Fuqra/MOA leader Sheikh Gilani said that one of his Quranic Open Universities had an office in Canada in a secret recruitment tape distributed in the early 1990s.
Gilani told viewers to contact his offices to sign up for guerilla warfare training and to join a newly formed international militant force named “Soldiers of Allah” dedicated to waging jihad against oppressors of Muslims. For more information on the “Soldiers of Allah” tape, read the section of this website about guerrilla training. You can also view the tape on the Fuqra Files YouTube channel.
Jamaat Al-Fuqra/Muslims of the Americas (MOA) have a village named “Hasanville” in Barry’s Bay, Ontario, Canada.
MOA members affiliated with Hasanville attempted to bomb an Indian theater and Hindu temple in Toronto during the Hindu Festival of Lights in 1991, killing up to 4,500 people.[1]
A December 2010 FBI counter-terrorism report said that “the Muslims of the Americas terrorist organization” has a “jamaat” (private commune) in Canada.
The documents confirmed that MOA is an alternative name for Jamaat ul-Fuqra and described the group as “armed and dangerous,” urging personnel to “use extreme caution when dealing with confirmed members or individuals who are believed to be associated with this group.”
Regarding MOA’s jamaats, the FBI reports said, “Organized training is also conducted to include weapons training, tactics, hand-to-hand combat, rappelling, and live-fire exercises.”
Jihad Recruitment and Training
A MOA newsletter states that the group held its first International Jihad Conference in Toronto on January 12, 1982. The objective was to recruit fighters and solicit material aid for overseas jihad with the fight against the Soviets being the primary concern.
Another internal MOA document stated that a sub-section named the International Jihad Council had a branch in Toronto.
A secret Fuqra videotape that appears to have been filmed in the 1990s (after 1992) shows Sheikh Gilani advertising Fuqra’s guerilla warfare training in preparation for waging violent jihad. He tells viewers not to make any copies of the tape because it could be “very bad” if the enemies of Islam find it.
He tells viewers interested in taking “one of the most advanced training courses in Islamic military warfare” to contact one of his International Quranic Open University Offices, mentioning one in Canada. The film shows Gilani’s followers receiving guerilla warfare training in Pakistan. [2]
A Canadian linked to Sheikh Gilani named Saldar Joginder Singh was imprisoned in India after hijacking an aircraft.[3]
Documents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in 2003 mentioned the MOA compound in Canada and said, “MOA members from all compounds also travel to Pakistan for both religious education as well as military style training and operational experience fighting in the Kashmir region of Pakistan.”
A classified Canadian government report from 2006 says that Fuqra/MOA members “send regular donations in support of Fuqra jihad activities in Kashmir.”[4]
Hasanville, Ontario
Hasanville is located at Barry’s Bay, Combermere, Ontario near Algonquin Park and was founded in 1991 by the leader of Fuqra’s Canadian branch, Glenn Neville Ford, and Max Lon Fongenie.
The community is named in honor of one of convicted MOA terrorist Barry Adams’ children, Hasan, who died in a car accident along with his sister, Maryam, who has a community in New York named in her honor. The two children were the siblings of Hussein Adams, also known as “K2,” the chief executive of MOA who is based out of “Islamberg” in upstate New York.
Both were arrested for their alleged involvement in the Fuqra’s 1991 plot to bomb the Hindu Festival of Lights in Toronto. Ford was acquitted and Fongenie escaped to Pakistan. The three Fuqra members from Texas who were convicted for the plot frequently visited Hasanville in the run-up to the planned attack. Two acquitted suspects, Ford and Khidr Ali, returned to Hasanville.[5]
Documents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in 2003 refer to a meeting of multiple agencies regarding MOA in April 2003 to compare activity at multiple MOA compounds, including Hasanville.
The agencies said all the compounds are interconnected and have members involved in criminal scams “to raise money for MOA/JAF.” The scams include but are not limited to insurance fraud, mail fraud, credit card craud, worker’s compensation fraud, illegal straw purchases of weapons, conversions of semi-automatic weapons to fully-automatic, etc. The money is sent via mail orders to the “Islamberg” headquarters in New York and Lahore, Pakistan and ultimately ends up with Sheikh Gilani.
The documents state that Hasanville is linked to “Islamberg” and the compounds in York, S.C.; Red House, VA and Fresno, CA. The Fresno site is notably where MOA had a massive charter school scam.
Canadian intelligence said that Hasanville has frequent visitors from the Caribbean and members occasionally travel to Trinidad and Jamaica. There is significant MOA activity in Trinidad.[6]
The documents also say that a liaison with the police in Toronto said in 2003 that MOA was setting up a new religious center in Barry’s Bay and many vehicles with license plates from Virginia were seen in the area. The documents state that many of the MOA members are alleged to have served in the U.S. military.
