17. A Strained Relationship

Ali Abdelaziz’s relationship with MOA became increasingly strained, decreasing his effectiveness as an informant.

MOA-affiliated sources say that many members in New York didn’t like him from the start and that his personality increasingly alienated people, even though Canadian members of MOA like Hussein Adams continued to covet his friendship.

A major break happened when he suddenly divorced his wife, Fatima.

Her father, Ihsan, and other family members were filled with resentment as she and her baby were abandoned. They claimed he had mistreated her during the marriage, too. It was widely known that Ihsan wanted to kill Abdelaziz and sources close to the situation believe he would attempt to do so today if given the chance.

Abdelaziz moved out of Islamberg as a result, greatly limiting his access.

MOA-affiliated sources say the final straw was when Abdelaziz refused to get rid of his dog. Sheikh Gilani preached that it is a violation of Sharia Law to keep a dog inside the home as a pet. Only guard dogs who were mostly kept outside were permitted.

He was choosing a dog over Sheikh Gilani, which offended any believer in the Pakistani cleric. It became apparent that Abdelaziz did not respect Gilani as a divine representative of Allah. He was almost expelled completely from the group over it.

According to some sources, Abdelaziz’s access was essentially over at this point. One described him as having become “irrelevant” after MOA realized that certain information was leaking to the U.S. government. However, Abdelaziz confidently told Mawyer that MOA would testify on his behalf if necessary (this was before the story came out).

Some heard that MOA began suspecting he was an informant, and that’s when all contact was minimized. Others believe MOA officials are lying about that in order to hide their embarrassment over being infiltrated.

Abdelaziz did say to Mawyer that there were a few “close calls” where MOA could have discovered that he was an informant.

Some sources heard that Abdelaziz told his closest MOA friends that he was a paid informant. If true, that means he was essentially acting as a double-agent for MOA, or some in MOA, against the U.S. government. These sources did not know when Abdelaziz allegedly revealed this.

In his conversation with Mawyer, Abdelaziz was defensive of the Canadian wing led by Hussein Adams, suggesting this circle around Adams was innocent. On the other hand, he had harsh words for the American MOA in New York.

This raises the possibility that, as an informant, Abdelaziz was only willing to incriminate some within MOA, while hoping to protect the others that he felt some affinity towards.