***Exclusive Investigative Report***
Last week, I posted information about Aliville, an Islamist village in SE Georgia. Before that, in December 2005, I wrote about Madinah Village, a settlement linked to the same organization located near Commerce, Georgia. Both villages are connected to the Muslims of the Americas (MOA), the front organization for Al Fuqra, a covert Islamist militant group. The following involves new information about the activities of individuals in the Atlanta metro area that are connected to the village at Commerce.
It is known that one of the modus opperandi of Fuqra cells has been the operation of security companies. They are a means to earn easy money for the organization. They can also provide priveleged access to facilities, information, and weapons. Fuqra is currently known to operate security companies in NY and VA. They had done so in Colorado years ago until their compound was raided and their cell was broken up. Operatives of Fuqra's security companies have been known to conduct brazen surveillance of various targets.
Earlier this year, I received a tip from a contact who informed me that individuals connected to the Muslim village near Commerce are currently operating several businesses, including a security company, in the Atlanta metro. I believe the information from my source to be accurate, as it was very specific. Thus, I cannot reveal all of my information here, but I will touch on the main points.
The businesses in question all share the same address - 4826 Old National Highway, College Park, GA. They are as follows:
Zak-Grafix, Inc. - Graphics design company. Run by Muslim female (with a non-Muslim name), linked to a previous address in Brooklyn, NY.
Master Moreland Taekwondo and Hapkido Center - a primarily-Muslim martial arts school run by Shelton R. Moreland.
Mobido's All Natural - Incense/potpurri retail. This company also makes soap. [Note: Soap can be used as an ingredient for explosives –i.e., napalm; Click here for related news story. (This note is purely informational and is meant for reference context only. I have no information that the company produces soap for this purpose)].
EPAI Protective Services, Inc.
(Executive Protection Academy International)
[website: executive-protect.com] - Also run by Shelton R. Moreland. Licensed for armed security and investigations. Training school for bodyguard/dignitary protection teams.United States Hapki Hae
[website: unitedstateshapkihae.com] - Founded by Master Moreland. Primary training organization for EPAI.
EPAI provides security for several locations in the Atlanta area including a trucking facility and a closed-down Ford plant. A search of the Hoovers business database indicates the company has six employees and sales of $100K. A subsequent search of Georgia security licenses connected to EPAI yielded six names.
The EPAI website tries to suggest the company is larger than records indicate. They claim to have an extensive domestic and international network. The site says that Moreland has a military and law enforcement background and that the company has trained local police teams and even FBI. Moreland formerly worked for a (now inactive) company called Flatfoot Investigation and Protection Agency in Atlanta. It is unclear whether or not it was the forerunner to EPAI, but there were a good many more employees listed on its roster.
It is known that much of the training for Fuqra operatives involves martial arts. It is believed that individuals tied to both EPAI and the village near Commerce have studied Arabic and have received paramilitary training at the MOA/Fuqra headquarters compound in NY and/or in Pakistan. Friday, the esteemed Andy McCarthy (who prosecuted several Fuqra members in the 1993 WTC/Day of Terror case) noted the significance of paramilitary training in a post at the NRO Corner:
One thing that comes through reading the papers this morning is the danger posed by paramilitary training sponsored by terrorist organizations for the last quarter-century — especially in the Afghan/Pakistan border region. Evidence of prior paramilitary training has been a staple of just about every important terrorism investigation and prosecution since the early 1990s.
[...]
If there are sleeper cells in our country — and it would be foolish to suppose there aren't — it's the people who've had this training (in explosives, combat, hijacking, etc.) that we need to worry about, even if they haven't done anything else ... yet.
EPAI's offices are located approximately 2 miles SE of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. It also lies about 7 1/2 miles from two Army facilities, Fort McPherson to the north and Fort Gillem to the east. It should be noted that if Moreland is ex-military, he may have access to these bases.
COMMENTARY
Al Fuqra is not regarded as as a top-level threat by most. On the terrorist totem pole, they likely perform a support role. However, as I reported in a previous post, a 2005 report from the Department of Homeland Security mentioned Fuqra as being among groups likely to be involved in attacks on the United States.
In the world of modern jihad, most of today's American Fuqra operatives are nothing more than street thugs on the hustle. However, it must recognized that there could be deeper-level covert operatives in the group involved in more serious activities. In Pakistan, Fuqra is known as a jihadi organization. In the U.S., they are rarely even acknowledged. Yet, the organization has existed here for two-and-a-half decades and many of its basic practices have not changed. They have simply shifted geographically and have become more adept at passing themselves off as moderates. The fact remains that their leadership continues to maintain peripheral if not direct connections to known terrorists and terrorist groups.
The infrastructure that Fuqra has established has taken time to assemble. Originally established as a militant organization, you can bet the network that has been built will be exploited to support militant activities, either directly or indirectly. Support activities can take many forms, including the providing of false documentation, safe houses, financing, training, weapons, logistics, security, surveillance, personnel, etc.
Everywhere this organization has operated security companies of the sort I described above, illegal activity has been congruent with their operations. Sure, they have a right to apply for licenses to operate these businesses. However, where is it required that the government grant them a license? Where is it written that their license can't be revoked?
In my opinion, the continued operation of this group in NY, VA, and GA is essentially allowing state-sanctioned Islamist-jihadi paramilitary training to be conducted on US soil. James Ujaama went to jail for merely exploring the establishment of a training ground in Oregon. Fuqra has operated actual camps in NY and VA for years without consequence. What's wrong with this picture?
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