A community living in a rural Islamic enclave in New York has expressed its frustration at repeated accusations that it is training terrorists.
The village of Islamberg, situated 120 miles northwest of New York City, was set up in 1980 and is the headquarters of the Muslims of America organization.
But the enclave just west of the Catskill Mountains is dogged by terror accusations, many spread on right-wing websites.
Bikers ‘against jihad’ have rumbled by in protest, and one Tennessee man was imprisoned after plotting to burn down the mosque.
Police and analysts dismiss the terror camp claims, but their persistence frustrates people in this insular community of several hundred residents.
Tahirah Clark, an attorney for the Muslim enclave of Islamberg, prays in the community’s mosque
A girl studies for school while a man chops wood in front of a house in the community
Men pray at the mosque at Islamberg. The enclave just west of the Catskill Mountains is dogged by terror accusations, many spread on right-wing websites
Hussein Adams says claims that the community have been training for acts of terror is ‘nonsense’
‘It’s a bunch of nonsense,’ said Hussein Adams, chief executive of The Muslims of America, which operates this community and 21 others in North America. ‘For the last 30-plus years, we’ve been training for this jihad? So why hasn’t this jihad taken place?’
Followers of Pakistani cleric Sheikh Mubarik Gilani settled Islamberg in the 1980s, fleeing crime and crowding in New York City. The settlers wanted a better place to raise their children.
‘You can have them come outside and play without fear or worry that someone will bother them or attack them,’ said Khadijah Smith, 47, who has lived in Islamberg for 26 years.
Residents work locally as contractors, paralegals, welders, doctors, engineers and plumbers. Many live in manufactured homes on more than 60 acres of property owned by the group.
Children are home-schooled, but some play organized sports with other’s in the area.
People in this overwhelmingly white area are used to seeing women with head scarves pushing carts at the market. If there’s a prevailing attitude here, it seems to be live and let live.
‘They don’t bother anybody. And that’s the No. 1 rule in the country,’ said Sally Zegers, editor and publisher of the local Hancock Herald.
Rashid Clark discusses his Muslim community while standing outside the enclave’s mosque
Muslim schoolboys stop to drink from a pipe carrying well water
Followers of Pakistani cleric Sheikh Mubarik Gilani settled Islamberg in the 1980s
The Muslims are mindful about security, especially since Robert Doggart, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was convicted this year on federal charges for what authorities called plans to burn down the mosque in Islamberg in 2015.
‘We will be cruel to them,’ Doggart said, according to the criminal complaint.
‘Up until Robert Doggart I would leave my door open,’ Smith said. ‘I don’t do that anymore. I lock my door.’
Islamberg leaders unambiguously reject violent ideology, but that has done little to stem claims on the internet that it is a terror compound.
The arrest this summer of a man named Ramadan Abdullah 40 miles away with a major weapons cache inspired a bogus headline that a federal raid in the community uncovered ‘America’s WORST Nightmare.’
Police say they have no indication that Abdullah ever lived in Islamberg.
Many of the claims center on the group’s spiritual leader, Gilani, and what was described as his pivotal role with Jamaat al-Fuqra, a group linked by the U.S. government in 1999 to violent criminal activity in the 1980s.
Analysts describe The Muslims of America as an outgrowth or a successor to al-Fuqra, though members say they have never had an affiliation with the terrorist organisation.
Still, there is a lack of evidence linking The Muslims of America to violence, said Oren Segal, director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism.
Tahirah Clark, left, and Faruq Baqi walk with New York State Police Capt. Scott Heggelke, pictured center
Islamberg leaders unambiguously reject violent ideology, but that has done little to stem claims on the internet that it is a terror compound
A store selling Muslim products in Islamberg. Police and analysts dismiss the terror camp claims, but the persistant accusations frustrate people living in this insular community
He added some of Gilani’s past rhetoric has been a concern, such as repeating the conspiracy theory that 4,000 Jews employed at the World Trade Center were ‘conveniently absent’ on the day of the September 11 attacks.
But he notes that none of the more than 500 people arrested on terror charges since the attacks have a known affiliation with The Muslims of America.
‘I think the predominant narrative of terrorist training camps is one that is, first of all, unproven,’ Segal said. ‘But … I think is used to create broader fear against Muslim communities.’
New York State Police Major James Barnes said his troopers have a good relationship with the community. Officers have even been invited to Islamberg to give talks to youths about law enforcement careers and other issues.
His concern is outside groups coming to the community to protest, requiring a sizable police presence to keep the peace.
‘These folks that live here are American citizens. They’ve lived here for over 30 years. They built this community. They have ties within, outside of this community,’ Barnes said. ‘And there’s not a problem here.’