Fuqra/MOA’s presence in Alaska dates back to 2009 when the Islamic Post announced the arrival of two of its members in the state, Shuaib and Malika Ahmed, “to establish an independent, self-sufficient, purely Islamic village.” It says this was “initiated” by Sheikh Gilani.[i]
Senior MOA official Hussain Adams said that the organization has a “community” near Anchorage in a deposition in 2014.[ii]

The Fuqra newspaper, the Islamic Post, announced in June 2016 that Gregory “Shuab” Jones of Wasilla, Alaska was elected by the Alaska Democratic Party as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention and was running for the Alaska House of Representatives District 8. The letter of intent form for his campaign lists his name as Gregory Ivan Jones.[iii]

His Facebook page shows him and his wife, Maleika, at an event for the United Muslim Christian Forum, Fuqra’s interfaith branch.[iv]

Jones’ Facebook page for his political campaign said he worked recently as a Security and Investigations Professional with ADT Fire and Security.[v] The Islamic Post said he and his wife recently completed the Anchorage Citizens Police Academy and belong to the Anchorage Police and Fire Chaplains Association.

Jones lost the campaign. He briefly ran for Congress in 2018 but dropped out shortly after the Clarion Project released declassified FBI documents confirming that there was a counter-terrorism investigation into MOA in Alaska that zeroed in on one unidentified suspect that matched his description.

The Post article says that Jones was born in Washington D.C. and spent most of his life in South Carolina before moving to Alaska in 2009.

Jones ran for congress in 2018 and dropped out.

[i] Qadri, A. Abdul Qadir. (2009). Alaska: The New Frontier. Islamic Post. June Vol. 1: https://islamicpost.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/alaska-the-new-frontier/

[ii] Adams’ deposition was made after MOA launched a lawsuit against Martin Mawyer, author of Twilight in America, for $30 million and lost.

[iii] Letter of Intent. (2016). Alaska state government website: https://aws.state.ak.us/apocreports/Registration/LetterOfIntent/View.aspx?ID=1133

[iv] Mauro, Ryan. (2016). Exclusive: Sanders Delegate is Member of Fuqra Terror Cult. Clarion Project. Retrieved from: http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/exclusive-sanders-delegate-member-fuqra-terror-cult

[v] “Greg Jones for House,” Facebook page. Retrieved from: https://www.facebook.com/GIJonesforHouse/

Fuqra/MOA has been active in Washington D.C. through a front named the Kashmir American Friendship Society. The organization has been primarily involved in protests against India and has been used as a conduit for MOA to send members and material to Pakistan and Kashmir.
A 1988 FBI report said that MOA had a “jamaat,” or community of members, in Washington D.C. Convicted MOA terrorist Edward Flinton testified that a MOA instructor going by the name of “Doorsman” held “pseudo-military” classes in Washington D.C.

The Kashmir American Friendship Society held a rally protesting the treatment of Muslims in Bosnia in the 1990s. MOA member Khalifa Muhammad Yahya A. Karim said at the event that the U.S. endangers its homeland by not intervening in Bosnia, Palestine, Kashmir, Sri Lanka and elsewhere for Muslims.

The current leadership and home base of KAFS is not stated anywhere. Suhir A. Ahmed was the long-time executive chairperson in the 1990s. Another leader was Khadijah Ghafur, a senior MOA official who was later convicted of overseeing a massive charter school scam that is believed to have defrauded the California state government of $3 million. It is believed that Ghafur funneled money from the scheme to Sheikh Gilani in Pakistan.

Fuqra/MOA is responsible for a bombing of the Integral Yoga Society in Seattle on June 17, 1984; attacking a member of the Seattle Vendanta Society named John Liczwinko on August 1, 1984.
Fuqra is suspected of being responsible for murdering three East Indians near Tacoma on September 6, 1984. The victims were Pramod B. Gadre and his wife, Indira, and her sister, Leila Nevaskar. Articles from Seattle newspapers about the murder were later found in the possession of Fuqra members [1]. The police also obtained a written death threat demanding that all Hindus leave the U.S. and Canada by August 1 or risk being targeted by “our death squad.” The threat was in the name of the “Republic of Khalistan,” an extremist Sikh movement backed by Pakistani intelligence.

Onalaska was identified as the site of a Fuqra/MOA “training compound” in a 2005 report.[2] It is unclear if the report meant that it currently exists. MOA-affiliated sources did confirm that a compound existed in Washington State as of the early 1990s and members traveled regularly to Seattle and Portland, Oregon. A MOA “cell” or cells was known to exist in the state as of 2001.[3] A 2002 report by the Navy Criminal Investigative Service said that there is a compound in Washington.

Onalaska Site

A 2005 report funded by the Justice Department identifies Onalaska as being the location or near the location of a “training compound” for MOA.[4] There has never been public confirmation of a site in/near Onalaska. Dan Riordan, a detective from the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said in January 2015, “There was never any proof there was an active training camp. We went out there on several contacts, never saw anything to raise our flags.”[5]

Ayn Dietrich, the media coordinator for the FBI’s Seattle Division said that colleagues in the Joint Terrorism Task Force could not recall anyone linked to Onalaska being prosecuted. She said, “We couldn’t find anything about something where there’s a subject we looked at with land in Onalaska.”[6]

However, Fuqra Files research has linked two confirmed and one likely Fuqra member to addresses on Gish Rd in Onalaska in 1988-1990. James Lincoln Upshur, a convicted member of the Colorado terrorist camp, is linked to one address. Steven Paul Paster, a Fuqra terrorist linked to various bombings, also visited an associate on that road in 1990.

[1] Al-Fuqra: Holy Warriors of Terrorism.” (1993). Anti-Defamation League: http://archive.adl.org/extremism/moa/al-fuqra.pdf

[2] Kane, John and April Wall. “Identifying the Links Between White-Collar Crime and Terrorism,” National White Collar Crime Center, September 2004. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/209520.pdf

[3] “Memorandum: Fuqra.” (2001). Colorado Department of Corrections.

[4] Kane, John and April Wall. “Identifying the Links Between White-Collar Crime and Terrorism.” Supra note 2.

[5] Dameon Pesanti and Eric Schwartz. (2015). Anatomy of a Longstanding Terrorist Claim in Onalaska. The Chronicle. http://m.chronline.com/crime/anatomy-of-a-longstanding-terrorism-claim-in-onalaska/article_d004ba9c-a264-11e4-9b82-cbdcc7fb4cfe.html?mode=jqm

[6] Id.

The Commonwealth of Virginia is home to a major Fuqra/MOA presence that includes the “Ahmadabad West” compound at Red House and a formerly secret compound at Meherrin named “Ahmadabad East.”
A December 2010 FBI counter-terrorism report said that “the Muslims of the Americas terrorist organization” has communes in Virginia.

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.”

There is evidence of additional compounds. Law enforcement sources told the Washington Times in 2002 that both compounds had 200-300 residents and “have been linked to various money-laundering operations and weapons violations, and are believed to have aided and abetted various terrorist groups.” They said it was not clear where the funding for the compounds come from beyond a small number of members with regular jobs.

One official said, “The faces of those we have seen in the communities are continually changing. It’s unclear who’s there at any given time and what they’re doing.” [1]

Ahmadabad West: Red House, Charlotte County, VA

Ahmadabad West is a 45-acre[2] compound at Red House. A MOA newspaper identified its Red House, V.A. commune as “Ahmadabad”[3] and “Ahmadabad West.”[4] Another MOA entity, the American Muslim Ladies Club, says it has a chapter at “Ahmadabad.”[5]

In 2000, Fuqra/MOA terrorist James D. Williams was arrested in Lynchburg, which is near the Red House compound. He was missing since 1993 and was the leader of the Colorado branch. Law enforcement believed he was involved in insurance scams and other fraud along the east coast. He hid under various identities including that of Keith Bell, another Red House resident.[6] Evidence from another prosecution indicated Bell was involved in weapons acquisitions. Bell is a NRA-certified pistol instructor.[7]

Another convicted member of the Colorado operation, Vincente Rafael Pierre, lived at the Red House compound when he and his wife were arrested in September 2001. He was there since 1996. He claimed to make a living selling Islamic attire and sports equipment provided by colleagues in New York.[8] His status as a felon barred him from possessing a firearm and his wife, Traci Upshur, conducted a straw purchase on his behalf. [9]

When the police sought to apprehend Upshur, the “mayor” of the compound warned the local sheriff that any approach would be met with violent resistance by an estimated 200 armed members visiting from all over the east coast. He explicitly said they were waiting and ready to defend her.

Evidence introduced during the trial indicated this purchase was part of a larger weapons acquisition and trafficking operation run by Virginia MOA members. An ATF agent who testified during the trial said that Red House residents would buy the same type of gun so they could share ammunition “in case of an attack on their village.”

