Al-Fuqra: America’s Forgotten Terror Network
For 40 years, this Pakistani-linked cult built compounds, trained soldiers, and hid behind nonprofit status.
Denial time is over. So is the fantasy.
For decades, Americans have been told that Islamic Jihad was always “over there.” Those terror cells don’t grow in our neighborhoods. That religious cults don’t train for war inside U.S. borders. That if they did, surely the government would stop them.
All of that is a lie.
Al-Fuqra didn’t just exist; it thrived. It builds compounds. Recruits from prisons. Trains for jihad. Hide behind nonprofits. And grows daily.
This isn’t theory. This isn’t speculation.
It’s proven. Documented. Convicted.
And what follows will shatter what you thought you knew.
In the early 1980s, a Pakistani cleric named Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani launched a recruitment campaign from halfway across the world. His goal? Bring the doctrine of militant Islam to American soil through the vulnerable, the isolated, and the incarcerated.
He called his movement Jamaat ul-Fuqra “The Community of the Impoverished.” But this wasn’t about poverty. It was about power. And it didn’t take long for that power to grow legs in the U.S.
Eventually, they rebranded as “Muslims of America” (MOA), a tax-exempt nonprofit with a wholesome new image. But the ideology never changed. They were still loyal to Gilani. Still preaching jihad. Still building Islamic compounds in rural America. And still committed to the same goal: create a Sharia-based parallel society within the West.
“You live among kuffar but do not belong to them. Your allegiance is to the Jamaat, to Islam, and to your Amir.”
—Internal MOA Study Guide, leaked 2003
Built in Pakistan. Planted in U.S. Soil. Trained for War.
Gilani began his American expansion through prison conversions, focusing on Black inmates during a time of political, racial, and religious upheaval. Islam was marketed as strength, but what he taught was not spiritual; it was military.
As converts were released, they were directed to MOA rural compounds: secluded, self-governed enclaves with their own internal justice system, religious schooling, and paramilitary training. The most infamous of these include:
Islamberg, NY (Hancock)
Islamville, SC
Red House, VA
Baladullah, CA
Commerce, GA
York County, PA
At one point, there were more than 20 compounds across the U.S., all aligned with Gilani’s teachings and training methodologies. They were not mosques. They were bases.
Al-Fuqra’s operations are not limited to the U.S. They’ve been linked to:
Canadian bomb plots (1991 Toronto-based attacks on Hindu temples)
Kashmiri jihad movements backed by Pakistani handlers
Suspected training camps in Pakistan and the Caribbean
Mubarak Gilani himself was the man Daniel Pearl was trying to interview before he was kidnapped and beheaded by al-Qaeda operatives in 2002. That connection alone should’ve sparked a full investigation. Instead, it was swept away with the press cycle.
Inside the Doctrine: Jihad, Hatred, and Weapons
Gilani’s doctrine isn’t hidden. His books and video lectures openly describe infidel society as corrupt, Jews as enemies, and jihad as a defensive and offensive duty.
Children in MOA compounds are raised on these teachings. Former insiders have testified that boys are trained with firearms, and girls are taught Sharia obedience and modesty above all else. Apostates are cast out. Whistleblowers fear for their lives.
One former member described his training this way:
“They said when the day comes, we’ll know who our enemies are—and we’ll have the skills to do what Allah commands.”
—Anonymous ex-MOA member, 2010 affidavit
Other former insiders describe it:
Forced child marriages
Beatings of disobedient wives
Internal Sharia courts with no access to outside help
Punishments for apostasy, including public shaming, isolation, and even exile
They are militarizing isolation, teaching hate, and raising generations on jihad doctrine right here on U.S. soil.
And still, these compounds operate in the open.
From Terror Network to 501(c)(3)
In 1990, following a series of criminal convictions tied to al-Fuqra—including bombings, fraud, and conspiracy—the group rebranded as “Muslims of America” (MOA). It was officially incorporated in New York as a nonprofit religious organization. Their stated mission? “Promoting peace, education, and interfaith harmony.”
But behind that peaceful veneer:
They run private Sharia courts within their compounds. According to former MOA member Ali Abdel Aziz, these courts handled marriage disputes, child custody, and apostasy punishments—outside U.S. law.
They collect zakat funds through affiliated groups such as the United Muslim Christian Forum, which publicly praises Sheikh Gilani and funnels donations to MOA programs. A 2012 Clarion Project report traced these funds to overseas “Islamic missions” with no financial transparency.
They host annual gatherings at Islamberg and Islamville, described by attendees as "ideological renewal retreats" that include weapons drills, Quran memorization, and pledge ceremonies to the Jamaat.
In 2009, a leaked MOA curriculum titled Quranic Studies for Jamaat Ul-Fuqra Communities included teachings that Jews are enemies of Islam, that Western democracy is shirk, and that Sharia must be the ruling law among believers.
“They’re using their nonprofit status to indoctrinate, not educate. And they’re getting away with it.”
—Retired NY State Police officer, 2015 deposition on MOA raids
And yet, they remain tax-exempt. Protected by the very system they seek to replace.
The Feds Knew Everything and Still Let Them Stay
Al-Fuqra wasn’t just under suspicion—they were investigated, infiltrated, indicted, and even convicted.
