a lot of the things that we asked for. But they absolutely refused to give us the 9% of that 220,000 square foot building to use for our community for Islamic activities and community gatherings,” said Rooney Abaza, chairman of Noor’s board of directors.
The city of Hilliard has said that it negotiated with Noor's leadership. Abaza said that's not true. It's up to a federal judge to decide if the city discriminated against the mosque.
Abaza noted that central Ohio’s Muslim community is growing “very rapidly,” and that the congregation at Noor is also growing.
Noor already has satellite locations in New Albany and Plain City. Muslims pray five times a day and do additional prayers during the holy month of Ramadan. They can pray anywhere, but Abaza says faith is best practiced in a community.
“The interactions and being together is really critical,” Abaza said.
He said Noor did not hit any roadblocks setting up those satellite locations, but he’s heard of other Muslim communities being met with resistance from local governments.
Cultural centers
Noor’s main building is an example of what other Muslim Community Centers could be.
It doesn’t have a gym, but it does have a pre-K through 3rd grade school in the basement and plenty of extra meeting and classroom spaces, in addition to the masjid, or mosque.
“It's not just a mosque. It's a cultural center where a mosque is the center of activities,” said Mohammed Azhar Masood, Noor’s executive director.
Abaza added that an Islamic cultural center has a different role in central Ohio than it would in an area where most people were Muslim.
“It's very different because we're a minority. We need to have an Islamic center, not just a place where we come and pray,” Abaza said. “As you will notice, our prayer hall is a minority of the square footage of this place is much bigger than just the prayer hall.”
Noor has an outreach department that teaches about Islam. It also has social activities, adult education, and health and mental health programs for its congregation.
“We try to take care as much as possible with the given resources we have,” Masood said.
There are youth programs, too, including classes for memorizing the Quran, Islam’s holy book. On a weekday after school, many rooms are filled with children reciting aloud in Arabic.
Abaza said those programs and that sense of community are especially important for children.
“We don't want them to just be American, just be Muslim. We want to be Muslim-Americans and contribute to society at large,” Abaza said.
“It's not just a mosque. It's a cultural center where a mosque is the center of activities."Mohammed Azhar Masood, executive director of Noor Islamic Cultural Center
Central Ohio's Muslim community
About two-thirds of Columbus’ Muslim community is made up of immigrants and first-generation Americans, with the largest group from Somalia, according to Turaani. He said the community at large is diverse and includes a lot of African American Muslims and some converts.
“We are Columbus. We are part of it, we're part of that mosaic,” Turaani said.
Abaza echoed that sentiment. “Muslims are good neighbors. Muslims are good citizens, and our community here is really one that fosters, you know, good development of good character.”
The legal battle between Noor and the city of Hilliard is ongoing. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday morning in the Southern District of Ohio federal court.
This story was part of WOSU's Curious Cbus series. Submit your question below.
