In March 2016, Professor Ryan Mauro, creator of the Fuqra Files, appeared on television with a CAIR official, where he showed pictures from the 1992 raid on the Fuqra/MOA terrorist training camp in Colorado and confronted the official about how CAIR-Massachusetts has a prominent MOA member on its board. The CAIR official responded, “there has not been a terrorist group operating in America since 2001 because of the effectiveness of our intelligence and law enforcement.”[2]

In August 2016, CAIR campaigned to stop counter-extremism/counter-terrorism training of California law enforcement personnel by Mauro. CAIR asked the San Diego Police Department to conduct an investigation to find out who attended and to strip away any education credits and paid time off they may have received. A key part of CAIR’s attack was Mauro’s media interviews about Fuqra/MOA.[3]

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.[4]

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.[5]

[1] CAIR Defends U.S. Jamaat ul-Fuqra Terror Group. (2014).

[2] CAIR: “No Terror Orgs in U.S.” (2016).

[3] “CAIR Goes After Clarion Project for Training Police on Extremism.” (2016).

[4] Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) – Nat’l Headquarters. (2013).

[5] UAE Doubles Down on Designation of CAIR as Terrorists. (2014). See also Is CAIR a Terrorist Group? National Review (2014), http://www.nationalreview.com/article/393614/cair-terror-group-daniel-pipes.

PDF:  CAIR-News-Release-Defending-Fuqra 

Rep. Mulvaney visited the “Islamville” compound in York County, S.C. in December 2015 and declared he was “looking forward to dispelling the rumors” about the site. The meeting was pre-arranged and lasted 90 minutes.

He said, “I can tell people now I have been there and, no, there is not a terrorist camp or any threat in York County” and “This is a group of law-abiding American citizens who are practicing their faith and I saw no reason for anyone to see a threat.”[6]

“There are plenty of things that present challenges to our national security that we need to be concerned about—from a porous southern border to our visa waiver program—but the community in York certainly doesn’t seem to be one of them,” he wrote on Facebook.

MOA proudly promoted his comments on social media and in their newspaper, showing a picture of Rep. Mulvaney standing side-by-side with Islamville officials.[7]

[6] Dys, Andrew. (2015). Mulvaney Meets with York County Muslims at Islamville. The Herald. http://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/article46268080.html

[7] South Carolina Congressman Visits Muslims in Holy Islamville. (2015). Islamic Post. http://www.islamicpostonline.com/featured/2015/12/27/south-carolina-congressman-visits-muslims-in-holy-islamville/

Deputy Sheriff Dumont said in 2015 that there was no information to indicate that jihad training was happening at Islamberg in Hancock, N.Y. He said that the Sheriff’s Department had been inside the 70-acre compound several times for matters unrelated to terrorism and described the MOA headquarters as simply being benign Muslims who peacefully participate in local community activities.[11]

He said that his Department said it is “kind of perplexing to us, all of this recent media attention in regard to potential terrorist training camps and things that are going on there.” He said that there is no information indicating that Islamberg poses an “active threat;” verbiage that law enforcement uses to describe situations where there is credible information of a specific violent plot.

Dumont was asked about the 2002 video showing women receiving paramilitary instruction inside Islamberg and the earlier “Soldiers of Allah” video where Sheikh Gilani says that aspiring jihadists can sign up for his guerilla training through his organization’s offices in New York and elsewhere.

He said that the Department hadn’t seen anything to believe “there’s any credit to these videos.” MOA has not denied the credibility of the 2002 video. The credibility of the “Soldiers of Allah” tape has also never been challenged.

When asked about Sheikh Gilani and a declassified FBI report from 2007 stating that MOA members go to Pakistan to receive guerilla-type training, Dumont shockingly said, “We have no reason to believe at this point in time that the individuals you identified in the FBI report are currently with the property there.”

MOA, including Islamberg, is openly loyal to Sheikh Gilani. They continue to communicate directly with him. It’s never been denied. Top MOA leaders are also known to have gone to Pakistan and the group’s own newspaper boasts of members going there, though they don’t say it is for training related to combat or jihad.

In another interview, Dumont was asked whether Islamberg is a military camp where Muslims train to kill Americans. He said there is “no reason to believe any of those types of activities are taking place there.”

He even said that he and his Department colleagues “call into question whether those videos were even shot anywhere near Hancock.”

Again, MOA did not deny the credibility of the Islamberg training video and it was provided to Professor Ryan Mauro of the Clarion Project by a knowledgeable law enforcement source and its authenticity was confirmed by multiple unconnected law enforcement sources. MOA-affiliated sources have also confirmed its authenticity and identified trainees seen in the video. One literally laughed at the notion that such training isn’t happening.

