Indian Land neighbors’ outcry over proposed mosque preceded planning board vote

Neighbors argued about religious liberty, Sharia law, fear of Muslims taking over the community and cultural differences ahead of a vote Tuesday night on a new mosque in Indian Land.

But for the Lancaster County Planning Commission, its unanimous vote against the project came down to much more familiar complaints in Indian Land—growth, traffic and neighborhood fit. “It just isn’t compatible with the surrounding area,” said Commissioner Judianna Tinklenberg.

The Planning Commission voted against a permit needed to build set up a mosque on Harrisburg Road. County planning staff had recommended for it. Lancaster County Council will make the final decision, however, at a later date.

The proposal would replace a home and pool with a place of worship. If approved, the mosque would join a few other Islamic faith sites in the Rock Hill region that include Masjid Al Salaam in Rock Hill, Holy Islamville in western York County and the Islamic Community Center of South Charlotte already in Indian Land.

The Planning Commission heard from more than a dozen residents who opposed the mosque, after receiving twice that many emails expressing similar concerns. Neighbors brought up everything from a possible cemetery on the site to fears of Muslim populations overtaking the community, public safety and the mosque’s location beside a future public school.

Commissioner Frances Liu, who drove to the site to better understand the request, only needed to look at the property in the middle of neighborhood. “I just immediately said, this is not a location for a place of assembly,” Liu said.

Lancaster County mosque request

Arafath Mohammad and Waxlan Investment applied for a county permit to use a nearly 5-acre site at 10935 Harrisburg Road as a place of assembly. It’s the same permit that a church, synagogue or any similar worship site would need in an area zoned for low-density uses.

Just north of the busy Harrisburg and Barberville roads intersection, the proposed mosque would be less than 2 miles from the Islamic Community Center of South Charlotte. That facility has been in the area for more than a decade. It offers a school and weekly prayer services.

The proposed mosque would serve 40 to 50 people and would mainly meet once a week on Friday, said Angelo Tillman with Charlotte-based All Pro Development. Tillman’s company often works with churches and is familir with buffers, trees and other measures needed when they’re near homes.

The mosque wouldn’t have outdoor speakers, he said. There would be 100 parking spaces.

“They just want to have a place to worship,” Tillman said.

The relatively small proposal doesn’t require a traffic study or other planning details that a bigger job would, at least not now. If the site gets its permit, more detailed plans would follow as the house on the property is taken down and the mosque built.

“We want to be good neighbors,” Tillman said, at times directly addressing a crowd that had to be quieted several times Tuesday by Commission Chairwoman Michelle Richards. “And whatever concerns they have, we’ll address them.”

Neighbors push back on mosque plans

One neighbor quoted the Quran to suggest Muslims wish harm on people of different faiths.

Another neighbor described living in a Michigan community where one mosque turned into a population surge that “drove down the property values and basically drove the community that lived there out of it.” Several others spoke of a community built on Christian values, or concerns about Sharia law.

Largely, though, residents went to similar arguments they’ve used for many development proposals in the high-growth Indian Land area.

“We need to halt further commercial, business, church — whatever they want to call it — even housing developments,” said lifelong Indian Land resident Melissa Woelffer. “We’ve got to pause and take a break, and let our community catch up.”

A new school high school could at some point bring young, unskilled drivers to that area where traffic and road safety already are concerns, she said. Woelffer, like other neighbors, has concerns that the mosque could grow from initial projects which might lead to cars parked on the side of the road.

“How I believe about their religion and my religion is irrelevant here,” she said.

Neighbor Dawn Cummings agreed that it doesn’t matter if it’s a mosque or church, the area is already overwhelmed with growth. Her commute is double what it was five years ago, she said, and Indian Land can’t keep absorbing more.

“We need to incorporate Indian Land so we have some control because you guys are just allowing everything to go up, because somebody put in an application,” Cummings said. “At some point, somebody has to say no.”

Existing Islamic Center causes concerns in Indian Land

Some concerns on Tuesday were specific to Islamic places of worship. Security risks are an issue for neighbor Patricia Hunt, and not just for properties surrounding the mosque.

“Religious assembly areas and especially mosques are risks, and are targets,” she said.

The biggest mosque-specific issue, again, involved traffic.

“The mosque on the northern end of Harrisburg Road has traffic backed up on Fridays, and they have hired a police officer to stop traffic to allow them to exit onto our residential road,” Howey said.

A future school factored into those traffic concerns, particularly if a high school is built in the area as those schools create significant Friday night traffic for football games. Even without the school, though, many neighbors have an issue converting a residential property into a gathering place.

“This is a home,” said neighbor Josh Pangle. “It’s in amongst a bunch of homes. These folks have built lives. There are families. And that’s what it needs to stay.”

This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 1:32 PM with the headline "Indian Land neighbors’ outcry over proposed mosque preceded planning board vote."