Pierre said during the trial that “our religious community encouraged its members, who are not prohibited persons, to take advantage of their 2nd Amendment rights as American citizens.” He said that the majority of residents were armed by the late 1990s.

However, a Naval Criminal Investigative Service report records that a FBI liaison told the NCIS the arrests were an isolated case and MOA was “not a major issue” and “not much activity of interest was noted.”

In December 2001, another Red House resident, Bilal Abdullah Ben Benu, was arrested for illegally buying guns. He was previously convicted in 1992 for lying about his conviction for possession of crack cocaine in Maryland.[10] Ben Benu had a SKS assault rifle, 9 mm pistol and AK-47 ammunition.[11]

The compound was reportedly under surveillance before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks because of suspected weapons stockpiling. It was reported in 2002 that law enforcement suspected the frequent movement of members in and out of the compound was for the purpose of setting up safe-houses in rural parts of southern Virginia.[12]

In February 2003, a female MOA member was indicted for illegally purchased several weapons for the group.[13]

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigated the Red House compound from 2003 to 2004 as part of “the terrorist group JAF/MOA.”

The NCIS was concerned that MOA would target a U.S. Navy contractor in Lynchburg named BWXT Technologies that is the sole provider of nuclear fuel power units for the naval reactors. The FBI liaison did not believe MOA posed a threat to the facility and that members in the area would limit their activity to crime like fraud and illegal gun purchases.

Documents from the investigation obtained by Ryan Mauro of the Clarion Project reveal that a source said that after a hurricane in September 2003, the Red House leaders would not allow Virginia Power to come onto the property to fix power lines and denied access to the local fire department. Access was only granted and power restored several days later. The files do not indicate what MOA used that delay for.

The source reported that a new MOA member arrived in late 2003 from the New England area wearing expensive clothes. He said “the people down here were not taking care of business and they were not taking the situation seriously.” The blaring of daily prayers through speakers then stopped.

One file from 2004 states, “A black male from the Muslim compound is wanted for insurance fraud. The Virginia State Police and a neighboring Sheriff’s Department attempted to pick the subject up at the compound and the subject fled. It appeared to the locals that the Muslims knew ahead of time that law enforcement were coming to execute a search warrant.”

It is very possible that MOA had advance knowledge as the neighbors suspected. The FBI said at a Joint Terrorism Task Force meeting on August 4, 2003 that a local police officer from the Orange City Police Department had been put in charge of security for the Red House compound.[14]

MOA has historically tried to infiltrate local law enforcement and members have indeed been hired on some occasions.

The files also state that two families left the Red House compound because the rules became too strict and television was banned. A witness also saw several Arabic-speaking Muslims who appeared to be Middle Eastern in the area and one covered his face when the witness took a look at him.

A local controversy erupted in 2007 when the compound renamed its street as “Sheikh Gilani” in honor of their radical leader based in Pakistan.

Its “mayor” is Matthew Gardner, also known as Muhammad Ali Qadri. Gardner is one of the main spokespersons for MOA. A former member of MOA for nine years said that Gardner spent about five years in Pakistan.[15]

Gardner was born in Europe and says that he was in the U.S. Air Force for five years. Afterwards, he fell back into drug abuse and converted to Islam after being a Quran by a Muslim friend. He met MOA shortly thereafter. Five years later, he went to Pakistan to meet Sheikh Gilani. He saw miracles when spending time in the mountains with Gilani and at a boys’ hostel at a college in Islamabad.[16]

Gardner spoke at an event on April 26, 2011 in Owego, New York that was held by MOA’s interfaith front, the United Muslim Christian Forum. He preached that the U.S. will be destroyed by Allah because it did not prohibit the burning of a Quran by extremist Pastor Terry Jones.[17]

The Clarion Project’s Ryan Mauro attended the event and was closely monitored by security, followed into the bathroom, peppered with questions and barred from filming or taking photos. He spoke to Gardner about the purpose of the event and MOA’s anti-Semitism. He replied:

“We are trying not to get into the bashing business anymore. I mean, some of this is trial and error when you go into it and the longer we do it, the more we’re finding that certain things are a little bit too offensive…categorically we do not deny anything we said.”

A member of the compound told reporter Catherine Herridge in 2007 that the compound has residents from Europe, Puerto Rico and Mexico.

Ahmadabad East: Meherrin, Prince Edward County Camp

Meherrin, VA is the location of a 25-acre compound.[18] It was never publicly disclosed until it was found by bloggers in 2005.

A company named White Hawk Security International was found to be based at the site in 2005. The company says it is for private security and consulting, security guards and patrol services and detective and armored car services. A business database listed it as having 50 employees and annual sales of $20 million.[19] The company and its officials are linked to various other companies, including ones involved in similar security duties.

A historical pattern in Fuqra/MOA operations is establishing security companies as fronts, although this business has not been publicly accused of illegal activity. White Hawks are also significant in MOA’s ideology.

A 2011 issue of the MOA’s newspaper, the Islamic Post, states that White Hawk Security International has an office in Caroni, Trinidad. It says that the company specializes in private investigation, debt collection, executive airport retrieval, 24-hour monitoring and response, confidential reviews, personal bodyguards, security and safety consultation, audits and risk assessments and licensed bailiffs. The newspaper was obtained by Ryan Mauro of the Clarion Project.

MOA is known to have a presence in Trinidad and has been linked to the Jamaat ul-Muslimeen group there. Three of the Fuqra/MOA terrorists involved in a major bomb plot targeting Toronto in 1991 were deported there in 2006. A law enforcement source says that one of the deportees, Barry Adams, is linked to the White Hawk Security office in Trinidad. His son, Hussain Adams, is chief executive of MOA and lives at the Islamberg headquarters in New York.

Falls Church Camp

A 2004 report funded by the Justice Department identifies Falls Church as having had a “training compound” for MOA.[20]

Roanoke Site

An online directory of MOA “Dawah Centers” – that has proven accurate in the past – identifies a MOA Da’wah Center in Roanoke.[21]

Guerrilla Training

A December 2010 FBI counter-terrorism report said that “the Muslims of the Americas terrorist organization” has a “jamaat” (private commune) in

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.”

A 2004 report funded by the Justice Department identifies Red House and Falls Church as the locations of “training compounds” for MOA.[22]

A 2006 report for law enforcement also said that Red House is home to one of at least seven “covert paramilitary training compounds.”[23]

An April 2003 Naval Criminal Investigative Service report states, “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.”

An ATF Special Agent said in 2001 that he knew for a fact that one Red House resident had visited Pakistan and there was credible information from an informant that one resident furthered his training by going to Afghanistan.[24]

Fuqra/MOA terrorist Edward Flinton, who was caught hiding near the Islamville compound in South Carolina, said that a MOA operative going by the name of “Doorsman” instructed paramilitary classes in Norfolk.

An applicant for Sheikh Gilani’s “Soldiers of Allah” guerilla warfare/jihad force who lived in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, said he got a “basic demolition course” from “M.J.” in Virginia in 1983. He said he had a refresher course in 1990. The application was seized during the 1992 raids on MOA sites in Colorado and Pennsylvania.

A former MOA member of six years who lived at “Ahmadabad West” told reporter Catherine Herridge in 2007 that members own legal weapons but have minimized any target practice inside the compound because of the public scrutiny. The former member said it is only done on at certain times and they now use public ranges and don’t wear Islamic clothing in order to avoid detection.

Ali Abdel-Aziz, a former MOA member who served as an informant for the NYPD for 8 years, gave similar information. He said that he joined a “formed military squad” that took classes at a facility outside of the Red House compound.[25]

A 2003 NCIS report says that “the group has expressed an interest in harming a VSP [Virginia State Police] trooper if they pose a threat to MOA members in central Virginia.” It continued:

“The MOA, Red House, VA group have also been instructed to purchase firearms and ordnance each month to continue to enhance the defenses of their compound. Reporting to BATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms] has noted that MOA, Red House, VA conducts squad type training in surrounding woods/swamps, and that they have made uncorroborated statements that they would fight any law enforcement encroachment on their compound by use of defensive force.”

The report says that many MOA members are alleged to have served in the U.S. military.

A 2009 Virginia State Police Fusion Center report said that the MOA in Virginia have held “paramilitary drills” that involve using firearms. However, the report rated MOA’s “attack capability” in the state as “low.” It states:

“Current intelligence suggests the MOA attack capabilities have declined and members lack the training resources to mount a serious attack.”[26]

When the Clarion Project’s Ryan Mauro asked Gardner in 2011 about the gunfire heard at MOA communes, he indicated that members of his camp go shooting and said, “What is wrong with shooting your gun in the United States of America?”[27]

An intelligence source with direct experience investigating Fuqra in Virginia described the group as highly dangerous and well-armed with legal weapons. He described their tactical training, some of which took place inside Red House at the time, was “very good.” He said it is believed that members strategically choose places of employment in order to develop expertise in needed areas.

