Interacting With the Community Interfaith Iftars Ramadan 2018 Only by the Grace of Allah, ICO was able to conduct five interfaith iftaars this year, more than ever before. Each of the iftaars was a great success, with strong attendance and more importantly, strong bridges built between our Muslim community and various communities and individuals of other faiths. Read More Imam Tariq gives Graduation Speech at West Orange High School By the Grace of Allah, Imam Tariq was invited by West Orange High School to be the keynote speaker at their graduation ceremony! ICO was extremely pleased to be invited and represented at such an important event. The school was very impressed with the speech and they hope to work with ICO again in the future! Interfaith Lunch with Windermere Union Church - February 11, 2018 By the grace of Allah, ICO was able to host Windermere Union Church this past Sunday for another wonderful interfaith event! The lunch went incredibly well as warm new friendships were made and bridges were built. Imam Tariq, Pastor Barton, and others gave excellent speeches aimed towards building unity and Muslims and Christians had a lovely time together. Not only that, but the church members expressed a strong desire to keep this relationship going and will certainly be involved with ICO again in the future.See photos. Muslims for Puerto Rico, October 2017 Muslims Turn Out To Aid Puerto Rico Alhamdullilah, ICO is very proud of all our volunteers who turned out to help the "Orlando Cares - Hope for Puerto Rico" initiative that took place at the Convention Center. ICO first went with a group of 20 volunteers, and again a second time and third time with over 60 volunteers! Alhamdullilah, the response from Non-Muslims seeing Muslims turn out in such large numbers to aid Puerto Rico was extremely positive!.See photos. Food Truck With Commissioner Siplin On Saturday, July 29th, ICO attended a community even at Barnett Park held by Commissioner Victoria P. Siplin and fed nearly 750 needy people from 10am - 2pm using the ICO Food Truck! This was a great opportunity to show the non-Muslim community our hospitality and generosity and help portray Islam in a positive light. The commissioner recognized ICO in front of hundreds in the crowd and invited us to attend more events in the future.See photos. Interfaith BBQ - Sept. 24, 2016 On Saturday, Sep 24th, ICO organized yet another Interfaith BBQ at the soccer field. The event was very successful as it was very well attended by people of different faiths. ICO is committed in reaching out to other faiths thereby creating an atmosphere of mutual respect between the faith communitiesSee photos. Fourth Interfaith Iftar,June 29, 2016 The 4th Interfaith Iftaar during Ramadan was extremely successful.See photos. Third Interfaith Iftar,June 22, 2016 The 3rd of the 4 Interfaith Iftaar during Ramadan was extremely successful. It was held on Wednesday from 8 to 10 PM. See photos. 2nd Interfaith Iftar,June 15, 2016 The 2nd of the 4 Interfaith Iftaar during Ramadan was extremely successful. It was held on Wednesday from 7 to 10 PM. The number of guests that showed up was overwhelming. Many Clergymen from different denominations graced the occasion. The program of speeches and Q&A was very captivating for the guests. See photos. BBQ for the Neighbors at ICO - Dec. 5, 2015 ICO organized a BBQ on December 5, 2015 for fellow Americans who are living in our neighborhoods. On ICO's invitation several churches encouraged their members to attend. It was very well received and attended by approximately 115 Christians. Due to the good weather and the friendly atmosphere, every guest enjoyed the event. For most of them it was the very first time they were invited by an Islamic Center. The event helped in creating a bond of friendship and mutual love. See photos. St. Lukes United Methodist Church Visits ICO - March 13, 2015 St. Lukes United Methodist Church visits the Islamic Center of Orlando every year to teach their confirmation students about the teachings of Islam. In March 2015 hundreds of children and their parents visited to learn and become more knowledgeable of the Islamic tradition. Presentations were made by Imam Abdul Rahman Sykes and Imam Zaid Shakir of Zaytuna College. See photos and video. Interfaith Eid Picnic - August 16, 2014 With the objective of bringing Non-Muslim Americans closer to the Muslim community and building bridges with people of all faiths as well as people of no faith, an Interfaith Eid Picnic was organized by ICO last Saturday at the Turkey Lake Park. Despite the bad weather that day, it was a very well attended event. The Mayor of Orlando, Buddy Dyer, could not attend due to his busy schedule but sent his message. Please click here to read his message. Officials from the the FBI, members