Hanny Hamoui is Today’s Spotlight, a look at the people and families in Hernando’s Muslim community.
Hanny Hamoui
Age: 19
Occupation: Student at the University of Florida
Native country: United States
Born in Brooksville to the county's first Muslim family, Hanny Hamoui grew up here and is among the first generation of local Muslims brought up in America. He attended the Universal Academy of Florida in Tampa for six years before going to high school at Tampa's Berkeley Prep. Hanny and his parents, Nazir and Nada Hamoui, visit family in Syria each summer to reconnect to their roots. The trips also serve as a jumping-off point for excursions to places such as Jordan or Egypt. Long a Tampa Bay Buccaneers football fan, Hanny waded into the Swamp and became a full-fledged Gator fan during his freshman year at UF. He also joined an activist group, Islam on Campus, that promotes understanding about Muslims. In the binge-drinking world of college excess, Hanny and his two Muslim roommates - one from Egypt, the other a son of a former Black Panther - stood by their faith's commitment to abstaining from alcohol. Like his father and two older brothers, Hanny is taking up the family trade. He is a pre-med student.