Murder of a Rival Muslim Cleric in Tucson, Arizona in 1990
Seven members of Fuqra orchestrated the murder of a controversial liberal Muslim cleric in Tucson, Arizona on January 31, 1990. One of those involved, Glen Cusford Francis, wasn’t arrested until 2009. He was apprehended in Calgary. He used multiple false identities, including the name of Ben Phillips to attend the cleric’s mosque in preparation for the murder.[7]
1991 TorontoBomb Plot
Five members of Fuqra were arrested on October 3, 1991 in Niagra Falls near the Canadian border shortly before they planned to bomb the Indian Centre Cinema and Vishnu Hindu temple in Richmond Hill, Toronto, killing up to 4,500 people during the Hindu Festival of Lights event.[8] Documents from trial, including exhibits, is available on Fuqra Files’ evidence section.
Those arrested at the Canadian border were in two cars and authorities found a letter referring to “dying as a soldier of Allah.” They also found intricate plans for the attacks, including aerial photos, recordings from inside the targeted buildings, plans for creating the explosives and a diagram outlining how they planned to wrap bombs around natural gas pipelines.
The authorities learned that they were entering the U.S. to retrieve weapons from Wilfred Savary in Brooklyn, also known as Mustafa Muhammad Abd al-Rashid or Abdu Rashid. He also owned one of the vehicles the cell was using. The authorities raided his home and found 2 rifles, 7 handguns and 2,000 rounds of ammunition.[9]
Evidence obtained from the vehicles also triggered a raid on a location in Pontiac, Michigan.
Videotapes were found showing the conspirators making explosives and training in firearms at a compound in Pennsylvania. The evidence showed that the Texan/Canadian cell had a support network for guns, money and vehicles.[10]
The trial set for 1993 was postponed so that a massive security presence could be assembled due to fears of a Fuqra attack after a link between the group and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing was found. The judge explicitly described the suspects as members of a “terrorist movement.”
Glenn Neville Ford was prosecuted and acquitted. He is a convert to Islam from Trinidad who moved to Toronto in the mid-70s. He founded the Canadian branch of Fuqra in or before 1982. He traveled twice to Sheikh Gilani’s International Quranic Open University in Lahore, Pakistan, which the FBI described as a terrorist front.
Ford founded the Hasanville commune at Barry’s Bay, Combermere, Ontario near Algonquin Park in 1991. The Texan Fuqra members involved in the plot began regularly going to Hasanville that year. After being acquitted, Ford moved back to Hasanville.[11]
Mubin Shaikh, a Sufi Muslim and the former undercover operative for Canadian Security Investigative Service, wrote on his blog in 2010, “looks like they [Fuqra] gave up using violence…I know Mr. Ford personally and he has since become a Sufi Muslim—in fact, I…[met] with him a few weeks ago at the Jerrahi Cultural Centre—a well-known peaceful and mystical centre. I can personally state that the leader of Hasanville will sit with CSIS [Canadian Security Investigative Service] at any time—provided I am present.”
However, Ford was a Sufi Muslim during the entire course of his time with Fuqra/MOA, as the organization is officially Sufi.[12]
The other co-founder of Hasanville, Max Lon Fongenie, escaped to Pakistan. He, like Ford, is originally from Trinidad and moved to Toronto.
Khidr Ali, another resident of Toronto, was acquitted and moved back to Hasanville.
The three Fuqra members from Texas—Barry Adams, Robert Wesley and Caba Jose Harris—were all found guilty and sentenced to 12 years for conspiracy to create mischief that endangers lives. They were not convicted on murder charges. They were released in 2006 and deported to Trinidad.[13]
Barry Adams also went by the name of Tyrone Junior Cole. His son, Hussain Adams, is now the chief executive of Muslims of the Americas and leads the Islamberg commune in Hancock, New York.
Robert Wesley’s name was also reported as Robert Johnson, Wali Muhammad and Abdul Baqqer. Caba Jose Harris’ alternate name was Amir Mohammed Ahmed.
Wilfred Savary pled guilty to illegal weapons possession.
A letter from the Colorado Assistant Attorney General said that four of those involved in the 1991 Hindu Festival of Lights bomb plot have “close ties” to the leader of the militant Jamaat al-Muslimeen group in Trinidad, Yasin Abu Bakr.
He was a student in Toronto before going back to Trinidad. He and his group launched a coup against the government of Trinidad in 1990 that failed. The letter pointed out that Jamaat al-Muslimeen does not publicly state it has links to Fuqra but notes that the two groups are “alarmingly similar.”[14]
MOA did not confirm or deny that its members were involved in the 1991 Hindu Festival of Lights bomb plot. MOA says more broadly that none of its members have ever been involved in terrorism.
One internal MOA notice from that time appears to acknowledge the affiliation. It is a notice that five “of our Muslim brothers” were arrested in Canada and pressures members to support their families, particularly with donations. The notice does not deny that they were involved in a plot or condemn their actions.
