Author: Ryan Mauro
In July 1983, a hotel in Portland was bombed by Jamaat ul-Fuqra member Stephen Paul Paster. The hotel was owned by an Indian cult leader named Baghwan Rajneesh, whose cult and “Rajneeshpuram” compound in Oregon was the subject of the hit Netflix documentary, “Wild Wild Country.” Unfortunately, the film framed the bombing as having been perpetrated by anti-immigrant bigots who feared the Rajneesh cult. Before Fuqra’s bombing, a death threat was called into the Rajneesh hotel, giving the impression it would be targeted by anti-Rajneesh activists in the area. Three members of Fuqra, including Paster, then spent time with the…
A MOA video released in 2010 showed a map of states where it had “Islamic villages” at that time. Ohio was listed. A Fuqra member from Ohio named William Cain killed Dr. Mozaffar Ahmad, a leader of the Ahmadiyya sect, on August 3, 1983 in Canton, Michigan. He then died while carrying out a firebombing of the Ahmadiyya Center in Detroit, as did Fuqra member Calvin Jones.[1] MOA texts refer to Akron, OH as being the location of one of its earliest communities. At least one cell existed in Ohio as of 2001.[2] A member…
A 2004 report funded by the Justice Department listed Talihina, OK as the location of a “training compound” for MOA.[i] A 2006 report for law enforcement also said that Talihina is home to one of at least seven “covert paramilitary training compounds.”[ii] MOA members in Oklahoma City have been linked to a broader Islamist network that includes Al-Qaeda and Hamas.[iii] In his authoritative book titled I Heard You Were Going on Jihad, author Mitchell Gray exposed an interconnected Islamist terrorist and extremist network in Oklahoma City centered around an address that he provided a pseudonym for.[iv] The owners of the…
Fuqra/MOA has a compound in North Carolina and a significant presence in Charlotte. One of Sheikh Gilani’s sons and possible successor, Sultan, lives in Charlotte according to MOA social media postings. A MOA video released in 2010 showed a map of states where it had “Islamic villages” at that time. North Carolina was listed. The MOA presence in NC dates back to at least 1987 when the Quranic Open University, a section of the MOA, held the group’ first annual Muslim Girls Camp. A letter to attendees from Sheikh Gilani claims that there are over 5,000 Churches of Satan that…
The state of New York is home to two Fuqra/MOA compounds in Hancock, including the organization’s “Islamberg” headquarters. A secret video titled “Soldiers of Allah” was filmed in the early 1990s and captured by law enforcement. It featured Sheikh Gilani and Islamberg officials in military attire urging Muslims to partake in violent jihad anywhere Muslims are oppressed, with particular emphasis placed on targeting India and Israel. Gilani instructed MOA members to form a “Soldiers of Allah” paramilitary force with no direct connection to MOA. The video offered guerilla warfare training to aspiring jihadists who do not belong to MOA and…
When the authorities raided a storage locker in Colorado Springs, CO used by Fuqra/MOA in 1989, they found targeting packages that included surveillance and preparations for terrorist attacks. One packet was for Jewish targets in Albuqurque, New Mexico. See Related Documents.
The earliest report of Sheikh Gilani in New Jersey places him at an Islamic Center in Jersey City in 1978. Later that year, Gilani established a mosque in Jersey City and preached in Trenton in 1981. Fuqra/MOA also had a mosque in Atlantic City until around 2012. A MOA video released in 2010 showed a map of states where it had “Islamic villages” at that time. New Jersey was listed. Arrival in Jersey City MOA says that Gilani first arrived in the U.S. because of groups asking him to speak about his expertise in Quranic Psychiatry. A book published by…
A non-profit named Muslims of the Americas, Inc. was registered in Nevada in 2000 and led by Khadijah Ghafur, a senior MOA official who is very close to Sheikh Gilani in Pakistan. She was convicted of running a massive charter school scam in California. The non-profit in Nevada is no longer listed as active.
Fuqra is believed to be responsible for an attempted bombing at the Vendanta Society in Kansas City, MO in 1984. The explosive was defective.[1] [1] Al-Fuqra: Holy Warriors of Terrorism.” (1993). Anti-Defamation League: http://archive.adl.org/extremism/moa/al-fuqra.pdf
Mian Mir, Michigan A Fuqra/MOA member from Ohio named William Cain killed Dr. Mozaffar Ahmad, a leader of the Ahmadiyya sect, on August 3, 1983 in Canton, Michigan. Cain then died while carrying out a firebombing of the Ahmadiyya Center in Detroit, as did his co-conspirator Calvin Jones.[1] Fuqra is also believed to be responsible for firebombing a Hare Krishna temple in Denver on August 1, 1984.[2] The attack caused $150,000 in damage and is suspected of being the handiwork of James D. Williams and Edward Flinton, key members of the Colorado branch of Fuqra. MOA’s camp in Coldwater remains…