Islamberg, New York

Islamberg
Hamlet
Islamberg

Location of Islamberg in New York

Coordinates: 42°3′7.18″N 75°20′6.14″W / 42.0519944°N 75.3350389°WCoordinates: 42°3′7.18″N 75°20′6.14″W / 42.0519944°N 75.3350389°W
Country United States
State New York
County Delaware

Islamberg is a rural hamlet in Hancock, Delaware County, New York,[1] founded by Imam Al Sheik Mubarik Ali Shah Jilani Hashimi, also known as Mubarak Ali Gilani, a Pakistani Sufi cleric, and is a hamlet of The Muslims of America, Inc., a U.S. organization formed in 2013. A documentary video on YouTube purports to show the hamlet itself as well as a network of camps in the United States, and Sheikh Gilani forming the "Soldiers of Allah".[2] This video prompted The Muslims of America to file a federal lawsuit against the video's producer, which was dismissed by the court.[3] A video was produced by The Muslims of America to refute the accusations.[4]

The hamlet was founded in the late 1980s, when, reportedly inspired by Gilani, a group of primarily African American Muslims left New York City, reportedly to escape crime, poverty and racism. They built a community of some 40 family houses, with its own grocery store and bookstore and place of worship. Islamberg is the first of a number of communities set up under the direction and tutelage of Sheikh Mubarak Ali Shah Gilani. Similar communities have been founded in other rural areas of the United States. According to locals, the land previously belonged to a woman from Deposit, New York, who opened up her home in the late 1970s or early 1980s to disadvantaged young people.[5]

Although relations with neighboring communities are reportedly cooperative, including World Peace rallies, multifaith celebrations of the life and influence of Jesus, and relief efforts including floods in upstate New York, Hurricane Katrina, and 9/11, Islamberg has been in the media on multiple occasions when reporters and film makers have been rebuffed by residents who generally do not give interviews or normally permit media filming on the properties. Al Arabiya was allowed to do an investigative report on Islamberg and the claims against it. Al Arabiya interviewed the leaders of the community, filmed the community and was invited into some of the residents' homes.[6]

References

  1. ↑ WorldNetDaily profile; accessed May 3, 2014.
  2. ↑ YouTube video showing Islamberg compound
  3. ↑ Case against YouTube video producer dismissed, iqou-moa.org; accessed May 3, 2014.
  4. ↑ Islamberg rebuttal documentary video, youtube.com; accessed January 22, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Islamberg: A Terror Compound in New York ... or Misunderstood Neighbors?", foxnews.com; accessed May 3, 2014.
  6. ↑ YouTube video of Islamberg by Al Arabiya; accessed September 14, 2014.

External links