The Institute on Religion & Democracy
South Carolina’s “Holy Islamville”
Ryan Mauro
April 25, 2012
South Carolina officials need to understand what Islamville really is.
(Photo credit: World
Threats)
A radical Pakistani cleric named Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani and his
followers testify to the holiness of a shrine where miracles allegedly prove
his
supernatural powers. The shrine isn't in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia or anywhere
in the Islamic world. It's in York County, South Carolina, inside a commune
about 36 acres large called "_Holy Islamville_
(http://www.holyislamvillesc.org/) ," located on a street named Islamville
Way.
It was founded in 1982 by a group called Muslims of the Americas (_MOA_
(http://www.adl.org/extremism/moa/default.asp) ), led by the aforementioned
Gilani. The Department of Homeland Security _says_
(http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/31/politics/31threat.html?_r=1) it is linked
to _Jamaat ul-Fuqra_
(http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/terroristoutfits/jamaat-ul-fuq
ra.htm) , a Pakistani militant group also led by Glani. The State
Department describes ul-Fuqra as "an Islamic sect that seeks to purify Islam
through violence."
Fuqra was behind many assassinations and bombings between 1979 and the
early 1990s. Its biggest plot aimed to kill 4,500 Indians in Toronto during
the Festival of Lights in 1991. Its destructive capacity first caught the
FBI's attention in 1989 because of a raid on a storage locker in Colorado
Springs. They discovered weapons and plans for various attacks, including a
scheme to murder Imam Rashad Khalifa in Arizona in 1990. They succeeded,
killing him exactly as the seized papers said they would. Two Fuqra members
were
allegedly _involved _
(http://politicsofcp.blogspot.com/2005/10/more-background-on-fuqra.html) in the
1993 World Trade Center bombing and dramatic
plots against New York City.
In October 1992, Fuqra's 101-acre compound at Buena Vista, Colorado was
shut down. The authorities discovered it was a full-blown terrorist training
camp. The members financed their efforts through a web of fake companies
and various _criminal activities_
(https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/209520.pdf) . A poem by Gilani was
found that reads: "Come join my troops
and army/Says our Sheikh Gilani/Prepare to sacrifice your head/A true
believer is never dead/Say ‘Victory is in the Air'/The kafir's blood will not
be
spared." That's the sheikh who the residents of Islamville and the other MOA
compounds view as a representative of Allah that meets with Jesus in
heaven, heals diseases, transforms into animals, instantly transports and
leaves
his body at will.
The MOA says it has 22 "villages" around the country, with its _Islamberg_
(http://www.islamberg.org/) headquarters in Hancock, New York being the
most notorious. In a secret recruitment tape made by Gilani, he states the
purpose of these villages: "We are establishing training camps." He tells
viewers that they "are most welcome to join one of the most advanced training
courses in Islamic military warfare" by contacting the group's offices in
Pakistan or several locations in the U.S., including South Carolina. That's
Islamville.
The video then shows the type of training being offered: Hijacking
vehicles, use of firearms, hijacking vehicles, setting off explosives, etc.
Gilani
makes it clear that he isn't just focused on Kashmir. "We are fighting to
destroy the enemy. We are dealing with evil at its roots and its roots are
America," he says. Excerpts from the tape were first released in a film
titled "Homegrown Jihad" and later in _"The Third Jihad._
(http://www.radicalislam.org/) "
The tape was dismissed by some because of its old age and the fact that it
was filmed in Pakistan. A law enforcement source later provided me with
two more of the MOA's films. The first showed women living at Islamberg in
New York training in guerilla warfare, complete in military fatigue. The
second is a propaganda tape where MOA leaders declare America a Muslim country
and vow to defend it from foreign and domestic enemies. I gave the films to
the Christian Action Network to _release to the public._
(http://youtu.be/ebg6AFylios)
I then was contacted by a source that offered to record gunfire coming out
of Islamville. The first two recordings arrived in November 2009 (click
_here_ (http://youtu.be/QK2GM5KhkQ4) and _here_ (http://youtu.be/HfDef6E-vxQ)
). There are five from March 6, 2011 (click _here_
(http://youtu.be/H221cF54Zyg) , _here_ (http://youtu.be/1VB6WADVfho) , _here_
(http://youtu.be/ev-RmXS0fYo) , _here _ (http://youtu.be/a2a2oAItOtw) and
_here_
(http://youtu.be/p46DoV0izPw) ). Four more were taken on May 4, 2011(click
_here_
(http://youtu.be/nCSrnetbImM) , _here_ (http://youtu.be/kkNlowUYPUk) , _here_
(http://youtu.be/Wc7O7VYEWRQ) , and _here_ (http://youtu.be/fhmWgpLjZwU) ). On
January 26, 2012, two explosions were heard coming from Islamville at around
4:30 PM. This was followed by gunfire 20 minutes later. On February 11, a
louder explosion that shook the homes of neighbors at 2:50 PM was reported to
police. The neighbors called each other and none could explain what
happened. On April 6, there were two explosions at around 2:10 PM, described
as
being the loudest yet, the source reported.
