Attorneys sent an Islamic organization's appeal back to a local zoning board Thursday, as a downtown mosque popular with Penn State Muslims continues its struggle to build an Islamic cemetery.
The Islamic Society of Central Pennsylvania (ISCP) purchased 10.16 acres of land, at 3785 W. College Ave., in January 2000, intending to build a new mosque with a cemetery, ISCP Executive Committee Secretary Charles Morgan said.
But a 2003 Ferguson Township ordinance restricts the religious uses of certain properties that are more than five acres.
"As the Penn State student body gets bigger and as more students come from abroad, we are facing greater pressure for a cemetery," he said. "We have nothing to do for these people if they've passed away."
ISCP appealed the ordinance to Centre County Court in May, but the court sent the case back to the Ferguson Township Zoning Hearing Board Thursday for further consideration, ISCP attorney Terry J. Williams said.
Crowded, cramped and small was how Morgan described the current mosque at 709 Ridge Ave. in State College. Attendees are mostly Penn State students and faculty, many of whom are from overseas, he said.
And burying the dead has become a growing problem in the last decade, with the closest Islamic cemetery located in Williamsport, Morgan said.
After a Muslim Penn State student drowned to death in May while on a trip to Tennessee with about 30 other students, Morgan said they realized how limited cemetery space is.
Nublan Zaki Norhadi attended religious services and was a member of the group before he drowned, Morgan said.
"It threw us into turmoil, because immediately we thought we would have to take responsibility for his body as his religious advisers," Morgan said. "We really do need a cemetery for situations like this."
In the end, Norhadi's body was flown back to Malaysia at considerable expense, Morgan said.
ISCP's property is zoned as a Rural Agriculture (RA) District, which limits the land's use to a single-family dwelling, said Jeff Ressler, the zoning administrator for Ferguson Township. Morgan said an RA District could also be used for a golf course.
"They need a new place, it sounds like," Ressler said. "Nobody here is against the mosque, and nobody here is against the idea of it."
Omar Ashour (graduate-industrial engineering) attends religious services and said he hopes the situation can be resolved.
"It's very small. It's crowded inside of it," he said.
Originally from Jordan, Ashour said ISCP has given him the opportunity to meet other Muslim students.
He's attended social functions with traditional Islamic foods at the current mosque. He said ISCP also works closely with the Muslim Student Association at Penn State.
"I found the people from my religion and from my country, so it was a good thing," Ashour said. "It offers a place to go to find someone from your religion. I met a lot of friends there."
Morgan said ISCP has maintained a professional working relationship with Ferguson Township. He said he does not think the Islamic elements of the situation have impacted the township's decisions so far.
"It has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with the property we own," Morgan said. "If our property were five acres instead of 10, there wouldn't be an issue."