Dumont conceded that the organization was investigated by the FBI after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing along with other groups but said no arrests were made. He failed to mention the arrest of Clement Hampton-El, a reported Fuqra/MOA member, for involvement in the bombing.

He agreed with the radio host’s comparison of Islamberg to the Amish.[12]

Freeport Police Chief Dan Pennington (Texas)

In 2014, Freeport Police Chief Dan Pennington dismissed concerns about Fuqra’s Mahmoudberg “village” in Sweeny, Texas in comments to KHOU 11 news reporter Andrew Horansky.[13]

Pennington subsequently told Mauro that he had not read the original article that the news report was about. He also said he had not read the declassified FBI documents that the article referenced and provided.

When asked 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. Each and every one is devoted to Gilani as their leader.

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.[14]

Freeport Police Chief Dan Pennington’s view of Mahmoudberg is less surprising when you consider that a member of the Freeport Police Department is reportedly a resident of Mahmoudberg.[15]

[11] Aaron Klein Investigative Radio, January 25, 2015.

[12] First News with Keeler in the Morning, WIBX950AM. (2015). WIBX YouTube channel, posted September 22, 2015. https://youtu.be/IGocpY1By58

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

[14] Mauro, Ryan. (2014). Texas Terror Enclave Exposed. FrontPage Magazine. http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/219646/texas-terror-enclave-exposed-ryan-mauro

[15] Geller, Pamela. (2014). Texas Police Double as Mahmoudberg’s Militia. WorldNetDaily. http://www.wnd.com/2014/02/texas-police-double-as-mahmoudbergs-militia/

Following the 2014 article on Mahmoudberg, KHOU 11 News reporter Andrew Horansky dismissed concerns about the site as “rumors” based on “scathing online articles.”

Not a single quote from the FBI documents or the article was included. The author of the original article, Ryan Mauro, 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.

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 spoke with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. There’s just nothing out there” and “They [FBI] tell us there’s no credible information about that site in terrorism.”

The reporter filmed from the front of the site, showing a basketball hoop and chickens, saying 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.[i]

The audience was not told that the FBI files say it is 7 to 10 acres large (one neighbor confidently said it was as large as 25 acres), leaving viewers with the impression that they saw the entirety of the compound.

Washington Post: Philip Bump

Philip Bump of the Washington Post wrote a one-sided article that misrepresented reports about MOA after an attendee at a Donald Trump presidential campaign rally asked a question about terrorist training camps on American soil.[ii]

For instance, Bump dismisses a 2005 National White Collar Crime Center report that lists MOA training camps because of its focus on criminal activity and the long time that has passed since a confirmed MOA-orchestrated terrorist attack in North America. However, the report specifically and repeatedly explains how MOA uses white collar crime to support terrorist activity.

Bump also only quotes supportive neighbors and local law enforcement personnel. He does not provide information about contradictory assessments, including quotes from declassified FBI documents contained within the reports he criticizes.

TruthOut

In her August 2016 article, Eleanor J. Bader of “Truthout” provided a wholly positive treatment of MOA and provided several quotes from MOA officials. No information about the basis of the criticisms of MOA, or even links to the articles, was provided. The article placed responsibility for terrorist/hate crime plots against MOA upon critics of the organization.[iii]

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

[ii] Bump, Philip. (2015). Donald Trump and the ‘Terrorist Training Camps’ Conspiracy Theory, Explained. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/09/18/donald-trump-and-the-terrorist-training-camps-conspiracy-theory-explained/

[iii] Bader, Elanor J. (2016). Facing Terrorist Threats from Right-Wing Bigots, New York Muslim Community Sues. Truthout. http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/37293-facing-terrorist-threats-from-right-wing-bigots-new-york-muslim-community-sues

• The United Muslim Christian Forum website’s home page proudly hosted a picture of then-Mayor of Binghamton, Matthew T. Ryan, holding the organization’s sign.
• The former mayor of Owego, Edward Arrington, also spoke at a UMCF event and was chairman of the Deacon Board of the First Baptist Church in Owego, New York.
• Professor Diane O’Heron praised the UMCF at events and was/is the faculty facilitator for the UMCF chapter at Broome Community College.
• Pastor E. Andre Stanton of the Revelation Center spoke at their interfaith events.
• Professor Dr. Denise Yull of Binghamton University is also listed as a speaker.
• Father Timothy Taughter of Blessed Sacrament Church in Johnson City spoke at a UMCF event.
• Arthur Suggs of First Congregational Church of Binghamton and the founder of the Broome County Interfaith Council has embraced UMCF.