It was no surprise to the residents of Holy Islamville, South Carolina, when Charlotte, NC, television station, WSOC, showed up seeking an interview regarding what they said were reports of strange activities in the area of the village. Investigative reporter Jim Bradley came, accompanied by his camera man, to give, according to Mr Bradley, “Islamville residents an opportunity to answer some of the suspicions.”
Although unannounced, Ali A. Rashid, who hosted Jim Bradley during his stay, claims the visit was somewhat expected as, in the recent past, “certain organizations with an intent to disrupt and destroy the humanitarian efforts of His Eminence, El Sheikh Mubarik Ali Gilani and his organization, the Muslims of the America (MOA), to which the village of Holy Islamville is a part, are spending a great deal of money to enlist all the media contacts they can, to bring about disunity between the Christian and Islamic communities in America.”
Why is “suspicious activity” not reported to the police?
Mr. Bradley was asked by his host if he or the neighbors in question went to the local authorities or even the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to see if there were any reports of strange activities of persons in the area of Holy Islamville, to which he answered he himself had not, nor did he know if the neighbors or the ones reporting the activity had sought assistance from the police. Then the reporter was asked if he had checked with the county sheriff’s office or with the FBI office to see if they were aware of the presence of the Muslim community and were at all suspicious of them and their activities. Mr. Bradley then answered that he checked with one Sheriff Bryant who told him there have been no reports of suspicious actions in that area, and as far as he was concerned “those people are law abiding.”
In a similar scenario, one Detective Barnes, based in nearby Sydney, New York, when interviewed by Al Arabiya, stated that although he has been stationed in there for seven years, no person, media or otherwise, has inquired about the activities in and around MOA villages.
Mr. Bradley continued by saying that although he had gotten emails and phone calls that were unspecific, he also received a DVD from a group calling themselves the Christian Action Network (CAN) which alleged MOA to be a terrorist group. It was pointed out to him that the DVDs were constructed from heavily manipulated material and that, as a person who works in news production, he should have been able to detect that they were altered.
The reporter was further educated that the mission of his Eminence El Sheikh Mubarik Ali Gilani was to reform those who sought his assistance and advice. The village of Holy Islamville and many other villages like it should be held as an example for society as some members of these villages were literally taken off the dependency of welfare and government assistance and now are land and home owners relying on their own efforts as productive members of society.
Mr. Bradley was shown the Holy Khanqah on the premises, Baitun Noor, and much was explained to him about the miraculous events -Divine manifestations of the name of God in Arabic and of His Holy Last Messenger, Muhammad (peace be upon him)- that have, and are still appearing in its sanctuary. Also, because of this sacredness, there could be no activity in the precincts of the Holy Khanqah except that which is acceptable by Almighty God.
All people, including reputable news media, are invited to visit the holy place. Mr. Bradley was then informed that the likes of the organization that had contacted him, CAN, were the real terrorists, and that he had been used by such media terrorists to assist in their efforts to stop the unity being forged between Muslims and Christians by His Eminence, El Sheikh Gilani, and his organizations almost single-handedly.
Mr. Bradley was then introduced to some of the residents, allowed to see the entire village without specificity and was given a DVD showing the many successful activities of MOA, particularly the recent celebration of the birthday of Jesus, son of Mary, which took place in Binghamton NY, the first of its kind in the United States, and likely the world. The WSOC reporter was also given an MOA production that refutes the constant and vicious lies of the media terrorists. Finally, it was pointed out to him that Holy Islamville has been established since September 1983, and that many of the residents are veterans who have protected the USA on foreign soil; it was pointed out that His Eminence, El Sheikh Gilani has enjoined time and again to his followers that America is their country and home, and that they must respect its laws and honor their fellow citizens.
A rebuttal DVD that answers many more baseless allegations will be delivered to Mr. Bradley and his news station, with a reminder that this country belongs to all of its citizens and that Americans of all denominations have the same rights in this country to live freely.
In Pakistan, many Christians live in peace and are left to themselves to carry out their religious rituals and live their lives with respect and freedom from harassment. In a town called Younabad in Lahore, no government officials even enter their village.
The Muslims of the Americas, however, welcome their Christian neighbors and friends and are routinely joined by law enforcement officials, media reporters, church representatives and many others who come and gladly participate in various religious and secular ceremonies, seminars and forums. Therefore, MOA greatly resents that “uninformed news media would allow itself to be influenced by the likes of CAN,” without proper and independent research and investigation, presenting themselves for an interview in that state.
“If the media who come barging into our villages unannounced had done any research about who we are beforehand then you could say there would be no story for them to write about or to talk about,” Mr A. Rashid reasoned. “Very few of these news outlets report all the positive things Muslims are doing, because that’s not news for them. Well, Mr. Bradly is now well-informed. Let’s see what he reports.”
“Really, this sort of ill-informed behavior must cease before the entire corporate news industry comes to be known as paid agents of extremist entities who wish no peace for this country,” said Ali A. Rashid.
