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It was 7:45 PM on Wednesday, March 22, 2006, when two FBI agents visited my home. Although I had been working as an operational asset for the FBI since the mid-1990s, having worn body wires and been present when agents conducted their “takedowns” and arrested those I had engaged, nearly all of the interaction I had with agents was on their turf. Based on my past performance, I enjoyed a favorable reputation with the FBI and the US Department of Justice. A home visit was highly unusual, especially at that hour.After exchanging pleasantries and being seated at my dining room table, the lead agent produced an unmarked folder and opened it to the first page. Looking down, I immediately recognized its contents from the bold black lettering on the title page: “Report of Investigation & Surveillance — Islamberg.”
Welcome to Islamberg
Islamberg is the US headquarters of Jamaat ul-Fuqra, once a designated terrorist organization whose members had been convicted of several bombings, murders and various other felonies across the United States. Jamaat ul-Fuqra, or “Community of the Impoverished,” was founded by a Pakistani cleric named Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani. He arrived in Brooklyn, New York in 1980 and began promoting a holy war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and the purification of Islam from Western influence by any means necessary, including violence.
In the US, front groups for Jamaat ul-Fuqra were established including the Muslims of America and the International Quranic Open University. Gilani historically recruited black American Muslim converts with criminal backgrounds from the inner cities as well as the US prison system for membership in his organization. His followers are known as “Soldiers of Allah” and have a reputation for their cult-like obedience to Gilani.
Jamaat ul-Fuqra has a long history of violence and terrorist activities, especially during the 1980s and 1990s. In 1993, two members were convicted in connection with the bombing of the World Trade Center and another plot to bomb tunnels and landmarks in New York City. In December of 1993, Gilani, now an international terrorist, was caught on video by the Canadian Broadcasting Company attending a “terrorist roundtable” in Khartoum with Osama bin Laden and other Islamic jihadists chanting slogans such as “Death to the Jews,” “Down with the CIA,” and “Down with the USA!” Gilani himself is directly linked to HAMAS and Hezbollah.
Gilani later returned to Pakistan where he led his organization from his base in Lahore.
Members of Jamaat ul-Fuqra are suspects in at least ten unsolved assassinations and 17 firebombing cases between 1980 and 1990 in addition to a series of fire bombings of Hindu and Hare Krishna temples in Seattle, Denver, Philadelphia and Kansas City. During a search of a Colorado storage locker in 1989, federal agents found a large cache of weapons, handguns, semi-automatic firearms, ammunition, large bombs and materials linked directly to Jamaat ul-Fuqra.
Some of the seized documents included maps, lists of targets in Los Angeles, Arizona and Colorado. The targets included oil and gas installations and electrical facilities, US military sites, and individuals in 12 states and Canada. Guerrilla Warfare training manuals were also found.
After the 9/11 attacks, other terrorist links to Jamaat ul-Fuqra included Richard Reid, known as the “shoe bomber,” and John Muhammad, the elder partner of the duo known as the “DC Beltway Snipers.” Perhaps one of the most notable and widely publicized incidents involving Jamaat ul-Fuqra outside of the US was the beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was on his way to interview Gilani in Karachi, Pakistan when he was kidnapped and later found murdered. Although Gilani was arrested by Pakistani police on January 30, 2002, he denied any involvement and was reportedly cleared by the FBI.
By 2001, approximately 35 compounds were established across the US, each formed in isolated rural areas having a designated geographical location from which to operate. In the manner of “classically structured terrorist cells,” members of one compound don’t know members of another. Communication is via telephone and only at pre-arranged times. Not coincidentally, most of the compounds are situated close to vital infrastructure targets, including power stations and water supplies.
Investigation & Surveillance
In 2005, I became aware of Jamaat ul-Fuqra, Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani and their US headquarters in Hancock, New York. Not long after being approved as an operational asset and vetted source for the Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Counter-Terrorism division of the FBI, I conducted an investigation and surveillance of their isolated headquarters that spanned several months.
