Terror Group Member States, “He Should Get His Hands Cut Off!”

By Martin Mawyer and Ryan Mauro

Security cam footage of an alleged theft during a funeral is causing internal turmoil inside an American Islamic terrorist group called “Muslims of America” (MOA).

MOA, which was founded in 1980, claims to have 22 camps and compounds secluded in isolated areas of the United States, located in such states as Texas, Virginia, New York, South Carolina, Georgia and more.

The group is headquartered in Hancock, NY at a compound called “Islamberg.”

Security cam footage shows a member of MOA, Rajul Smith, allegedly stealing money out of a funeral car during the burial of Atiq Shahid, who was one of the founding members of the group. The video was captured sometime in late December, 2017.

While watching the video of the alleged crime, one member of MOA can be heard saying Smith “is going to get his teeth knocked out,” while another member states, “he should get his hands cut off.”

Members of MOA, who physically live on community land, are required to submit to Sharia law – including many of its forms of punishments.

Informants have told Christian Action Network and the Clarion Project that disobedient members of MOA have frequently been whipped with lashes, beaten with two-by-fours or even forced into a covered hole in the ground for extended periods.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity to the authors, one member explained the Sharia practices in the communities that are mandated by its leader, Sheikh Mubarak Gilani, a Pakistani cleric who controls the organization from overseas.

• “On the land, the rules are real strict. Gilani says they are to live by the Sharia as much as they can and don’t involve outsiders. If one person commits a crime against another, you don’t call the cops. They have an internal police and Sharia justice system for that. The judges are called Qadis and they order things like lashings.
• Sometimes the Islamic judges settle the disputes and sometimes they punish you for your sins. They lash you. They’ve got this spot in Islamberg that they call ‘the hole.’ It’s like an underground coffin with a metal sheet covering it. Air comes in but you’re in complete darkness but they’ll give you just bread and water each day. People will be in there for 30 days; I’ve heard of 45-day sentences.
• For lesser sins, they’ll tie you to a tree and lash you. I’ve known of guys who got beat, too, hit with bleach-soaked belts or two-by-fours.
• These punishments go on all the time. They aren’t rare. There’s a waiting list to be put in ‘the hole.’ I’ve heard of people waiting like a year. Some people don’t ever recover. They lose their minds being in there. One guy who bugged out is in prison now on weapons charges. His own dad approved of punishing him that way.”

Sharia violations in the communities range from smoking, to disobeying authority figures, to having illicit sex, to even watching television.

• “The security team on the land will break into your home if they find out you’ve got a TV and they’ll smash it. If you’re caught, you get 30 lashes and you’re kicked off the land,” one informant said.

Because members sign an oath of loyalty to Sheikh Gilani and pledge to abide by its rules and punishments, MOA officials believe law enforcement cannot interfere with the Sharia punishments practiced by the group.