Crime

Drug Trafficking

Ryan Mauro of the Clarion Project obtained documents from a DEA investigation into MOA in Virginia from 2005 to 2007 that culminated in search warrants being executed upon several MOA residences in Virginia in 2007. The files state, “MUSLIMS OF AMERICA is a domestic terrorist group suspected of using drug proceeds to finance terrorist activities in Southwest Asia.”

Other DEA documents from 2004-2005 state that a MOA member in Virginia believed to be involved in drug trafficking has a “business interest” in about a dozen companies in Philadelphia. Another three companies in Virginia Beach are also listed. The files indicated that multiple members were involved in the trafficking. At least one of the suspects was seen at the Red House compound.

The heavily-redacted documents show that the DEA believed there was a connection between Al-Qaeda and MOA activity in Virginia. The name of Osama Bin Laden is mentioned three times and it is indexed under the Bin Laden category.

Another set of DEA documents from October 2004 refer to an investigation of cocaine trafficking between MOA members in Red House, VA and Dover, DE. It says that Dover POD “has linked several Muslims to a Mexican cocaine trafficking group. [Redacted] is a member of the MUSLIMS of AMERICA.” The suspect was associated with 4 U Transportation, a “company suspected of transporting cocaine” based in Dover. The documents state that MOA members have been seen near the Red House camp in vehicles registered to the company.

According to the documents, the ATF, FBI and DEA identified this suspect as having a leadership role within MOA. The suspect was seen with three Muslims at an address used by several MOA members.

Military Infiltration and Fraud

Ryan Mauro of the Clarion Project obtained documents from a Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigation into MOA that was closed in April 2004 “due to lack of substantive tasking and USN [U.S. Navy] assets involvement regarding the subject group.”

The files state:

“All locations have individuals who are involved with criminal scams to raise money for MOA/JAF [Jamaat al-Fuqra]. The scams include, but are not limited to insurance fraud, mail fraud, credit card fraud, workman’s compensation fraud, illegal straw purchases of weapons, conversion of semi-automatic weapons to fully automatic, etc.”

“Members of these groups send money via mail orders to Hancock, NY and Lahore, Pakistan to fund [redacted] the spiritual leader and founder of JAF.”

The investigators expressed concern about the proximity of the Red House compound to a critical naval reactor’s command contractor. Evidence linked MOA members suspected of involvement in the charter school scam in California to Virginia and Red House specifically. Several phone calls were made to Virginia and there was significant mail traffic between the MOA community in Victorville, California and Red House.

The Red House MOA is specifically “involved with numerous fraud scams (auto/homeowners/worker’s compensation/arson/credit card), which generate funds that are forwarded either to MOA, Hancock, N.Y. or to Lahore, Pakistan. The money is eventually used to fund the efforts of [Sheikh Gilani].”

“…the town of Red House and surrounding areas have been targeted by subjects passing counterfeit payroll business checks and cashing them at area small stores. The black males that pass these checks do not stay in the area as part of their operation as they pass these checks and leave the area.”

Separate law enforcement sources in Virginia and Georgia have spoken of a pattern of suspected check fraud involving MOA members from Commerce, Georgia who temporarily stay in Virginia and meet with members linked to the camps.

A September 2003 NCIS report discusses suspicious activity at convenience stores in the Red House area that are thought to be tied to MOA. Purchases of stores in Brookneal, Gladys and Rustburg were mentioned, as well as the purchase of a store in Charlotte Court House by an Iraqi.

A 2009 Virginia State Police Fusion Center report confirms that the MOA in Virginia has been involved in drug trafficking, fraud, surveillance and counter-surveillance, sale of counterfeited items and attempted government infiltration. MOA-owned businesses and charities are used to fundraise for Sheikh Gilani in Pakistan.

The report says that “intelligence gaps make it impossible to assess the level of criminal activity” of MOA in the state.[28]

Sheikh Gilani and MOA leaders usually respond to arrests of members by claiming they were previously expelled from the organization.

“We have had many, many members or ex-members that have been removed because of their history of crime. With any organization with a large amount of people, you’re going to have people that are just bad apples,” said Matthew Gardner, the “mayor” of the Red House compound.[29]

Counterfeiting

In 2007, eight people were arrested in Virginia including several clearly linked to MOA. They were part of a massive scheme to sell counterfeit clothing and movies. The ring raised $19 million in proceeds from December 2004 to September 2006.[30]

Beltway Snipers of 2002

There were unconfirmed reports in 2002 that law enforcement suspected that one or both of the “Beltway Snipers,” John Allen Muhammad (originally John Allen Williams) and Lee Boyd Malvo, had links to “Ahmadabad West” in Red House and may have even hid there. One blogger who closely followed the issue pointed out that the Meherrin location, which was secret at the time, was a much stronger candidate as a potential hiding spot.[31]

One MOA-affiliated source recalled hearing conversations about members having previously met John Allen Muhammad in the northeast and that he had visited one of the compounds in Virginia. The source said he did not live at the compound and was not related to James D. Williams.

The pair killed 10 people and injured three.

Other Virginia Activity

MOA began negotiating the purchase of 100 acres of land in Campbell County in 2002. MOA members moved into the area. The Virginia compounds were thought to be preparing for the arrival of members from California who had abandoned the “Baladullah” 400-acre compound after a top leader was arrested for running a charter school scam that defrauded the state government of over $3 million.[32]

An April 2004 report from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service states that an identity-protected witness said that a MOA computer engineer from Philadelphia had arrived and purchased 124 acres of land near the Red House compound. The individual is said to work out of Farmville. The file says that heavy construction is taking place at the site but the purpose is not known.

Another new arrival is said to live on 35 acres of land with his family that he purchased even though he seems to be unemployed. He leaves the area frequently and the witness says there are conflicting reports about the purpose of this trip, with some suspecting he is an informant for the government. The source reports that rifle fire is heard from his property.

The NCIS files said that MOA is expanding into Lynchburg, Meherrin and southern Campbell County near Rustburg.

MOA documents from 2005 that were obtained by the Clarion Project’s Ryan Mauro show that a MOA entity named the Islamic Naat Group LLC is registered to PO Box 92 at Red House, V.A. It is an Islamic singing group.

Possible Link to Islamic College/Muslim Teachers College, Randolph, Charlotte County

A Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) report from an investigation into MOA says that a witness provided information about a meeting at a venue known as the “Islamic College” in Randolph, Virginia in 2004. The witness reported 100-150 attendees arriving in cars from New York, Michigan and Maryland.

An online blogger wrote about a place called the “Muslim Teachers College” at this location led by an Imam Qadir Abdus-Sabur in 2005 but felt there was insufficient evidence to link it to MOA. It is located between the Red House and Meherrin compound locations. At the time, the sign for the college was on the ground and near what appeared to be a small abandoned house. The trees had signs that said, “No Trespassing—Dairy Hill Hunt Club, Saxe, Virginia.” No available information connects the Hunt Club to MOA.

A bio for the imam said he was the chairman of the Council of Islamic Schools in North America, a branch of the Islamic Society of North America. [33] The U.S. Justice Department labeled that group an unindicted co-conspirator in a terrorism-financing trial and identified it as an entity of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The author found a 1995 announcement on an Arizona State University listserv about the opening of a Clara Muhammad Boarding School by the Muslim Teachers’ College of Randolph, Virginia written by a Qadir Abdus-Sabur. It said it was for boys ages 10-13 and would have a strict Islamic education instead of a “Western educational paradigm.”[34]

[1] “Militant Muslims Seek Virginia Base,” Washington Times, July 1, 2002

[2] Id.

[3] Junaid, Nafisah Unn. “United Muslim Christian Forum Celebrates Milad-un Nabi 2011,” Islamic Post, May 25, 2011.

[4] Smith, Dr. Jemille. “Medical Breakthrough: Extraordinary Discovery of Swine Flu Cure Via El Gilani Methodology,” Islamic Post, December 1, 2009.

[5] Home page, American Muslim Ladies Club—Ahmadabad West, Virginia Chapter website, http://amlcva.blogspot.com/.

[6] Colorado Department of Corrections memo dated March 19, 2001.

[7] Evidence from the trial of Vincente Rafael Pierre and Traci Upshur.

[8] Testimony from the trial of Vincente Rafael Pierre and Traci Upshur.

[9] “Transcript—Gun Land.” PBS.

[10] “A Nation Challenged: Briefly Noted; Muslim’s Court Case.” New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/24/world/a-nation-challenged-briefly-noted-muslim-s-court-case.html

[11] “Transcript—Gun Land.” PBS.

[12] Weber, Christian. (2002). Examine Gunman’s Possible Ties to Ul Fuqra. Defense Watch.

[13] Documents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigation from 2003-2004.

[14] Id.

[15] The former member of Fuqra/MOA briefly had a blog in 2006 and is considered to be a credible source.

