“SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT” STIRRING

by

Paul L. Williams, Ph.D.

A mosque in Queens remains under the surveillance of federal, state, and local law enforcement officials for alleged terrorist activities.

The al-Falah mosque at 42-12 National Street is the headquarters for the Tablighi Jamaat movement in North America.

Members of the movement include Jose Padilla (who planned a dirt nuke attack in midtown Manhattan), Lyman Harris, (who sought to blow-up the Brooklyn Bridge), Richard Reid (the would-be show bomber), and the “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh.

“If al-Qaida needed a fresh set of bodies in order to pull an operation, one of the places that they would go to for that fresh set of bodies would be Tablighi Jamaat, whether it’s in the United States or not,” says former FBI agent Steve Denny, who has investigated members of Tablighi.

The imam in Queens admitted that the FBI had grilled him but maintained that radicals who espouse violent jihad are not allowed to attend prayer services.

“We stop them,” says Zia Hafez Paracha. “We don’t let them come in.”

Al-Falah is located in the heart of the Hispanic neighborhood of Queens known as Corona.

National Street is lined with Mexican bars and restaurants, a Jehovah’s Witness hall, and even a Buddhist temple.

The majority of Muslims who worship at al-Falah are African Americans – – many, like Abdul Akhim, were former members of the Nation of Islam.

“We’re peaceful, man,” Jamal says, “we don’t want no trouble.”

But trouble appears to be brewing within the masjid, according to the police, who point out that hundreds of Tablighi, some with bona fide terror connections, regularly descend upon the non-descript Queens establishment for mass meetings.


Another mosque under law enforcement surveillance is Masjid al-Taqwa at 1226 Bedford Street in Brooklyn.
The leader of this mosque is Siraj Wahaj, the celebrated imam who became the first Muslim to offer the opening prayer at a session of the House of Representatives in Washington DC.

The security at al-Taqwa is headed by Ali Karim, a small muscular man with a wispy black beard that has been dyed red with henna.

The guards at the mosque wear black karate suits.

According to NYPD Detective David Caycee, al-Taqwa is the site of “something significant” and Karim is a “very dangerous customer.”

Caycee maintains that Karim has a “rap sheet” and that other mosque officials, including an Egyptian national named Muhammad, are convicted felons.

Asked if Imam Wahaj is the subject of interest, the detective says that he is “more interested” in the activities of the imam’s son.