Al-Fuqra'
Encyclopedia
Jamaat ul-Fuqra (Arabic
: جماعة الفقراء, "Community of the Impoverished") is a paramilitary
organization of mostly African-American Muslim
s based in Pakistan and the United States. Some of the approximately 3000 members have planned various acts of violence, often directed at rival factions. Two Al-Fuqra members were convicted of conspiring to murder Rashad Khalifa
in 1990, and others are alleged to have assassinated Ahmadiyya
leader Mozaffar Ahmad in 1983.
The group itself is not listed as a terror group by the US or the EU, but was listed as a terrorist organization in the 1999 Patterns of Global Terrorism report by the U.S. State Department. It operates two front groups: Muslims of the Americas and Quranic Open University. They also have been known to operate in Canada
, and the Caribbean
.
in 1980. Gilani, who lives in Pakistan and was questioned there in connection with the abduction of Daniel Pearl
, founded the group on a trip to the United States. Members initially engaged mostly in attacks against Indians and Indian religious figures in the US.
The group is separatist, and is described by MIPT and a similar profile in the database of the South Asian Terror Portal as a cult
.
News reports have attempted to connect "shoe bomber" Richard Reid
and "Washington sniper" John Allen Muhammad
to al-Fuqra, but the connections were not definitive. There are also allegations that Clement Rodney Hampton-El
, one of the plotters who planned to blow up various New York City
bridges and tunnels, was a member of Al Fuqra.
The group has been banned in Pakistan. Jamaat Al Fuqra was also involved in the planned bombing of a Hindu temple in Toronto, Canada in 1991.
. This hotel, located at SW 11th Avenue and Main Street, was owned by the Rajneesh
religious group and featured the Zorba the Buddha nightclub. Paster had several bombs and homemade napalm
in his room, but one of the bombs went off in his hands while he was placing the bombs in the midst of the napalm.
Paster was almost immediately arrested after the bombs went off, as he was one of only two people injured in the explosion, which took place at 1:23 a.m. After the hotel was evacuated two other explosions occurred at 3 a.m. Paster was charged with arson due to the fire which resulted from the explosions. Paster posted $20,000 bail, but fled Oregon and was not apprehended until June 1984 in Englewood, Colorado
. In November 1985, Paster was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Multnomah County circuit judge.
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
: جماعة الفقراء, "Community of the Impoverished") is a paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
organization of mostly African-American Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s based in Pakistan and the United States. Some of the approximately 3000 members have planned various acts of violence, often directed at rival factions. Two Al-Fuqra members were convicted of conspiring to murder Rashad Khalifa
Rashad Khalifa
Rashad Khalifa was an Egyptian-American biochemist, closely associated with the United Submitters International. He was assassinated in 1990.-Life:Khalifa was born in Egypt on November 19, 1935...
in 1990, and others are alleged to have assassinated Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya is an Islamic religious revivalist movement founded in India near the end of the 19th century, originating with the life and teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad , who claimed to have fulfilled the prophecies about the world reformer of the end times, who was to herald the Eschaton as...
leader Mozaffar Ahmad in 1983.
The group itself is not listed as a terror group by the US or the EU, but was listed as a terrorist organization in the 1999 Patterns of Global Terrorism report by the U.S. State Department. It operates two front groups: Muslims of the Americas and Quranic Open University. They also have been known to operate in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
.
Origins and philosophy
According to a profile of al-Fuqra by the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT), the group is believed to have been founded by Pakistani cleric Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani HashemiMubarak Ali Gilani
Mubarak Ali Shah Gilani is a Hanafi Sufi cleric from Pakistan and founder of the Muslims of the Americas organization...
in 1980. Gilani, who lives in Pakistan and was questioned there in connection with the abduction of Daniel Pearl
Daniel Pearl
Daniel Pearl was an American journalist who was kidnapped and killed by Al-Qaeda.At the time of his kidnapping, Pearl served as the South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, and was based in Mumbai, India. He went to Pakistan as part of an investigation into the alleged links between...
, founded the group on a trip to the United States. Members initially engaged mostly in attacks against Indians and Indian religious figures in the US.
The group is separatist, and is described by MIPT and a similar profile in the database of the South Asian Terror Portal as a cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
.
Activities
Although various members have been suspected of assassinations and other acts of terror perpetrated in the 1980s and later, and some members having been charged with conspiracy to commit first degree murder and other crimes, al-Fuqra itself is not listed as a terror group by the US or the EU (it was listed as a terrorist organization in the 1999 Patterns of Global Terrorism report by the U.S. State Department.)News reports have attempted to connect "shoe bomber" Richard Reid
Richard Reid (shoe bomber)
Richard Colvin Reid , also known as the Shoe Bomber, is a self-admitted member of al-Qaeda who pled guilty in 2002 in U.S. federal court to eight criminal counts of terrorism stemming from his attempt to destroy a commercial aircraft in-flight by detonating explosives hidden in his shoes...
and "Washington sniper" John Allen Muhammad
John Allen Muhammad
John Allen Muhammad was a spree killer from the United States. He, along with his younger partner, Lee Boyd Malvo, carried out the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks, killing at least 10 people. Muhammad and Malvo were arrested in connection with the attacks on October 24, 2002, following tips from alert...
to al-Fuqra, but the connections were not definitive. There are also allegations that Clement Rodney Hampton-El
Clement Rodney Hampton-El
Clement Rodney Hampton-El, also known as Dr. Rashid, had been a member of the Moorish Science Temple of America was convicted in the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993.-External links:* , MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base...
, one of the plotters who planned to blow up various New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
bridges and tunnels, was a member of Al Fuqra.
The group has been banned in Pakistan. Jamaat Al Fuqra was also involved in the planned bombing of a Hindu temple in Toronto, Canada in 1991.
Hotel Rajneesh bombing
The bombing of the Hotel Rajneesh can be positively tied to an al-Fuqra member. On July 29, 1983, Stephen Paul Paster, an al-Fuqra member, set off a bomb at the Hotel Rajneesh, a hotel in Portland, OregonPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. This hotel, located at SW 11th Avenue and Main Street, was owned by the Rajneesh
Rajneesh
Osho , born Chandra Mohan Jain , and also known as Acharya Rajneesh from the 1960s onwards, as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s and as Osho from 1989, was an Indian mystic, guru, and spiritual teacher who garnered an international following.A professor of philosophy, he travelled...
religious group and featured the Zorba the Buddha nightclub. Paster had several bombs and homemade napalm
Napalm
Napalm is a thickening/gelling agent generally mixed with gasoline or a similar fuel for use in an incendiary device, primarily as an anti-personnel weapon...
in his room, but one of the bombs went off in his hands while he was placing the bombs in the midst of the napalm.
Paster was almost immediately arrested after the bombs went off, as he was one of only two people injured in the explosion, which took place at 1:23 a.m. After the hotel was evacuated two other explosions occurred at 3 a.m. Paster was charged with arson due to the fire which resulted from the explosions. Paster posted $20,000 bail, but fled Oregon and was not apprehended until June 1984 in Englewood, Colorado
Englewood, Colorado
The city of Englewood is a Home Rule Municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. As of 2007, the city is estimated to have a total population of 32,532. Englewood is part of the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area. Englewood is located in the South Platte River Valley east of the...
. In November 1985, Paster was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Multnomah County circuit judge.
External links
- http://www.adl.org/extremism/moa/al-fuqra.pdf, Al-Fuqra Holy Warriors of Terrorism, Anti-Defamation League
- Internet-Archive backup copy of ul-Fuqra report
- International Quranic Open University