[16] Al-Islam in America: Tragedy and Triumph. (1999). Muslims of the Americas, Inc. and the International Quranic Open University.

[17] Junaid, Nafisah Umm. “United Muslim Christian Forum Celebrates Milad-un Nabi 2011,” Islamic Post, May 25, 2011. http://www.islamicpostonline.com/article/united_muslim_christian_forum_celebrates_milad_un_nabi_2011

[18] “Militant Muslims Seek Virginia Base,” Washington Times, July 1, 2002. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2002/jul/1/20020701-032848-7688r/

[19] “Secret Fuqra Compound in VA (Updated.” (2005). Politics of CP. http://politicsofcp.blogspot.com/2005/11/secret-fuqra-compound-in-va-updated.html

[20] Kane, John and April Wall. “Identifying the Links Between White-Collar Crime and Terrorism,” National White Collar Crime Center, September 2004. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/209520.pdf

[21] “MOA Da’wah Center Directory,” Al-Adaab.org, http://www.al-adaab.org/dawah/directory.html

[22] Kane, John and April Wall. “Identifying the Links Between White-Collar Crime and Terrorism,” National White Collar Crime Center, September 2004. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/209520.pdf

[23] “Jamaat ul-Fuqra: Gilani Followers Conducting Paramilitary Training in U.S.,” Regional Organized Crime Information Center (dissemination limited to law enforcement), 2006.

[24] Court Record. The statement was made by Thomas Gallager during the trial of Vincente Rafael Pierre and Traci Upshur.

[25] Mawyer, Martin. Twilight in America. (2011). http://www.christianaction.org/shop/twilight-in-america

[26] “2009 Virginia Terrorism Threat Assessment,” Commonwealth of Virginia Department of State Police, Virginia Fusion Center, March 2009. Law enforcement sensitive.

[27] Mauro, Ryan. “Confronting Muslims of the Americas,” FrontPage Magazine, July 27, 2011.

[28] “2009 Virginia Terrorism Threat Assessment,” Commonwealth of Virginia Department of State Police, Virginia Fusion Center, March 2009. Law enforcement sensitive.

[29] “A Community Bound by Faith or Jihadists?” (2013). WUSA9 News. Reposted at “Return to Red House,” Gates of Vienna.

[30] “Counterfeit Ring Broken Up,” The Politics of CP, March 12, 2007.

[31] “Jamaat ul-Fuqra in Virginia, Part 2.” (2005). Gates of Vienna. http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2005/11/jamaat-ul-fuqra-in-virginia-part-2.html

[32] “Militant Muslims Seek Virginia Base.” (2002). Washington Times. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2002/jul/1/20020701-032848-7688r/

[33] “Jamaat Ul-Everywhere.” (2005). Gates of Vienna. http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2005/12/jamaat-ul-everywhere.html

[34] Id.

A December 2010 FBI counter-terrorism report said that “the Muslims of the Americas terrorist organization” has a “jamaat” (private commune) in Texas.

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.”

Mahmoudberg, Sweeny, Brazoria County

The Clarion Project identified the location of a MOA Islamic village known by members as “Mahmoudberg” in 2014.[2] Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), then the Vice Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, said the discovery “is more than troubling—it is appalling” and criticized the “lackluster” response to MOA.[3]

The declassified FBI documents from 2003-2007 obtained by the Clarion Project clearly identify MOA and Mahmoudberg as a threat worthy of a counter-terrorism investigation.

One FBI record says “MOA members have been involved in at least 10 murders, one disappearance, three firebombings, one attempted firebombing, two explosive bombings and one attempted bombing.” The report also says:

The report also says:

“The documented propensity for violence by this organization supports the belief the leadership of the MOA extols membership to pursue a policy of jihad or holy war against individuals or groups it considers enemies of Islam, which includes the U.S. Government. Members of the MOA are encouraged to travel to Pakistan to receive religious and military/terrorist training from Sheikh Gilani.”

“The MOA is now an autonomous organization which possesses an infrastructure capable of planning and mounting terrorist campaigns overseas and within the U.S.”

Another FBI report from 2003 says, “Investigation of the Muslims of the Americas is based on specific and articulate facts giving justification to believe they are engaged in international terrorism.”

The documents obtained by the Clarion Project reveal that the FBI only discovered Mahmoudberg because of an informant in New York. It says the commune is between 7 and 10 acres large in an “extremely wooded area.” It reported that two or three mobile trailer homes moved there in December 2001. The FBI reports alternatively refer to the site as an “enclave” or a “communal living site.”

However, one nearby local confidently said that the MOA presence at the location stretches back to the 1980s and that it is closer to 25 acres in size.

“The area is so rural it is quite common for residents to shoot firearms for target practice or hunting on private property without interference from law enforcement,” the FBI report notes.

A DEA document from 2004 says that the compound had 25-30 members at the time and most were employed in Houston, “as some type of transportation operators.”

Locals reported hearing gunfire coming from the compound in 2014. Pictures were obtained of shell casings from the site.[4]

A 2004 report funded by the Justice Department states that Texas has a “training compound” for MOA but was unable to provide a more specific location.[5]

One of the commune residents used to be a leader at a MOA compound at Badger, California, according to the FBI. This is likely a reference to the Baladullah compound that was abandoned after a major charter school scam was linked to it, resulting in the arrests of three officials including senior MOA official Khadijah Ghafur.[6]

The earliest public reference to Mahmoudberg is a 2005 message board posting promoting a speaking engagement in Houston with a vocalist and lecturer from the site. [7] The MOA mentioned Mahmoudberg in online instructions for a United Muslim Christian Forum (MOA’s interfaith branch) parade in New York in 2010. The instructions have since been deleted.[8]

2002 Shooting at Mahmoudberg

Documents obtained by the Clarion Project show that an accidental fatal shooting happened at Mahmoudberg between two MOA members on February 7, 2002 around 11:00-11:30 PM. An unidentified resident killed Salminma Dawood, formerly known as Terrance C. Davis III, as he “returned gunfire to unknown individuals who were harassing the MOA commune.”

When the police arrived, they saw a dozen African-American males at the scene, about five of which lived at Mahmoudberg. The investigators saw about seven women and children, including a 10-month old infant, who lived there.

The police were denied access to the trailer homes at Mahmoudberg and were stopped from directly interviewing the women. The women covered their faces when approached by the police. The men required police to only communicate with the women by passing a note through a male intermediary.

A 2005 DEA document refers to the 2002 shooting and says that the Sweeny Police Department said that the MOA commune was the target of a drive-by shooting by several white males from the local community. Another DEA file indicates that Terrance C. Davis III was believed to be the leader of the Sweeny camp.

Locals said that law enforcement have visited Mahmoudberg a few times and residents refused to talk to them. One local said that two ambulances were denied entry in 2013 until the police intervened. A search of the Brazoria County criminal records indicates that three Mahmoudberg residents were arrested on February 28, 2013. Two were charged with interfering with public duties and one was charged with reckless driving.[12]

Drug Trafficking

The Drug Enforcement Agency first learned of the formation of a MOA chapter in Texas on September 24, 2004, according to declassified DEA documents.

According to the files, the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Department told the DEA on December 8, 2004 that it did not know of MOA members in Texas being involved in controlled substance violations, but confirmed that some members had been involved in criminal activity. The files state that a flyover was done in 2005 to photograph the compound. The documents state:

“There is currently no nexus to this particular cell with illegal drug trafficking and/or terrorism. However, other cells within this organization have been documented by various local, state and federal law enforcement agencies as having involvement with illegal drug trafficking, firearms violations and ties to a radical Muslim cleric in Pakistan.”

The documents also state, “This organization was alleged to be involved in drug trafficking and funneling some of the proceeds to a Muslim cleric in Pakistan.“

The Drug Enforcement Agency continued to investigate the MOA camp for drug trafficking and terrorist activity, according to documents from 2005-2006 obtained by Ryan Mauro of the Clarion Project. The files state that the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Department told the DEA that the compound initially consisted of about 7 trailers, but that it had grown to about 15 trailers over a period of about 5 months in 2005. The files were categorized under “extremist/terrorist activities.”

The DEA provided data on the MOA camp in Texas to the Terrorist Screening Center. The redacted documents indicate that two individuals were already “known” by the Terrorist Screening Center. This means that the U.S. government had enough evidence linking at least two of the MOA camp residents to terrorist activity to warrant their inclusion in the database.

Wanted Murderer on the Compound in 2004

According to a DEA document, the FBI received information on December 23, 2004 that a person wanted for murder in Philadelphia, PA was living at the Sweeny compound.

Firearms Training

The DEA documents from 2005-2006 state that the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Department “received information that individuals on the compound were speaking Arabic and firing semi-automatic weapons on the premises of the compound.”