My findings were quite disturbing, even with the foreknowledge of the previous terrorist connections. During my surveillance, I documented men of military age engaging in terrorist training activities that included weapons training.
One of the more disturbing observations was the presence of a standard yellow school bus located within the compound. It was riddled with bullet holes and, according to area sources, was used to teach members the most effective methods to overtake a bus by force. I also observed men armed with weapons patrolling the compound.
In February 2006, I submitted all of the video and photographic documentation and evidence obtained from my surveillance, in addition to numerous witness statements, interview summaries, and related documentation to the FBI headquarters in Washington, DC.
It was a comprehensive and alarming report, but a job well done, or so I thought.
Back at the Dining Room Table
The lead agent possessed the same report that I submitted to the FBI headquarters in Washington, DC the previous month. He then removed three color photographs of black males and asked if I recognized any of the men. I had seen two of the three men at Islamberg but was unfamiliar with the third.
He then asked if I was the author of the report he removed from his file, and I answered affirmatively. Although I did everything according to protocol, I was starting to feel uneasy and suspected that something was wrong.
According to the lead agent, I had “upset a lot of people” with my report. I’ve been known to despise bureaucracy and have been vocal about it. Now it appeared I was in the thick of it.
The information I received from both agents that night made me fully realize that our nation had problems far worse than anything I previously thought.
For the next fifteen minutes, I was informed that a complete investigation of the compound at Hancock, New York and other related communes was already performed by the FBI and they found no direct connections to terrorism. I was also informed that the group is intent on living in peace with Christians and other religious sects. Any prior criminal charges are merely “exceptions” and have nothing to do with Gilani or his followers, who also have been favorably showcased in the media.
When I pressed the agents about the bullet-ridden school bus and the photographic and video documentation I obtained, I was informed that it was a matter of “misperception.”
The agents continued to explain that it is the objective of the FBI to avoid depicting Muslims negatively just because of their faith. They added that the FBI is engaged in outreach programs with Muslim communities all over the US, and my report only fuels the fires of bigotry.
They stated that the FBI is making changes to integrate Muslims into their operation to identify and repair any damage caused by religious bias based on the instructions of their director, Robert Mueller.
By that time, I heard enough and stood up from my chair. Before leaving, the agents identified the men in the photographs by name. The first man was the ‘Mayor’ of Islamberg and the second is the head of security, both angry by my report. They identified the third man as Muzzammil Syed Hassan, the head of Bridges TV in Buffalo, NY. I had previous run-ins with him and spoke about him in detail on a Buffalo radio talk show. He was unhappy with me as well, they said.
Weeks after this meeting, Jamaat ul-Fuqra leader Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani published a “religious statement” about me and my investigative report on the internet and in the Islamic Post to all of his followers. When I called the regional FBI office and asked if I should consider this a Fatwa, or a threat to my life, the Special Supervisory Agent reviewed the statement and simply stated “Yes.”
On February 12, 2009, less than three years after this meeting, Muzzammil “Mo” Syed Hassan was arrested for the murder of his wife. He stabbed her more than 40 times in the face, back and chest, and then beheaded her. He was convicted of second-degree murder and is not eligible for parole for at least 25 years.
Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani continues to lead his organization in the US from Pakistan and claims to have a positive working relationship with the FBI and other domestic and international intelligence agencies. The Fatwa against me can still be found in Muslim publications.
As for me, I refuse to stop exposing Islamic terrorism or other nefarious activity wherever it exists, although it’s getting increasingly difficult to discern the good guys from the bad. I’ve learned a lot since the events of September 11, 2001, especially that the battle in which we are engaged consists of layers upon layers of deception. Furthermore, conspiracies indeed exist, and we all need to think bigger about the fight being waged before us.
That meeting served as my wake-up call and provided insight into what we are witnessing today. Our system is broken, and we must repair it now before we lose that chance forever.
Douglas J. Hagmann, Host
The Hagmann Report
www.HagmannReport.com