One neighbor _told _
(http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2010/04/25/1440656/neighbors-wary-of-muslim-village.html)
the Charleston Post and Courier that
he has seen a guard carrying an AK-47 and hears gunfire at night. Another
_said_ (http://www.wsoctv.com/news/22537340/detail.html) she has seen AK-47s
and M-16s being carried by Islamville residents in the words. This is
especially concerning when you consider the criminal records of some of those
that have lived there.
In 1971, a man named Frank Nelson shot a security guard at a Long Island
college. He wasn't arrested until September 2005 when he was _found_
(http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1497174/posts) living right next to
Islamville. He had converted to Islam and changed his name to Abdullah Ali. In
1996, a man named Edward Flinton was _arrested_
(http://politicsofcp.blogspot.com/2006/04/incarceration-of-edward-flinton.html)
at Islamville. He had
masterminded Fuqra's attempted bombing of a hotel in Portland in 1983, a
1984 bombing of a Hare Krishna temple in Denver and the murder of Imam
Khalifa in 1990. A _registered_
(http://www.icrimewatch.net/offenderdetails.php?OfndrID=567828&AgencyID=54575)
sex offender also _lived_
(http://politicsofcp.blogspot.com/2007/05/registered-sex-offender-living-at-holy.html)
in
Islamville as of 2007 but is now in Georgia.
The children at Islamville and other MOA compounds are homeschooled.
Islamville shares an address with a school called the Ace Academy, a mosque
named Masjid Fatimah and a company called Al-Oasis Tech. What are the children
being taught?
MOA believes that "jinn beings" loyal to the "Satanist-Zionist conspiracy"
take over the minds of influential Westerners in order to wage war on
Muslims. Movies like Star Wars, Harry Potter, Avatar, Lord of the Rings and
The
Exorcist are _used_
(http://www.islamicpostonline.com/article/american_muslim_medical_relief_team_launch_abdul_qadir_gilani_sufic_scientific_and_psychia
tr) as conduits to corrupt minds. Gilani teaches that "Jews are examples
of human Satans," _refers to_
(http://www.iqou-moa.org/the-islamic-post/editorial/i.q.o.u-vice-chancellor-presents-historic-evidence-of-situations-create
d-to-cast-islam-as-the-enemy.html) Osama Bin Laden as a "Saudi activist,"
and his group is _adamant_ (http://www.umcforum.org/latest/un-rally.jspx)
that 9/11 was a Jewish conspiracy. The MOA's newspaper _favorably compares_
(http://frontpagemag.com/2010/10/21/ahmadinejads-american-supporters/)
Iranian President Ahmadinejad to the Mahdi for his statements regarding 9/11.
The children at the Colorado camp that was shut down were given
paramilitary training.
MOA has had an astonishing amount of success in building relations with
_the media_
(http://www.heraldonline.com/2011/02/19/2848166/hundreds-of-muslims-to-gather.html)
, elected officials and law enforcement personnel. The
group's interfaith front, the _United Muslim Christian Forum_
(http://www.umcforum.org/) , is endorsed by Binghamton Mayor Matthew T. Ryan
and Owego
Mayor Edward Arrington. It just held _its 7th annual event_
(http://www.umcforum.org/calendar/7th-annual-united-muslim-christian-celebration-mankind-is-the-f
amily-of-god.jspx) at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C. on April 21.
I attended its last event on April 16, 2011, where I confronted the leader
of MOA's "village" at Red House, Virginia. You can read about that _here._
(http://frontpagemag.com/2011/07/27/confronting-muslims-of-the-americas/)
York Mayor Eddie Lee and the York County Sheriff have attended Islamville
_events_
(http://www.heraldonline.com/2011/02/19/2848166/hundreds-of-muslims-to-gather.html)
. In 2004, an FBI Special Agent in Charge spoke at the
ceremony of Islamville's Muslim Scouts of America, as is _shown on its
website._
(http://www.iqou-moa.org/muslim_scouts/les_weiser.htm) About 300 Boy
Scouts _attended_
(http://www.heraldonline.com/2011/02/19/2848166/hundreds-of-muslims-to-gather.html)
a camp in Islamville in 2006.
The MOA ideology's of basically worshipping Gilani is at odds with the
Muslim Brotherhood, but there is evidence of a connection. In 1974, a
non-profit named "Ikhwanul Muslimun" was registered as a church. That means
"Muslim
Brotherhood." If you enter that name into a search engine, the only
organization that pops up is the Muslim Brotherhood. The contact name for it
is a
person who lives at Islamberg.
A Muslim Brotherhood strategy document in 1991 describes the group's
phased plan for jihad in America. Phase 4 includes "training on the use of
weapons domestically." It said that there are "noticeable activities in this
regard." Was it referring to MOA? I'm not aware of any other Muslim
paramilitary training centers, especially in 1991.
South Carolinia officials need to understand what Islamville really is.
--
Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community
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