October 1991 Raid on Texas Compound

FBI documents obtained by the Clarion Project indicate that the authorities raided a Fuqra/MOA compound about 70 miles south of Dallas that was about 45 acres large on October 11, 1991 and that the multi-agency investigation was spawned by three suspected Texas-based MOA terrorists who were arrested in Toronto, Canada . The compound may have been near Corsicana, as another FBI file mentions seven MOA members buying property in that area.

The raid happened about a week after the arrest of five suspected MOA terrorists in Niagra Falls as the crossed into the U.S. from Canada on October 3, 1991. The terror cell 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.[19]

Three of those arrested were from Dallas: Tyone Cole (also known as Barry Adams), Robert Wesley and Caba Jose Harris. Cole’s son, Hussain Adams, is now the chief executive of MOA and lives at Islamberg in Hancock, New York. They 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.[20]

The documents say that suspects at the compound fled on October 5-6 shortly before the raid took place and their children suddenly disappeared from school. The authorities found four mobile homes, three military general-purpose tents, six vehicles, loose ammunition, books on counter-terrorism techniques and weaponry, and various items with “Jamaat Fuqra Land” written on them.

Photos were seized that showed that MOA had conducted surveillance of a post office building and the Greenhead Station in Los Angeles, California. These types of photos indicate that the group was considering them as targets.

Two FBI files from the following year mention that MOA members in the state are hiding using aliases, false social security numbers and fake birth certificates.[21]

KHOU 11 News Report on Mahmoudberg

Following the release of Clarion Project’s 2014 article on declassified FBI reports surrounding Mahmoudberg, KHOU 11 News reporter Andrew Horansky dismissed Ryan Mauro’s fact-based reporting as “rumors” based on “scathing online articles.”

Not a single quote from the FBI documents or the article were included in his report. Mauro personally called Horansky, who responded that he did not see the FBI documents that could be viewed through links at the bottom of the article. Horansky did not even contact the Clarion Project to ask to see the FBI documents before reporting on them. Nor did Horansky’s article mention the origin of the information about Mahmoudberg, thereby preventing the audience from learning more by way of misinformation about the credibility of Clarion and Mauro’s reporting.

mahmoudberg
Picture of “Private Property” No Trespassing Sign in “no-go” Fuqra zone
He quoted a neighbor who said she had no problems with them and complained about people starting “crap” about them. He also quoted Freeport Police Chief Dan Pennington as saying, “We’ve spoken with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. There’s just nothing out there” and “[FBI] tell[s] us there’s no credible information about that site [involved] in terrorism.”

The reporter filmed from the front of the site, showing a basketball hoop and chickens and stated matter-of-factly that there is no sign that the location is concerning. He did, however, mention in passing that the Mahmoudberg residents stopped him at the gate and would not give him permission to come onto the property.[9]

The audience was not told that the FBI files say that the compound is 7 to 10 acres large (one neighbor confidently estimated that the property could be as large as 25 acres, which gives the impression that he has seen the entirety of the compound.

Horansky reported that Freeport Police Chief Dan Pennington said he had not read the FBI documents before commenting. Mauro also called Chief Pennington, who told him that he also had not read the original article.

When asked by Mauro about the connection to MOA and Sheikh Gilani, Chief Pennington rejected concern about Mahmoudberg based on its affiliation with MOA, suggesting that this commune should not be judged by the other MOA communes.

The assertion is patently false. There’s no such thing as a MOA commune that is independent of MOA or completely separate from the other MOA sites. All properties are owned by Sheikh Gilani and as such are under his rule, which many of our sources say is Shariah-based. Polygamy, child betrothal, and accepted corporal punishment have all been reported and confirmed with law enforcement who have been and are currently involved in Fuqra investigations.

The FBI documents clearly state that some members came from other MOA communes, including a leader from the Baladullah compound in California that was abandoned after its charter school scam was stopped. In addition, Mahmoudberg had a non-profit named the Muslim Model Community with a resident named Idris Johnson as the registered agent. Idris Johnson was the Master of Ceremonies for an interfaith MOA event held in Binghamton, New York.[10]

Freeport Police Chief Dan Pennington’s view of Mahmoudberg is less surprising when you consider that a member of the Freeport Police Department is a reported resident of Mahmoudberg.[11]

Infiltration of Local Police

Two reported MOA members are local law enforcement officers. Sources indicate that a third one was a constable in Harris County until 2013. MOA members have tried to infiltrate law enforcement since the early days.

Freeport Police Officer Husain Jones is reportedly a resident of Mahmoudberg.[13] Several locals did confirm to the Clarion Project that a police officer lives at Mahmoudberg. Sources confirmed that he associates with MOA members. Jones responded to reports about his link to MOA by saying it is a “defamation of character” and the authors haven’t even met him. The article identified him as a Police Detective.[14]

A police officer present at the 2002 shooting at Mahmoudberg said that a constable from Fort Bend County arrived who was also a MOA member. The constable reportedly confronted the police who arrived at the scene and joined the Mahmoudberg residents in denying access to the officers and medical responders who arrived in ambulances. The constable was reportedly fired due to the incident.[15]

Credible sources independently told the Clarion Project’s Ryan Mauro that a constable in Fort Bend County is a member of MOA who does not live at Mahmoudberg and is related to Freeport Police Detective Husain Jones.

Mahmoudberg/MOA Defended by CAIR

The biased piece was heavily promoted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an organization that has grown increasingly close to MOA and joins MOA in attacking their critics as “Islamophobes.”[16]

The U.S. Justice Department designated CAIR as an unindicted co-conspirator in the trial of the Holy Land Foundation, a CAIR-linked charity that was shut down for financing the Hamas terrorist group. The Justice Department identified CAIR as an “entity” of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestine Committee, a secret body established by the Brotherhood to advance Hamas’ cause.[17]

In another terrorism trial, that of Sabri Benkhala, federal prosecutors said in a 2008 court filing:

“From its founding by Muslim Brotherhood leaders, CAIR conspired with other affiliates of the Muslim Brotherhood to support terrorists … the conspirators agreed to use deception to conceal from the American public their connections to terrorists.”

The United Arab Emirates, a Muslim country that previously supported CAIR, designated the organization as a terrorist group when it decided to ban the Muslim Brotherhood.[18]

Links to Other Islamist Groups

A 2003 document from the DEA’s El Paso Intelligence Center about MOA (referring to it as the “Jamaat Ul-Fuqra terrorist group”) is heavily redacted but shows that the file is indexed under titles for other groups under investigation, indicating a connection between the two. The other related groups are the Hamas terrorist organization, Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, Ajouly Money Exchange, Chicago Islamic Center and Islamic Center of Lexington.

Activity in Mexico

The 2003 file from the DEA’s El Paso Intelligence Center shows it was distributed to its Regional Office in Guadaljaro, the capital of the state of Jalisco in western Mexico. This indicates a link between MOA’s Texas activity and that part of Mexico. A separate DEA investigation into MOA in Virginia in 2004 stated that MOA drug traffickers were dealing with Mexican cocaine dealers.

Sources inside MOA have confirmed that MOA has one of its “Islamic villages” in Mexico and that it is expanding. A source inside the group said in 2017 that it is led by a MOA elder named Khalifa Muhammad Khalil.

Other MOA Sites in Texas

MOA has a Texas chapter of its American Muslim Ladies Club and credits Sheikh Gilani with founding it in 2010. The chapter’s blog referred to events at Mahmoudberg in 2011 with a slightly different spelling of “Mahmoudburg.”[22]

Other MOA fronts in Texas have included non-profit organizations like the Muslim Model Community of Texas (which shares an address with Mahmoudberg) and the First Muslims of Texas in Houston.[23] A document from the 2005-2006 DEA investigation into the MOA camp confirmed that the Muslim Model Community of Texas is “associated” with the camp. An online directory of MOA “Dawah Centers” that has proven accurate in the past identifies a MOA Da’wah Center at 11315 Fairmont in Houston.[24]

[1] Al-Fuqra: Holy Warriors of Terrorism.” (1993). Anti-Defamation League: http://archive.adl.org/extremism/moa/al-fuqra.pdf

[2] Mauro, Ryan. (2014). “Exclusive: Islamist Terror Enclave Discovered in Texas.” Clarion Project.

[3] Mauro, Ryan. (2014). “Texas Congressman: Terror Enclave Discovery ‘Appalling.’” Clarion Project.

[4] Islamist Terror Enclave Discovered in Texas, supra note 2.

[5] Kane, John and April Wall. “Identifying the Links Between White-Collar Crime and Terrorism,” National White Collar Crime Center, September 2004.

[6] Islamist Terror Enclave Discovered in Texas, supra note 2.

[7] “Houston: A Ladies Day Out,” Islamic Forum, March 24, 2005.

[8] “Militant ‘Muslims of America’ Pulling Out All Stops for NY Parade,” Creeping Sharia, March 12, 2010.

[9] Horansky, Andrew. (2014). Small Muslim Community Struggles with ‘Terrorist’ Rumors. KHOU 11 News.

