A MOA video released in 2010 showed a map of states where it had “Islamic villages” at that time. Maryland appears to be listed, though the low quality of the image makes it difficult to say with certainty.
Fuqra/MOA is believed to be responsible for an incendiary bombing in Baltimore that caused no casualties on June 26, 1985.[1]
MOA-affiliated sources say that the group had a “jamaat,” or community of believers, in Baltimore for decades. Hyattsville and Marydel have also been identified as locations of MOA compounds.
Hyattsville Camp
A 2004 report funded by the Justice Department identified Hyattsville as having a “training compound” for MOA.[1]
Baltimore Camp
MOA-affiliated sources say that the group had a commune in Baltimore for decades and still has a presence in the area.
Convicted Fuqra/MOA terrorist Edward Flinton testified that he lived in the Baltimore jamaat from 1985 to 1992 after leaving the one in Denver, Colorado. He then moved to “Islamville” in York County, South Carolina, because of better living conditions. Flinton said that a MOA instructor who went by the name of “Doorsman” held “pseudo-military” classes in Baltimore.
Another convicted Fuqra/MOA terrorist from the Colorado branch, Nelson Wanamaker, had a Maryland driver’s license.
A group named Jamaat Al-Muslimeen held an “international conference promoting peace and awareness” in Baltimore on August 16, 2008. The conference was held with the involvement of a MOA front called the Islamic Political Party of America. [2] The IPPA and Jamaat Al-Muslimeen have collaborated since at least 2006. The event was full of anti-Semitic propaganda including Holocaust denial.[3]
Jamaat Al-Muslimeen was formed around 1980 and also goes by the name of Jamaat al-Baltimore.[4] It is headquartered in Baltimore and linked to three mosques in the area.[5] The group has links to the U.S. branches of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.[6]
Jamaat Al-Muslimeen is also the name of a radical group in Trinidad that MOA is reportedly linked to. The Baltimore-based group does not openly state an affiliation with the Trinidad-based group of the same name, but it seems unlikely that both would form under the same name around the same time and never change in order to avoid confusion. Both of them have links to MOA and are similar ideologically.
Link to Gwynn Oak Islamic Community in Baltimore
A MOA front called the Islamic Political Party of America made an Internet posting in 2011 that referred to the Gwynn Oak Islamic Community. The community’s website says it consists of 60 Muslim families living within the Howard Park-Gwynn Oak area.[7] Sources confirm that MOA members have lived in Gwynn Oak recently and likely remain there.
Walker’s Trailer Park, Marydel
A September 1994 Maryland State Police report says that the state branch of Fuqra/MOA came under investigation starting in January 1993.
A robbery in August 1994 happened in Marydel and the trail of the suspects led to Walker’s Trailer Park, where residents have been linked to various criminal investigations. The police found an Uzi and 9mm semi-automatic firearm hidden inside of an abandoned washing machine at the property of a suspect. The owner was Stephanika Safiya Benu. The report also describes surveillance of a MOA safehouse in Riverdale.
Drug Trafficking
MOA member Bilal Abdullah Ben Benu was convicted for possession of crack cocaine in Maryland in 1992. He was later arrested in December 2001 at the Red House, Virginia compound for illegally buying guns and lying about being a felon.[8]
[1] 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
[1] Al-Fuqra: Holy Warriors of Terrorism.” (1993). Anti-Defamation League: http://archive.adl.org/extremism/moa/al-fuqra.pdf
[2] Jasser, M. Zuhdi. (2010). “AIFD Briefer: Connecting the Dots of Islamism—Jibril Hough, The Islamic Political Party of America (IPPA) and the Jamaat Al-Muslimeen (JAM). American-Islamic Forum for Democracy. http://aifdemocracy.org/aifd-briefer-connecting-the-dots-of-islamism-jibril-hough-the-islamic-political-party-of-america-ippa-and-the-jamaat-al-muslimeen-jam/
[3] “Far Right and Muslim Extremists Gather in Baltimore.” (2008). Anti-Defamation League. http://archive.adl.org/main_anti_israel/jamaat_baltimore_conference.html#.V8e6tpgrIz4
[4] “Jamaat Al-Baltimore (JAM).” Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium. http://www.trackingterrorism.org/group/jamaat-al-baltimore-jam
[5] Berger, J.M. (2011). “Baltimore’s Jamaat Al-Muslimeen: Promoting a Radical but Disciplined Message on Jihad.” Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/baltimore%E2%80%99s-jamaat-al-muslimeen-promoting-a-radical-but-disciplined-message-on-jihad
[6] “Accused Bomb Plotter’s Mosque Tied to Radical Group.” (2010). Investigative Project on Terrorism. http://www.investigativeproject.org/2412/accused-bomb-plotter-mosque-tied-to-radical-group#
[7] Gwynn Oak Islamic Community / Masjid Al-Ihsan. http://www.gicoak.org/
[8] “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
