Hezb-i-Islami
Sheikh Gilani’s texts say that he met with Hezb-i-Islami and the Islamic Revolution of Afghanistan in 1979 to try to unify their ranks against the Soviet Union. Gilani said he offered his services to any Islamic group taking part in the jihad.
Gilani’s recruits reportedly fought in Afghanistan as members of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hezb-i-Islami. Two dozen African-American recruits were seen amongst the mujahideen in Afghanistan in 1985.[i]
Reported Fuqra/MOA member Rodney Hampton-El was injured fighting in Afghanistan as a member of Hezb-i-Islami. He was later convicted for his involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a foiled wave of bombings in New York City in 1995.
A 1993 State Department intelligence document said that Sheikh Gilani is linked to a “mujahidin hub” that includes multiple allied Islamist terrorist groups. It reads:
“A close working relationship reportedly exists among [Gulbuddin] Hekmatyar, Egyptian Islamic Gama’at spiritual leader Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, Yemeni Islamic Jihad leader Sheikh Zindani and Sudanese National Islamic Front (NIF) leader Hassan al-Turabi. Sheikh Jilani, the leader of the Jama’at al-Fuqra based in Lahore, is also believed to have some ties to the mujahidin network. This circle of mutual admiration nurtures the network of safe havens, bases and logistical support.”
The memo said that Osama Bin Laden is financially and ideologically tied to Hekmatyar.[ii]
In 1994, MOA published that book that included statements supportive of Hezb-i-Islami and condemned the “barrage of Zionist lies” accusing the group of terrorism.[iii]
Hekmatyar was designated as a “global terrorist” by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2003. The group is linked to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban and is sponsored by the Iranian regime.
[i] 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.
[ii] “The Wandering Mujahidin: Armed and Dangerous.” (1993). State Department Intelligence and Research Bureau.
[iii] Target Islam: Exposing the Malicious Conspiracy of the Zionists Against the World of Islam and Prominent Muslim Leaders. (1994). Quranic Open University and Pakistan Foundation for Strategic Studies.