[10] Mauro, Ryan. (2014). Texas Terror Enclave Exposed. FrontPage Magazine.

[11] Geller, Pamela. (2014). Texas Police Double as Mahmoudberg’s Militia. WorldNetDaily.

[12] Islamist Terror Enclave Discovered in Texas, supra note 2.

[13] Geller, TX Police Double as Mahmoudberg’s Militia, supra note 11.

[14] Daughtry, Shannon. (2014). Freeport Officer Responds to Article Questioning His Faith. TheFacts.com.

[15] Geller, TX Police Double as Mahmoudberg’s Militia, supra note 11.

[16] Mauro, Ryan. (2014). CAIR Defends U.S. Jamaat ul-Fuqra Terror Group. Clarion Project.

[17] Mauro, Ryan. (2013). Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) – Nat’l Headquarters. Clarion Project.

[18] Mauro, Ryan. (2014). UAE Doubles Down on Designation of CAIR as Terrorists. Clarion Project.

[19] Goddard, John. (2010). Forgotten Islamist terror plot targeted Toronto. Toronto Star.

[20] Id.

[21] Islamist Terror Enclave Discovered in Texas, supra note 2.

[22] “AMLC Feeding People, March 17, 2011,” American Muslim Ladies Club—Texas chapter website, March 29, 2011.

[23] Islamist Terror Enclave Discovered in Texas, supra note 2.

[24] “MOA Da’wah Center Directory,” Al-Adaab.org.

A December 2010 FBI counter-terrorism report said that “the Muslims of the Americas terrorist organization” has a “jamaat” (private commune) in Tennessee.

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.”

A 2004 report funded by the Justice Department identifies Dover as having a “training compound” for MOA.[1]

A 2006 report for law enforcement also said that Dover is home to one of at least seven “covert paramilitary training compounds.”[2]

Fuqra Files has heard unconfirmed reports that a member of the Dover camp was employed as a local police officer.

Various Fuqra/MOA documents seized by law enforcement during the 1992 raids on MOA sites in Colorado and Pennsylvania refer to its presence in Nashville.

An accounting document for the Nashville “jamaat” (community) was found, as was a letter to Sheikh Gilani regarding expenses. The document discussed collecting the required taxes from 32 members of the Nashville branch and the need to purchase weapons for men that didn’t have any.

One note written by a woman in Nashville complains about the impact that living in “incognito” status was having on her faith. She said that she no longer feels like a good Muslim and realized that her calling is to be a mother and wife.

A leader of the Dover compound was a radio dispatcher for a local police department. (Martin Mawyer, Twilight in America)

[1] Kane, John and April Wall. “Identifying the Links Between White-Collar Crime and Terrorism,” National White Collar Crime Center, September 2004.

[2] “Jamaat ul-Fuqra: Gilani Followers Conducting Paramilitary Training in U.S.,” Regional Organized Crime Information Center (dissemination limited to law enforcement), 2006.

South Carolina is home to at least one Fuqra/MOA commune, with a significant number of members living nearby the compound. The site, known as “Islamville,” is the second-most prominent MOA camp.

A Fuqra/MOA “village” named Islamville has existed in Rock Hill in York County since 1982. The village’s website described it as “the very first Islamic shrine in America” named Baitun-Noor Holy Khanaqah, which is “one of the holiest shrines in the world.”[1]

MOA-affiliated sources say that Sheikh Gilani stayed at Islamville in 1989 and traveled from there to visit MOA branches in New York and Colorado. A storage locker belonging to the Colorado camp was raided shortly thereafter, leading to the discovery of weapons, explosives and plans for terrorist attacks. The camp itself was raided in 1992.

A female spokeswoman for Islamville received her “degree” from MOA’s International Quranic Open University by writing a thesis about how a “Satanist-Zionist conspiracy” framed Muslims in the attacks on the World Trade Center.[3]

Paramilitary Training

A December 2010 FBI counter-terrorism report said that “the Muslims of the Americas terrorist organization” has a “jamaat” (private commune) in South Carolina.

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.”

A 2001 memo from the Colorado Attorney General stated that Fuqra has a “covert paramilitary training compound” in South Carolina.[4] A 2004 report funded by the Justice Department identifies York County, S.C. as a “training compound” for Muslims of the Americas.[5] A 2006 report for law enforcement on the organization also said that York County, S.C. is home to one of at least seven “covert paramilitary training compounds.”[6]

A secret Fuqra videotape from the early 1990s 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 South Carolina. The film shows Gilani’s followers receiving guerilla warfare training in Pakistan. [7]

Documents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in 2003 mentioned the MOA compound in South Carolina 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.”

In 2010, nearby residents told a local newspaper that they had seen armed guards patrolling Islamville and that they sometimes heard gunfire at night.[8] The sound of gunfire coming from Islamville was recorded in November 2009, March 2011 and May 2011. A local resident reported the sounds of explosions on January 26, 2012 and April 6, 2012.[9] Reports of gunfire by neighbors continue to come to the Clarion Project.

Two neighbors have claimed that a man in full Islamic garb armed with an AK-47 stopped them from stepping on Islamville property when they searched for their dog. They say that four armed men escorted them inside the commune. The Islamville residents also reportedly educate their children in a storage shed.[10]

A source that was inside Islamville took pictures of an alleged weapons stockpile there in 2009 and provided them to Professor Ryan Mauro of the Clarion Project.

A book published by Martin Mawyer in 2012 includes pictures of .50 caliber shells retrieved from Islamville through a separate source.[11]

1990 Declaration of Jihad Against India

An official MOA letter to President Bush written on March 18, 1990 informed the President that the organization had declared that all able-bodied Muslims are obliged to wage jihad against India. It was written and signed by Atiq Shahid, a senior MOA official based in Islamville.

The letter said that MOA would be sending aid to an organization named the Kashmir Freedom Front. It requested that the U.S. government not block MOA members from getting visas to Pakistan so they could wage a “successful struggle.”

Fuqra Fugitives

In 1996, a Fuqra terrorist named Edward Nicholas Laurent Flinton was arrested near Islamville. He had evaded capture for years after taking part in a bomb plot against a Portland hotel in 1983, the bombing of a Hare Krishna temple in Denver in 1984 and the murder of rival Imam Rashad Khalifa in Arizona in 1990.[12] He was arrested at a trailer park in Lake City.[13]

A former member of Fuqra/MOA for nine years claimed to be living at Islamville when Flinton was caught. He said that Sheikh Gilani had ordered them to make sure he wasn’t caught by the police. They panicked that he would tell secret information to the authorities that would lead to the camp being raided. The former member claims they forcibly removed Flinton’s wife from the village as a security precaution.[14]

Flinton later said he moved to the MOA “jamaat” in South Carolina in 1992, saying it had “better” living conditions than the “jamaat” in Baltimore. He was found with fake birth certificates. He claimed not to know about MOA members at Islamville possessing firearms except than the men enjoyed hunting deer. The prosecutors referred to an AK-47 being found.

Frank Nelson, a fugitive who shot a security guard at Long Island college in 1971 wasn’t arrested until September 2005 when he was found living adjacent to Islamville. He converted to Islam and went by the name of “Abdullah Ali.”[1] A registered sex offender also lived in Islamville as of 2007 but moved to Georgia.[2]

Criminal Activity

MOA member James Hobson, who lived at the Baladullah compound in California, was arrested in March 2001 for weapons trafficking between New York and South Carolina.[15]

During the trial of MOA member Vincent Pierre in relation to weapons trafficking in Virginia, ATF Special Agent refers to an ongoing weapons trafficking investigation in York, S.C. The trial took place after the arrest of Hobson, showing that the trafficking in S.C. continued after he was apprehended in 2001.

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 Islamville.

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.

A 2005 DEA investigation into Fuqra/MOA-linked drug trafficking in Binghamton, N.Y. involved surveillance of a suspect’s residence in Walton, N.Y. A vehicle from Myrtle Beach, S.C. was seen there.[16]

Islamic Political Party of America

MOA “founding father” Ali Abdur-Rasheed, a leader of the Islamville commune, was an official in the MOA’s Islamic Political Party of America. The entity’s platform and entity was full of extremism and the group had links to a radical group named Jamaat Al-Muslimeen.[17]

[1] “Man Arrested in 1971 Stony Brook Shooting,” 1010Wins.com, reposted on Free Republic, October 5, 2005. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1497174/posts

[2] “Registered Sex Offender Living at ‘Holy Islamville,’” Politics of CP, May 23, 2007. http://politicsofcp.blogspot.com/2007/05/registered-sex-offender-living-at-holy.html

[1] “Intro to Holy Islamville,” Islamville website, http://www.holyislamvillesc.org/about/holy-islamville/holy-islamville-introduction.html

[2] Islamic Post (2011).

[3] Crowley, Zachary. “Jamaat al-Fuqra Dossier,” Center for Policing Terrorism, March 16, 2005.

