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Sheikh Gilani, Jamaat ul-Fuqra, radical Muslim paramilitary compounds

Fox News reports Islamberg fears as "unfounded"

By Judi McLeod

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Living life in and around "Islamberg" just got a lot more stressful.

According to Fox News' Michael Y. Park, Islamberg could be a terror compound in New York...or merely a question of "Misunderstood Neighbors".

For those to whom it matters most, that's quite a stretch.

Citing local residents who say fears about Islamberg are unfounded, Park described the region as a "hunter's paradise".

"Practice shooting is a nearly universal hobby in the area, and the sounds of explosions most likely come from a very nearby quarry." (Fox News, June 12, 2007).

But authorities, including the Colorado Department of Law, who busted a now defunct commune in Colorado, describe these compounds in a much different way.

Shrouded in mountain mists for the past two decades, Islamberg, the 70-acre compound at the foot of the Catskill Mountains near Hancock, New York has been dragged into the sunlight of newspaper and Internet headlines recently.

In past weeks, public interest in radical Muslim paramilitary compounds was reawakened. Readers, who flooded Canada Free Press (CFP) when excerpts from Dr. Paul Williams' book, The Day of Islam were posted to CFP's cover on May 11, wanted to know what, if anything, authorities were doing about Islamberg

Dozens, worried about relatives living in close proximity to the compound, wanted a better map than the one that was featured in the Williams' story.

For larger image please click here:

CFP tekkie Brian Thompson enlarged the map and sent a link to all who had requested a better view.

For anyone truly looking, the compound which sits on land near the huge reservoir system that provides New York City with most of its drinking water, is not all that difficult to find.

Newspaper accounts claim that compounds like Islamberg exist in some 19 states. Authorities say there are more like 30 that are somewhat mobile. At last count they listed only several among the 30 in the radical Muslim paramilitary category.

As far as is known, the first person to actually suss out Islamberg was Doug Hagmann. Following up on rumours that locals were hearing the sounds of gunfire and even explosions coming from the site, Hagmann, director of the Northeast Intelligence Network, filed his first investigative report on Feb. 12, 2006.

An angry rant from compound founder, radical Islam cleric Sheikh Syed Mubarik Ali Shah Gilani was all Hagmann got for his trouble. Sheikh Gilani posted the anti-Hagmann rant on is home page back in Pakistan.

Seemingly a law unto itself, the self-contained commune known as Islamberg is home to more than 100 Muslims, all of whom follow the teachings of Sheikh Gilani.

Interest in the relatively ignored Islamberg originated in the aftermath of 9/11.

Although they planted no crescent moon flag on the property, the original settlers of Islamberg were a ragtag group of mostly black Muslims from out of Brooklyn. The legend goes that they were getting out of New York to escape crime, poverty and racism. Crime, poverty and racism have long been part of life in many inner city cores. But there has been no stampede to colonize since the hippie communes of the 1970s.

The Islamberg settlers struck out on their own having been inspired by the words of Sheikh Gilani, whose followers quietly set up communities in a total of 19 states.

The rusted trailers, makeshift lean-tos and a bullet-ridden school bus published by newspapers and Internet websites, are not the only features to be found inside the grounds of Islamberg. According to their own website, there are now 40 family homes. The spread is occupied by about 100 Muslims, mostly converts, many recruited in federal prisons. The established colony boasts its own grocery store and bookstore.

While the inhabitants of the compounds that have sprung up in 19 states describe themselves as Muslims of the peaceful persuasion, their spiritual leader is suspected of being the dead opposite.

Sheikh Gilani, who conducts business from Lahore, Pakistan, is suspected by authorities of being one of the founders of a group called Jamaat ul-Fuqra, a group that the U.S. and Pakistan say is behind a long list of terrorist activities around the world, including murders of rival religious figures in the U.S.

Gilani also was the man American reporter Daniel Pearl was going to see when he was abducted and murdered.

According to Gilani, he had nothing to do with Pearl's death. Ditto for the infamous Jamaat ul-Fuqra.

We can take it as fact from Colorado Attorney General John W. Suthers that "In addition to being suspected of committing numerous acts of domestic terrorism, Fuqra members in the United States have been suspected of committing fraud against various governmental entitlement programs in an effort to financially support their activities."

"Colorado's investigation indicated that the United States Fuqra movement was composed of approximately 30 different 'Jamaats' or communities, somewhat mobile in nature. Most of these 'Jamaats' are believed to currently exist today, along with what investigators deemed to be several 'covert paramilitary training compounds'--one of which had been located in a remote mountainous area near Buena Vista, Colorado prior to Colorado's prosecutions in the mid-1990s. The corresponding Fuqra 'Jamaat' to the Buena Vista compound was located in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

"Five Fuqra members were ultimately prosecuted between 1993 and 1994

"One of the Fuqra defendants convicted was James D. Williams. After his conviction in 1993 for conspiracy to commit first degree murder, racketeering and forgery, Williams fled and remained a fugitive until being apprehended in Virginia in August 2000. He was returned to Colorado and sentenced in March 2001 to 69 years in prison.

"Fuqra or its members have been investigated for alleged terrorist acts including murder and arson in New York, Detroit, Philadelphia, Toronto, Denver, Los Angeles and Tucson. Ul Fuqra is suspected of more than 13 firebomings and, at least, as many murders in the United States."

Unlike Williams and Hagmann before him, Michael Y. Park of Fox News never made it inside Islamberg.

"Islamberg's elders refused a request to visit with them and tour the compound, citing a recent spate of negative publicity. For now, it remains an enigma in the mountains."

Meanwhile, is Islamberg "A Terror Compound in New York...or Misunderstood Neighbors?"

Until they know for sure, people living in close proximity shouldn't be nodding off anytime soon.

To borrow a phrase from Fox News: "We report it, you decide."

Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com


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