On October 30, 2009, the Detroit News reported comments by an individual who has been reported as opposing American “institutions and ideologies” as an independent Islamic “scholar” on the “Ummah” organization that reported Violent Extemism plotter Luqman Ameen Abdullah belonged to. In the Detroit News report, this scholar states the “Ummah” organization merely promotes an “anti-government” ideology, but does not promote violence.
Luqman Ameen Abdullah - Reported Violent Extemism Plotter, Detroit Representative of "National Ummah," and Imam of Detroit's Masjid Al-Haqq (Muslim Alliance of North America - MANA)
The “scholar” referenced in the Detroit News report, Ihsan Bagby, is also the General Secretary of the Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA). According to the MANA website, reported Violent Extemism plotter Luqman Ameen Abdullah “was a representative of the Detroit Muslim community to the ‘National Ummah’ and the general assembly (Shura) of the Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA).” As previous reported, Luqman Ameen Abdullah was killed on October 28 in a shootout with federal agents in a raid investigating weapons and other federal criminal violations. A federal indictment filed on October 27 detailed Luqman Ameen Abdullah’s goals to promote violence against law enforcement agencies, promote hate against non-Muslims, and plot violence against the United States.
Ihsan Bagby, General Secretary of MANA, on Board of Directors with ISNA -- Quoted in Detroit News Report
MANA’s website rejects the charges against Luqman Ameen Abdullah stating that reports about Luqman Ameen Abdullah’s promotion of violence are “shocking and inconsistent.” In Abdullah’s defense, MANA states that Luqman Ameen Abdullah “consistently advocated for the downtrodden and always spoke about the importance of connecting with the needs of the poor.” Rather than questioning Luqman Ameen Abdullah’s activity, MANA’s website states that “This tragic shooting raises deep concerns regarding the use of lethal force by law enforcement agents.” The Detroit News report does not mention the MANA website defense of Luqman Ameen Abdullah.
The Detroit News report cites MANA’s Ihsan Bagby as “a professor of Islamic studies at the University of Kentucky who has written extensively on mosques in Detroit and nationwide.” The Detroit News quotes Ihsan Bagby as stating regarding the “Ummah” that “They always have advocated for establishing Muslim communities… They have worked in various cities to establish a mosque that is a hub and influences the neighborhood in an Islamic fashion.”
The Detroit News report states that “Ihsan Bagby of the Muslim Alliance in North America agreed the Ummah is anti-government, but disputed the group advocates violence.” It also stated that Bagby “took issue with the government’s characterization of Abdullah as ‘a highly placed leader of a nationwide radical fundamentalist Sunni group’ and said he is shocked by such ‘hateful rhetoric.'”
MANA’s Ihsan Bagby does not state in the Detroit News report that he is shocked by Luqman Ameen Abdullah’s reported hateful rhetoric against non-Muslims, blacks, law enforcement agencies, and others. MANA’s Ihsan Bagby is only reported as being shocked by the FBI’s characterization of Luqman Ameen Abdullah as “a highly placed leader of a nationwide radical fundamentalist Sunni group.”
MANA’s Ihsan Bagby has been previously quoted as stating, “Ultimately we can never be full citizens of this country. . . because there is no way we can be fully committed to the institutions and ideologies of this country.”
Ihsan Bagby was also a recent speaker in Washington DC at the July 4, 2009 weekend Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) conference ironically entitled: “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Ihsan Bagby is also on the Board of Directors of ISNA, which was listed among the unindicted co-conspirator organizations in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism trial. ISNA’s leader was recently reported to have been invited to a White House Ramadan celebration in September 2009.
In the October 27, 2009 federal indictment against Luqman Ameen Abdullah and other Detroit area associates, Luqman Abdullah referenced the Dar-Ul Movement that he was part of as “a military force to be reckoned.” The indictment also stated that: “According to Abdullah, the group is still Dar-Ul, but this is not widely known because of the United States government. The Ummah is a cover name for Dar-Ul.”
The Detroit News report also quotes an FBI official on the subject, stating: “In a federal complaint, Abdullah, 53, is labeled the local leader of a predominantly black Muslim group called ‘Ummah’ or the brotherhood, who sought a separate state within the United States governed by Sharia law. ‘This is a very hybrid, radical ideology,’ said Andrew Arena, special agent in charge of the FBI in Detroit. ‘Mainstream Muslim groups would not recognize this ideology with what they view their faith is.’ Nationally, Ummah is led by Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, formerly known as H. Rap Brown. Al-Amin, who is in prison for the murder of two police officers in Georgia, is a former Black Panther leader.”
On October 29, 2009, Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) published a detailed transcription of the PDF graphic of the federal indictment of Luqman Ameen Abdullah, demonstrating the exhaustive and multiple reports of Luqman Ameen Abdullah’s goals to promote hate against non-Muslims and to promote violence against the FBI, police, Washington DC, and non-Muslims.
R.E.A.L. transcribed a significant portion of the overall 45 page federal indictment in its report. In that report, Luqman Ameen Abdullah is referenced as calling for killing police officers, killing FBI agents, calling for a nuclear attack on Washington DC, bragging of shooting blacks, teaching classes on how to shoot police officers, and bragging that he has shot “a lot” of people. According to the report, Luqman Ameen Abdullah bragged to small children, who are members of the “Ummah,” about the number of people he has shot. Also in that report, Luqman Ameen Abdullah was repeatedly armed with a gun, and encouraged members of the Detroit area Masjid Al Haqq to obtain weapons, preferably by obtaining them through killing police officers.
Nor is such an association with violence new. According to the affidavit transcribed in the report, the earlier location of the Masjid Al Haqq had a firearms range, and after the “Ummah” was evicted from the previous location, “On January 20, 2009, while the members of the Ummah were being evicted from 4118 Joy Road by the City of Detroit for non-payment of property taxes, the Detroit Police Department confiscated two firearms and approximately forty knives and martial arts weapons from Luqman Abdullah’s apartment inside the mosque.”