[4] Memo to National Association of Attorneys General and FBI Denver field office. (2001). Colorado Attorney General’s Office.

[5] Kane, John and April Wall. “Identifying the Links Between White-Collar Crime and Terrorism,” National White Collar Crime Center, September 2004. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/209520.pdf

[6] “Jamaat ul-Fuqra: Gilani Followers Conducting Paramilitary Training in U.S.,” Regional Organized Crime Information Center (dissemination limited to law enforcement), 2006. http://info.publicintelligence.net/ROCICjamaatulfuqra.pdf

[7] The video was originally obtained by PRB Films and clips were shown in the Clarion Project’s documentary, The Third Jihad.

[8] “Neighbors Wary of Muslim Village,” Myrtle Beach Online, April 25, 2010. http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2010/04/25/1440656/neighbors-wary-of-muslim-village.html

[9] Mauro, Ryan. “Holy Islamville: Paramilitary Training in America’s Backyard,” Clarion Project, April 24, 2012.

[10] Mawyer, Martin. “Twilight in America: The Untold Story of Islamic Terrorist Training Camps Inside America.” (Christian Action Network: 2012).

[11] Mawyer, Martin. “Twilight in America: The Untold Story of Islamic Terrorist Training Camps Inside America.” (Christian Action Network: 2012).

[12] “The Incarceration of Edward Flinton,” Politics of CP, April 4, 2006. http://politicsofcp.blogspot.com/2006/04/incarceration-of-edward-flinton.html

[13] “Terrorism in the United States 1996,” FBI National Security Division: Counterterrorism Threat Assessment and Warning Unit.

[14] The former member of Fuqra/MOA provided many details that were substantiated and briefly had his own blog in 2006 under the name of “Fuqra Hater.”

[15] Sean Webby, Karen de Sa and Brandon Bailey. (2001). Muslim Enclave in California Draws Suspicion from FBI. Associated Press. http://lang.sbsun.com/socal/terrorist/1201/25/terror15.asp

[16] Drug Enforcement Administration documents dated 2005-2007.

[17] For more information about the Islamic Political Party of America, see the section of this website about MOA fronts.

Fuqra/MOA is suspected of firebombing a Hare Krishna temple in Philadelphia on June 16, 1984.[1]

Two MOA safehouses in Williamsport were raided in October 1992 as part of a counter-terrorism investigation. A letter from that time shows that James Upshur was negotiating the purchase of 95 acres for $49,500 for MOA. Upshur was later convicted for terrorism-related activities.

A former MOA member who reside

MOA has long had a “jamaat” (community of members) in Philadelphia. The Colorado Attorney General’s Office said in 2001 that MOA had a Quranic Open University office still operating in Philadelphia.[2] The Colorado Department of Corrections also warned that same year that Fuqra “cells” exist in Pennsylvania.[3]

An alleged MOA compound in its infancy was discovered in Wayne County in 2008 by the Christian Action Network.[4] MOA continues to have a significant presence in Philadelphia and Williamsport.

Origins

Sheikh Gilani recruited a loyal base of supporters in the Philadelphia area from the fractured Dar ul-Islam movement. A Fuqra/MOA “jamaat” in Philadelphia was mentioned in FBI reports by 1988.

A governmental investigative document identifies a man in Williamsport named William Minor, with an Islamic name of Karim Rahim Ustaz Bay, as the principal of the MOA-PA non-profit. Amin A. Rashid of Philadelphia is also listed as being a principal. An individual known as Naib Mustapha A. Rauf of Williamsport is listed as the jamaat administrator for PA in one MOA document. The title of “Naib” indicates he was the top official at the time.

A MOA document from the late 80s or early 90s identifies a “Brother Ahmad” as the group’s representative for the state. A “Umm Isa” (meaning the mother of “Isa” or Jesus) also listed as a representative on a list of jamaat administrators.

One of the key figures was convicted MOA terrorist James L. Upshur. He says he converted to Islam in 1968 and became an “Islamic judge” in Philadelphia to settle disputes between Muslims. He also taught religious classes in Philadelphia and New York City throughout the 1970s.

Upshur became a significant leader in the Colorado and Pennsylvania branches. He was one of five Colorado MOA members indicted in September 1992 for a wide range of criminal activity that financed the organization, its terrorist activity and the leadership in Pakistan.

He was also an official in the MOA of Pennsylvania’s non-profit that oversaw the branch in that state. He was a signatory to its checking account since 1990. The MOA of PA shared an address with a mosque at 5018 Beaumont St. in Philadelphia known as Dar-Ul Miska or the House of Musk.[5]

Upshur was also connected to a group known as the Jawala Scouts in Pennsylvania. MOA-affiliated sources say that it is part of a radical Sufi group that is separate from MOA but welcomes MOA members in its activities, which includes indoctrination and military-style training of boys and young men.[6]

Another convicted MOA terrorist from the Colorado branch, Edward Flinton, first met Sheikh Gilani in Philadelphia. He met his wife at the MOA-affiliated mosque on 52nd Street in 1978. Flinton said after his arrest that a MOA operative known as “Doorsman” held “pseudo-military” classes in Philadelphia.

Vincente Rafael Pierre, another convicted member from the Colorado MOA, also lived in Williamsport.

Sheikh Gilani formed an international force for waging jihad named “Soldiers of Allah” in 1991-1992.[7] Copies of the applications to join the Soldiers of Allah show that a large portion of enlistees came from Williamsport and Philadelphia. One applicant listed that he was skilled in fundraising and took a basic demolition course from “M.J.” in Virginia in 1983 and a refresher course in 1990.

Attempts to Build a Camp in Williamsport

Internal MOA documents show that the group tried to buy land in Williamsport for $74,000 in 1992. One letter shows that the group considered a second location of 95 acres for $47,500. The documents do not indicate whether a purchase took place. MOA-affiliated sources recall that the group fundraised for a camp in Pennsylvania but the plan fell through.

One document from the MOA branch in Williamsport announces the expulsion of a member named Khalid Abdul Muqtiddir for allegedly filing a false police report about MOA. He told the police that members were armed; that MOA was keeping him from seeing his family; the group was trying to force him to house someone in his apartment against his will and that members engage in polygamy.

MOA’s announcement banished him for telling the police about the group’s activities and domestic issues and talking about polygamy “in a way that condemns Islam.” It claimed that the leadership separated him from his family because he was physically and mentally abusing his wife’s children and that he violated the privacy of the two members’ homes on three occasions.

1992 Counter-Terrorism Raids

Law enforcement authorities raided two MOA safehouses in Williamsport in October 1992 simultaneously with raids on a 101-acre MOA terrorist training camp in Buena Vista, California and two MOA safehouses in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The investigation was related to terrorism, robbery, murder and various financial crimes including worker’s compensation fraud and money transfers to Pakistan.[9]

A law enforcement source involved in the investigation says that strong evidence was found that MOA was defrauding the Pennsylvania State government just as it had been doing in Colorado.

Islamic Society of Susquehanna Valley

Declassified documents report that the MOA of Pennsylvania non-profit organization received many checks from a mosque named the Islamic Society of Susquehanna Valley.[10] An online directory of mosques places that facility at Sunbury, PA.[11] A now-defunct website for the mosque stated that events were held at the Ghulam Rasool Mosque in Sunbury. The website did not acknowledge any ties to MOA when it was last updated in 2000.

The mosque’s website linked to various organizations, materials and individuals tied to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, such as Brotherhood spiritual leader Yousef al-Qaradawi, Fiqh As-Sunnah (a Brotherhood text) and the Islamic Society of North America. It also linked to the Islamic Circle of North America, a derivative of an Islamist party in Pakistan and to the Benevolence International Foundation, an Al-Qaeda front used to support terrorists in Bosnia and Chechnya.[12]

New Bloomfield Camp Linked to 1993 World Trade Center Bombing

A large camp in New Bloomfield (Perry County) that was used by Islamist terrorists linked to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the follow-up “Day of Terror” bomb plots is suspected of being part of the Fuqra/MOA network. Members of MOA were involved in those plots.

It is reported that MOA members worked with the Al-Kifah Network, a coalition of Islamist terrorist groups (including the Blind Sheikh’s group and Al-Qaeda), to set up the paramilitary camp in Pennsylvania. Those associated with the camp said they were recruiting and training to “help Muslims in Bosnia.”[13]

The 35-acre camp on Cold Storage Road was run by an African-American Muslim convert named Kelvin Smith who was born in Brooklyn and raised in New Jersey. He converted to Islam in 1980 and moved from Harrisburg to the camp in Perry County in 1986. He went by the name of Abdul Muhaimin.

Smith was an officer with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at the time and worked in an office that was one floor above the FBI field office headquarters in Harrisburg.[14] He was also a security guard and martial arts instructor at a military academy in New Bloomfield.

