Quiet Muslim-Only Town in N.Y. Founded by Alleged Terrorist

Monday, March 23, 2009
By Rick Leventhal

HANCOCK, N.Y. — If you didn't know where to look, you'd probably never find Islamberg, a private Muslim community in the woods of the western Catskills, 150 miles northwest of New York City.

The town, sitting on a quiet dirt road past a gate marked with No Trespassing signs, is home to an estimated 100 residents. There are small houses and other buildings visible from the outside, but it is what can't be seen from beyond the gate that has some watchers worried.

Islamberg was founded in 1980 by Sheikh Syed Mubarik Ali Shah Gilani, a Pakistani cleric who purchased a 70-acre plot and invited followers, mostly Muslim converts living in New York City, to settle there. the rest

From a 2007 article: Islamberg, New York: "You can hear gunfire up there. I can't understand why the FBI won't shut it down"