Yet they remain operational to this day.
1993: A Colorado Springs firebombing plot, targeting a Hare Krishna temple and an Indian-owned hotel. Traced back to Fuqra operatives, five members were arrested, convicted, and linked directly to Gilani’s network.
1991: Law enforcement in Colorado discovered a Fuqra safehouse filled with false IDs, bomb-making manuals, and surveillance photos of potential targets.
1990: Dr. Rashad Khalifa, a reformist Muslim scholar in Tucson, Arizona, was stabbed to death 29 times in his mosque. His killer, Glen Cusford Francis (aka Benjamin Phillips), was later arrested and confirmed to be a member of al-Fuqra.
The motive? Khalifa’s writings were declared “heretical” by Gilani and others.1992: In Canada, Fuqra members plotted the bombing of a Hindu temple and an Indian theater in Toronto. The group was connected to the same ideology, structure, and leadership.
1995: Authorities uncovered an MOA training camp in Baladullah, California, equipped with weapons, bunkers, and Islamic texts calling for violent jihad.
2000s–2010s: Repeated FBI and DHS bulletins warn of “Islamic villages” operating in the U.S. with armed drills and extremist literature.
2012: The Clarion Project released video footage and affidavits from former members describing paramilitary exercises, forced marriages, and ideological brainwashing at Islamberg and other compounds.
2002: The U.S. State Department labeled them a “terrorist organization” in its Patterns of Global Terrorism report.
2006: A declassified FBI report confirmed their ongoing activities included “violence, fraud, and military-style training.”
“Members of the organization have been convicted of crimes ranging from fraud to murder, all in furtherance of their ideology.”
—FBI Declassified Report, 2006
Known al-Fuqra Members & Criminals
🔸 Glen Cusford Francis
Alias: Benjamin Phillips
Crime: Assassinated Dr. Rashad Khalifa in 1990.
Status: Arrested in 2009 in Canada; extradited and convicted in 2012.
Affiliation: Confirmed al-Fuqra operative.
🔸 James D. Williams
Crime: Arrested in Colorado in 1992 for conspiracy, weapons possession, and firebomb plots.
Evidence found: False IDs, target lists, Islamic extremist literature.
Affiliation: Member of a Fuqra cell tied to the Colorado Springs plot.
🔸 Mustafa Shakur (formerly James Thomas)
Crime: Fraud, false identification, and planning of targeted attacks.
Testified: Admitted under oath to al-Fuqra ties and described ideological oaths to Gilani.
Affiliation: California-based Fuqra member.
🔸 Khidr Awan (formerly James D. Thompson)
Crime: Charged alongside Williams in 1993 for involvement in the Colorado plots.
Documents seized: Manuals on explosives, martial arts, and surveillance techniques for targeting specific individuals.
🔸 Yahya Muhammad
Role: Suspected recruiter and compound enforcer in New York and South Carolina compounds.
Not formally charged, but flagged by multiple FBI bulletins from 2001 to 2008.
And yet nothing was dismantled.
The compounds stayed open. The training continued.
And the cult grew stronger, with Washington’s full knowledge.
CNN’s Blindfold. CAIR’s Cover Story. The Narrative Shield.
Why haven’t you heard about any of this?
Because it destroys the narrative, a black Muslim cult training for jihad in America doesn’t serve the media’s agenda. So they ignore it or smear anyone who dares mention it.
Organizations like CAIR and MPAC immediately cry “Islamophobia” when MOA is scrutinized. The SPLC and ADL refuse to touch it. And legacy media? Dead silent.
Even during the height of the War on Terror, al-Fuqra stayed off the headlines.
“If they were white Christian men doing the same drills in the woods, the FBI would’ve burned those camps to the ground.”
—Local law enforcement source, 2018 interview
Gunfire in the Woods and a Sharia Army Next Door
Residents in areas near MOA compounds have reported hearing gunfire, explosions, and seeing military-style drills. Former members describe isolation, brainwashing, and beatings for disobedience.
Despite this, the DOJ has not dismantled a single compound. Not under Biden. Not under Trump. Not under Obama. Because the political cost is too high.
They fear lawsuits. They fear media backlash. They fear being labeled bigots. So instead of protecting America, they protect the cult.
A Domestic Jihad Cult And a National Disgrace
This is a militant cult tied to convicted terrorists, run by a foreign ideologue, training children in armed doctrine, and protected by political cowardice.
They were investigated. They were exposed. And they were allowed to stay.
“The compound is more than a mosque. It’s a boot camp. And we’re the targets.”
—Anonymous former resident near Islamville, SC
The next time they act, it won’t be a mystery. It’ll be another preventable betrayal paid for in blood.
And this time, you don’t get to say you didn’t know.
The camps, guns, and indoctrination of American children are real.
And the government that lets it continue?
Also real. And also complicit.
So don’t just read this. Send it to your sheriff. Send it to your governor.
Ask your Congress member why a designated terror group is still holding tactical drills on U.S. soil.
And ask yourself what happens when the next Glen Francis decides to act.
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Because silence is surrender, and we’ve been silent long enough.
The death cult