from the interfaith council of Central Florida and members from different churches attended and enjoyed the event. Officials from different departments also attended the event. One sister accepted Islam at the event as well!This event met its objective of bridging the gap. The guests requested more events like this. Iftar With Non-Muslims- July 21, 2014 Last Monday, an Interfaith Iftaar was held at ICO. This is annual event that brings clergies as well as followers of different faiths together. Most of these non-Muslims fasts in solidarity with Muslims and break their fasts at ICO with Muslims. This year, Interfaith Iftaar saw Jewish Rabbis from JCC, Priests from St. Lukes Church as well as clergies from different denominations. Along with them, members from Interfaith Council of Central Florida including it's President attended the event.. Picnic for New/Non-Muslims - April 6, 2014 ICO organized a picnic at the Turkey Lake Park on Sunday, April 6th. New Muslims and their families as well as Non Muslim neighbors were invited. Alhamdulillah, the event was very well attended. Among those who attended were Mr. Scott Boyd, Commissioner of Orange County District 1. He as well as all those who attended thoroughly enjoyed the food and the welcoming atmosphere of love and understanding . At the request of the guests, brief speeches were made on Islam. At the end all the guests, both New Muslims and the Non Muslims guests thanked ICO and its volunteers for arranging this event and inviting them. Imam Sykes of Islam Inc., Imam Ibrahim Habash of Masjid Tazkia and Imam Tariq Rasheed attended the event. Students & Teachers From Dr. Phillips High School Visit ICO Students & Teachers from Dr. Phillips High School visit ICO As many as 150 students and 20 teachers visited ICO last week. The visit was to understand and learn about Islam, its teachings and the Muslim culture. The 2 and 1/2 hour long session was held inside the Masjid. Imam Tariq made the presentation and answered the questions. Imam Tariq brought few of the young Muslim members of the community who themselves in the past have been students at Dr. Phillips, to talk and interact with the group. Mrs. Joshua, an American Muslim, was also invited to speak to the group. Her presentation was also very well received. The students and the teachers showed immense interest in learning about Islam. They asked all kinds of questions related to Muslims and what they see and hear about Muslims in the Media. For most of them it was their first experience of visiting an Islamic Center. Food was served after the session. When leaving, one teacher remarked, "this is the best and the most informative experience I had on Islam." A teacher on behalf of Dr. Phillips High School made a donation of $100 along with a "Thank You" card to ICO. 150 Members of St. Lukes Visited ICO - March 1, 2014 Last Thursday, more than 150 members of the local community paid a scheduled visit to the Islamic Center of Orlando to learn about Islam and the beliefs of Muslims. The group spent close to 2 hours at the ICO campus. The group was received by Imam Tariq Rasheed along with a team of volunteers. Imam Sykes was the speaker, delivering a highly beneficial presentation on the beliefs and practices of Islam. Many of the guests stayed back to ask questions and everyone left with a positive impression of Islam Historic Visit by 35 Christian Pastors - June 2, 2013 A well planned visit to ICO by 35 Pastors who were in Orlando for a conference from different parts of the country, was a very heart warming and a historic one. We never had such a large number of clergymen visited ICO as a group. They were from different denominations but were united in their efforts towards understanding Muslims and Islam.Imam Tariq Rasheed organized the event. The group reached ICO at 3PM sharp on Sunday, June 2nd. The group took a guided tour of the Masjid and then there was a power point presentation by Imam Sykes on the commonalities of Islam and Christianity. The presentation was about how the two communities can live together in love and harmony. Imam Sykes, in spite of his bad health, made a great presentation, thereby drawing the complete attention of the guests. The presentation was followed by a questions and answers session. Imam Tariq Rasheed answered the questions to the satisfaction of the guests.The guests were served snacks and drinks. The group made a small donation to the Masjid! The group was moved by the hospitality and the warmness with which they were received throughout their stay. Nearly every member of the group vowed to visit a masjid in his/her city to continue to learn more about Islam.This was one of the best Dawa events held at ICO. A number of volunteers helped in organizing the event. May Allah (swt) reward all of them.