MOA’s January 1992 newsletter tries to put some distance between the group and the plotters while soliciting aid from members. It says that an entity named the American Muslim Action Committee was contacted by a woman who told them that five Canadian Muslims have been arrested. The entity dispatched a delegation to Toronto to meet with their families and was ashamed to see that the Muslim community there was not helping them.
The newsletter complains “our bretheren” are being held with no legal representation or possibility of bail. It asks MOA members to contribute to a fund for them.
MOA downplayed its links to the plot in a 1994 book it published.[15] It acknowledged that the plotters visited Pakistan and had a connection to Sheikh Gilani there. It said they attended a religious school in Pakistan, visited a refugee camp in Kashmir and visited a “mujahideen” camp for one day. MOA claimed that they requested to join the jihad there but Sheikh Gilani rejected their request, so they went back home.
The book describes the plotters as “five Muslim missionaries” and casts doubt on the claims that they were planning a terrorist attack, attributing the accusation to a Zionist-controlled media that is trying to destroy MOA and Islam.
MOA Islamic Centre in Toronto
An online directory of MOA “Dawah Centers” that has proven accurate in the past lists an MOA Islamic Centre in Toronto.[16]
Drug Trafficking
A 2005 investigation into MOA members involved in drug trafficking in Binghamton, NY included evidence that the suspects had ties to Canada. One suspect possessed Mapquest directions to Quebec. Surveillance of one residence showed a vehicle with a plate registered to Ontario, the province where Hasanville is located.[17]
[1] Goddard, John. (2010). Forgotten Islamist terror plot targeted Toronto. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2010/08/31/forgotten_islamist_terror_plot_targeted_toronto.html
[2] The video can be seen on the Fuqra Files YouTube channel and is discussed in greater detail in the section of this website about guerilla training.
[3] “Shoe Bomb Suspect ‘Linked to Radical Islamic Leader.’” (2001). Ananova. https://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_489443.html
[4] Sean Webby and Brandon Bailey. (2007). “The Mysterious Saga of Sister Khadijah.” Mercury News. http://api.viglink.com/api/click?format=go&jsonp=vglnk_147273385694614&key=a74b4412712f29a988486127c26fa9f9&libId=iskbhtuk01001kjr000DAbd3fw7d9&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fhindunet.org%2Fhvk%2Farticles%2F0207%2F100.html&v=1&exp=-100%3ACILITE%3A87&type=U&out=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mercurynews.com%2Fmld%2Fmercurynews%2F16677008.htm&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&title=The%20mysterious%20saga%20of%20Sister%20Khadijah&txt=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mercurynews.com%2Fmld%2Fmercurynews%2F16677008.htm
[5] Goddard, John. (2010). Forgotten Islamist terror plot targeted Toronto. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2010/08/31/forgotten_islamist_terror_plot_targeted_toronto.html
[6] For more information, see the section of this website about MOA’s activity outside of the United States.
[7] Sagara, Eric. (2009). Man arrested in ’90 slaying of controversial leader at local mosque. Tucson Citizen: http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2009/04/29/115381-man-arrested-in-90-slaying-of-controversial-religious-leader-at-local-mosque/
[8] Goddard, John. (2010). Forgotten Islamist terror plot targeted Toronto. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2010/08/31/forgotten_islamist_terror_plot_targeted_toronto.html
[9] Goddard, John. (2010). Forgotten Islamist terror plot targeted Toronto. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2010/08/31/forgotten_islamist_terror_plot_targeted_toronto.html
[10] Martines, Lawrence J. (2010). Jam’at Al-Fuqra, a.k.a. Society of the Impoverished. Journal of Counterterrorism and Homeland Security International. Vo. 8, No. 3.
[11] Goddard, John. (2010). Forgotten Islamist terror plot targeted Toronto. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2010/08/31/forgotten_islamist_terror_plot_targeted_toronto.html
[12] Shaikh, Mubin. (2010). Islamist Terror Plot in Canada from 2004. Mubin Shaikh—The Toronto 18 Investigation and Related News. http://mubinshaikh.blogspot.com/2010/08/islamist-terror-plot-in-canada-from.html?m=1
[13] Goddard, John. (2010). Forgotten Islamist terror plot targeted Toronto. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2010/08/31/forgotten_islamist_terror_plot_targeted_toronto.html
[14] Wamsley, Douglas. “Memorandum: Overview of the Fuqra Investigation.” (1994). State of Colorado, Department of Law, Office of the Attorney General.
[15] Ahmad, Dr. Mrs. Suhir. (1994). Target Islam: Exposing the Malicious Conspiracy of the Zionists Against the World of Islam and Prominent Muslim Leader. Quranic Open University and Pakistan Foundation for Strategic Studies.
[16] “MOA Da’wah Center Directory,” Al-Adaab.org, http://www.al-adaab.org/dawah/directory.html
[17] Documentation from Drug Enforcement Agency investigation into MOA-associated drug trafficking in 2005, closed in January 2007.