His farm was used as a business. It had a gun shop and firing range and he provided courses in firearms, hunting, camping, tracking and similar activities. He said it had about 200 customers annually, including Boy Scouts and members of law enforcement. He advertised his classes in mosques in N.Y. and N.J. in the early 1990s.

Two of the MOA members from the Colorado terrorist training camp operation were arrested in 1992 very close to Smith’s farm.

Later that year, Smith’s camp was used as a paramilitary training site by a group of Muslims linked to the “Blind Sheikh” Omar Abdel-Rahman, the spiritual leader of the terrorists who committed the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and attempted to bomb four targets in New York City shortly thereafter.

The group of Islamist terrorists returned in early 1993 for four weekends of training. Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, visited the camp twice in January and February shortly before the attack on February 26.[15]

Three Islamist terrorists involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing underwent paramilitary training at the camp. Smith said he recognized two of the eight arrested for plans to bomb targets in New York City who visited his camp four times since Feb. Some of those involved in the bombing and the foiled plots were part of Fuqra/MOA.

Smith said he did not know who they were. He said he thought they were preparing to fight in Bosnia.[16]

Another individual named Yahya Abu Ubaidah Muhammad, previously known as Karl Dexter Taylor, was involved with the Blind Sheikh’s group and was arrested in Queens in February 1995 for delivering guns to the camp. He bought six assault weapons at a Virginia gun show in November 1992 and gave them to the group that trained at the site.[17]

Yahya Abu Ubaidah lived in the same apartment building as Clement Hampton-El, a reported MOA member involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.[18] Ubaidah also had a martial arts school inside the building and instructed at Smith’s camp. He utilized his experience from serving two tours in the Vietnam War as a Marine.[19] The training included simulating attacks on power substations,[20] which documents seized from MOA show they also prepared for and may have actually committed such an attack in Colorado.

Neighbors recalled seeing vans with N.Y. and N.J. license plates arriving at Smith’s camp. The guests were armed with rifles and wearing military camouflage and trained at nighttime.

Smith was approached by the FBI for information shortly before the bombing. He told the agents that he had no contact information for the trainees. During the discussion, he said that he is proud to serve in law enforcement but is “Muslim first” above all else. He then used a government-issued secure line that he had access to from being in the U.S. Fish & Wildfire Service to warn them that they had been indicted.

The camp was raided on June 26, 1993, as was Smith’s home in Centre Township. The FBI confiscated firearms from Smith’s vehicle.

Smith was found to have destroyed crucial evidence by throwing four semiautomatic rifles into the Delaware River. The authorities also searched his pond for weapons. An attendee of the training told the FBI that the group hid or disposed weapons at the camp.

It is believed that he used the money he earned from the trainees to buy ammunition and weapons, including assault rifles, for them to use on the property. He also used his Federal Wildlife Officer discount to purchase repelling equipment for one of the trainees in Brooklyn after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing took place. He lied to the FBI and said that all the weapons on his camp belonged to him.

Smith pled guilty in 1999 to lying to the FBI during the investigation and destroying evidence. He was sentenced to 366 days in prison.[21]

Smith denied belonging to Fuqra, answering the question by saying he is a Sunni Muslim. However, all MOA members deny Fuqra’s existence and identify as a Sunni-Sufi. Other MOA members have replied by saying they are Sunni when questioned.

Alleged Wayne County Camp

The Christian Action Network reported discovering an alleged MOA camp in Wayne County in 2008 and showed the site in a documentary the following year.[22] It was found due to information provided by a reputable local who was familiar with the Islamberg headquarters in Hancock, New York.

The source said that MOA had recently begun setting up the camp but were having problems with taxes and securing permits. The individual said that members lived there and the presence was increasingly. Neighbors told the filmmakers about gunfire coming from the site and that reclusive Muslims were residing there.

Martin Mawyer, President of the Christian Action Network, is seen in the film approaching the camp when it was vacant. A deliberately defaced American flag is hanging on the side of a building that was damaged by bullets or blades. A strange sign was on a tree with a white airplane and a green background.

One of the filmmakers, Jason Campbell, states that the site is about 200 acres in size and has an entrance on Maple Road.[23] It is unclear if the camp exists or was abandoned after the film was released.

2004 Islamic Naat Group Event in Philadelphia

A law enforcement source told the Clarion Project’s Ryan Mauro that Fuqra/MOA held an event titled “A Celebration of the Nasheeds” on June 27, 2004 in Philadelphia. It was organized under the name of the Islamic Naat Group LLC registered to PO Box 92 in Red House, Virginia. The address is part of the Ahmadabad West compound at that location.

The source estimated that 60-70 vehicles strangely parked in a privately-owned lot two blocks away from the convention site, even though parking at the site was available. The vehicles were from all over the U.S. and Canada and only 20 men were there appearing to act as security. Between 80 and 100 women were present. The source stated that he suspected that the missing men who normally travel with the women were attending a meeting at another location, using the Islamic Naat Group event as a cover for their travel.

Drug Trafficking

A member of MOA from the group’s “Baladullah” compound in California was arrested in Philadelphia in November 2003 for shipping 52 kilos of cocaine from Oakland, California to Philadelphia and Atlanta. He was released in March 2004 because of a processing error and then arrested again in November 2004 in York, South Carolina, the home of MOA’s “Islamville” compound.[24]

Two alleged MOA members were arrested in 2007 for drug trafficking between Philadelphia and Lynchburg, Virginia, which is near two MOA communes.

Documents from a DEA investigation into MOA in Virginia in 2004-2005 refers to a suspected MOA drug trafficker as having a “business interest” in a large number of businesses in Philadelphia. The DEA files refer to MOA as a “domestic terrorist group suspected of utilizing drug proceeds to finance terrorist activities in Southwest Asia.” The files also contain three references to Osama Bin Laden.

Philadelphia Member Wanted for Murder in 2004

A declassified DEA document says that the FBI received information on December 23, 2004, that a MOA member wanted for murder in Philadelphia was living at the MOA compound in Sweeny, TX.

[1] Al-Fuqra: Holy Warriors of Terrorism. Anti-Defamation League (1993).

[2] Memo to National Association of Attorneys General and FBI Denver field office. (2001). Colorado Attorney General’s Office.

[3] “Memorandum: Fuqra.” (2001). Colorado Department of Corrections.

[4] Homegrown Jihad: Terrorist Camps Around U.S. (2009). PRB Films / Christian Action Network. http://www.christianaction.org/shop/homegrown-jihad

[5] 1988 FBI report.

[6] For more information on the MOA to this group, see the section of this website about MOA’s links to other Islamist groups.

[7] For more information on “Soldiers of Allah,” see the section of this website about guerilla training.

[8] 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.

[9] For more information on the 1992 raids, read the section of this website about Fuqra activity in Colorado

[10] 1988 FBI report.

[11] Islamic Society of Susquehanna Valley. (n.d.). Islamic Valley. http://islamicvalley.com/iv/mosque/info/53M/islamic+society+of+susquehanna+valley

[12] In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. (2000). Susquehanna Valley Islamic Society. http://www.oocities.org/svislamics/

[13] 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.

[14] Kiner, Deb. (2015). ISIS Arrest Was Not Midstate’s First Brush with Terrorism. Penn Live.

[15] 3 Suspects Recalled at Firing Range / Site Owner Cooperates with FBI. (1993). Associated Press. http://www.pennlive.com/news/2015/12/isis_arrest_was_not_midstates.html

[16] Kiner, Deb. (2015). ISIS Arrest Was Not Midstate’s First Brush with Terrorism. Penn Live.

[17] McKinley, James. (1995). Man Tied to Sedition Case Held in Gun-Running. New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/22/nyregion/man-tied-to-sedition-case-held-in-gun-running.html

[18] Id.

[19] Goldman, John J. (1995). FBI Arrests Man Accused of Training Bomb Suspects. Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1995-02-22/news/mn-34711_1_training-camp

[20] Kohlmann, Evan. (2004). Al-Qaida’s Jihad in Europe. Bloomsbury Academic.

[21] Kiner, Deb. (2015). ISIS Arrest Was Not Midstate’s First Brush with Terrorism. Penn Live. http://www.pennlive.com/news/2015/12/isis_arrest_was_not_midstates.html

[22] Homegrown Jihad: Terrorist Camps Around U.S. (2009). PRB Films / Christian Action Network. http://www.christianaction.org/shop/homegrown-jihad

[23] Id.

[24] Organized Crime in California: Annual Report to the California Legislature. (2005). California Attorney General’s Office, Division of Law Enforcement, Criminal Intelligence Bureau.

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 Rajneesh using aliases as part of their preparation for the attack. Paster set off three pipe bombs on the fourth floor of the hotel and was injured.

[i] Al-Fuqra: Holy Warriors of Terrorism.” (1993). Anti-Defamation League: http://archive.adl.org/extremism/moa/al-fuqra.pdf