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 Islamberg sits about 150 miles northwest of New York City, but the
small enclave of Muslim families living on shared land feels a world
away from city life, which is what its founders intended 30 years
ago, when they established the hamlet on 70 acres of pasture land
and dense woods in upstate New York.
Last month, however, the community's serenity was disrupted by news
that a Tennessee man had pleaded guilty to charges of plotting an
attack on Islamberg and its residents.
Formed by a group of African-American Muslims from New York City,
the community follows the teachings of Pakistani Sufi cleric Mubarik
Ali Shah Gilani, who during the 1980s urged his American acolytes to
leave metropolitan areas and establish rural communities centered on
religious life.
Today, Islamberg is one of about a dozen Muslim enclaves formed in
accordance with the cleric's ideas. It also serves as home to
Muslims of America, a Gilani-founded organization.
“We’re living the American dream,” said Faruq Baqi, 39, who moved to
Islamberg with his family as a child, and now works in
telecommunications at a nearby hospital.
An array of far-right organizations see things very differently.
Dozens of internet postings and a documentary film have
characterized the community as a training camp for terrorists and
its residents as Islamist warriors.
 One blog on the Christian Action Network, for example, described the
settlement as "America's first Islamic government," and warned that
children are being raised to fight a holy war, that girls are denied
an education and that rule breakers "are often tied to trees and
whipped for disobeying."
Robert Doggart, a one-time congressional candidate from Tennessee,
embraced that sort of overheated rhetoric as he plotted his attack
on the Muslim enclave.
In wire-tapped phone calls and in meetings with Federal Bureau of
Investigation informants, Doggart put out the call for a militia to
attack Islamberg, saying he intended to destroy its mosque and gun
down residents who tried to stop him.
Doggart said he planned to take an assault rifle, armor-piercing
ammunition and other weapons including a machete. "If it gets down
to the machete, we will cut them to shreds," he said, according to
the criminal complaint.
A GREAT PLACE TO RAISE CHILDREN
Islamberg residents say they are disheartened and puzzled by the
vitriol leveled at them and alarmed by the plotting.
"Unfortunately, it’s not going to stop," said Hussein Adams, who
grew up in Islamberg and is now a top official at Muslims of
America. "But we’re not going to stop continuing to live our lives."
Adams and other residents say they are law-abiding and hard-working
Americans who live harmoniously while practicing their faith.
During a recent several-hour visit by a Reuters reporter, the
community seemed organized and placid. Women tended vegetables in
planter boxes, while young girls in head scarves and boys in knitted
caps played nearby. Several Muslims of America leaders and two of
the group's lawyers remained present, but did not try to control
what other residents said.
Safiyya Haqq, 67, who left Brooklyn with her five children as one of
Islamberg's founding members, recalled the hamlet's early days. "It
was just so peaceful here, a great place to raise your children,"
she said.
Two of her adult offspring still reside at Islamberg, and many of
the community's 20 or so dwellings house three generations.
Residents said that a number of those who grew up in the town
returned after attending college because they value what life in
Islamberg has to offer.
 Residents point out that they don't live in complete isolation. Most
of the adults in Islamberg make lengthy daily commutes to work in
nearby towns or cities. Men have beards and prayer caps and women
wear headscarves and long dresses, but they also own and drive cars,
work, study and vote in local and national elections. And while
Islamberg children are home-schooled, they engage in sports and
social activities in nearby towns. At a dinner gathering in an Islamberg home, residents dismissed the
idea that they are training for a holy war or engaged in violence of
any sort.
“If you come here, you see that there’s no threat,” said Bilqees
Abdallah, a nurse practitioner.
They pointed with pride to the mosque, seasonal ice cream store and
cemetery the town has built and talked of plans for a school and a
health center.
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During interviews, they condemned tactics used by the Islamic State,
including beheadings, and said they did not consider the group to be
true Muslims.
As to the women of Islamberg: "We’re not only confident, we’re very
strong and we are very opinionated,” said 25-year resident Khadijah
Smith, who is now retired from her job as a sales representative for
American International Group, Inc. and serves as the assistant chief
executive of Muslims of America.
CONTROVERSIAL PAST?
Much of the focus of Islamberg's detractors has been on Muslims of
America founder Gilani. Islamberg residents say the cleric, who they
believe has healing powers, preaches peace and has taught
African-American Muslims the importance of education and healthy
living.
"He has been our inspiration, a guidance for us and our community,"
said Adams.
But during the 1980s and early 1990s, when the group went under the
name Muslims of the Americas, it was linked by government and other
researchers to a group called Jamaat ul-Fuqra. Several people
connected with ul-Fuqra - though not any Islamberg residents - were
implicated in plots against a Hindu sect and against a Muslim leader
in Detroit. Gilani has said that he and the Muslims of America have
"no knowledge of the existence" of ul-Fuqra.
As recently as 2002, Muslims of the Americas also posted on its
website writing characterized as "virulently anti-Semitic" by the
Anti-Defamation League.
Gilani came under renewed scrutiny after the 2002 murder of Wall
Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was working on a story
about "shoe bomber" Richard Reid at the time. On the morning he was
abducted, Pearl believed he was going to meet with Gilani. Gilani
was later cleared from involvement both with Reid and with the Pearl
murder.
While allegations about today's Muslims of America still flourish on
the Internet, experts and law enforcement officials contacted by
Reuters dismissed the idea that the group has violent intentions.
"There is little evidence ... to suggest that those compounds have
any connection to terrorist training," said Oren Segal, director of
the Center on Extremism at the Anti-Defamation League. None of the
Americans arrested on terror-related charges since the 9/11 attacks
have been connected to the Muslim of America hamlets, he added.
Current Muslim of America members say they respect people of all
religious faiths, including those who are Jewish. Members could not
be reached for follow-up comment about past hate speech postings
attributed to the group.
Law enforcement officials in nearby towns say they have seen little
cause for concern about Islamberg.
“We haven’t really had any big issues with them,” said Delaware
County Sheriff Thomas Mills, adding that he couldn’t recall a time
when law enforcers had responded to a civil or criminal matter in
Islamberg during his 17 years as sheriff.
And although the traditional Muslim attire of the group's residents
makes them stand out in nearby working-class towns that favor
flannel shirts and fishing waders, neighbors reported that the
people of Islamberg generally keep a low profile.
Michelle Phoenix, town clerk in nearby Tompkins, says her exchanges
with the Muslim group have been friendly, though she knows its
members make some residents nervous.
Hancock resident Rose Mulqueen, 56, summed up the most common
sentiment heard in the area. “I don’t know much about them,” she
said “All I know is that they don’t bother anyone.”
(Reporting by Laila Kearney; Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball;
Editing by Paul Thomasch and Sue Horton)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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