Wednesday, June 27, 2007

The Non-News From Islamberg

Muslims of AmericaThe national headquarters of the Muslims of America (the front group for Jamaat ul-Fuqra) is outside the little town of Deposit, which is not far from Hancock, New York. The MOA compound near Deposit known as “Islamberg” recently drew national attention via Paul Williams’ article.

Sydney — who lives in Hale Eddy, a nearby hamlet that’s even smaller than Deposit — sends me occasional emails with updates on the Islamberg situation. His latest note arrived yesterday:

My neighbor was in Hancock this week, at the sportsman’s shop or whatever and he heard pop-pop-pop coming from up yonder. Then he and the owner heard poppoppoppoppop. “They’ve got semi-automatics?” My neighbor asked. The gunshop owner replied “Oh yeah, we hear it all the time.”

The place I’ve most often seen our pals is in the Tractor Supply Company in Vestal, NY. There’s a big black man in his garb and sandals (in the winter) and his wife not in a burqa but more Indian style, leggings of some sort, a long tunic thing, head covering. This is the couple I would see time and again at TSC and Walmart. They would buy about 300 lbs of grain, chicken feed, things like that.

Yesterday I went to TSC to get grain for my horse and I decided to ask the very nice cashier about them. She’s our age, from Connecticut, not seeming to be political or computer savvy particularly. Average person.

Me: Hi. Have you seen those Muslims from Hancock lately?
Cashier: (Grim faced) Is that what we’re calling them?
Me: Yeah that’s what we’ll call them.
Cashier: They don’t come in as much since the price of grain went up.
Me: Guns going off all hours of the day and night. You know they live in squalor over there?
Cashier: (Snort) That’s their choice isn’t it?
Me: Two by fours propping up the ceilings of the trailers, open sewage.
Cashier: (Phut) Like I care.
Me: They want us dead.
Cashier: Yes, they do.
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I think this is very positive. With no help at all from us, thirty miles away from their compound, people can figure it out.

The tendency is to think only of the two towns the property is actually in, but earlier this year I was speaking to a fascinating older woman who lives north of Deposit, and the people up there, by the reservoir, have an awareness of our pals as well.

Not everyone. Of course there are those who look at you blankly and don’t even realize they’re there.

Our live-and-let-live attitude lines up perfectly with their we’ll-live-and-they’ll-die plan.

3 comments:

mdmhvonpa said...

I grew up in Vestal during the Cold war ... This is an unfortunate turn of events but not surprising since the area went into a sickening depression after IBM started pulling out. Pestilence attracts this element.

Michael Travis said...

The neighbourhoods (or should I say "hills") around Islamberg (and Red House, and Ali Ville), are full of "Fellow travelers" who show up for prayers and other activities (Picnics with the Feds..complete with Hebrew National Hot Dogs..heck, their almost Halal!).

The reports of gunfire could be an indication of accelerated training at the compounds. Thankfully, we, as Americans have similar rights.

Unknown said...

The hills are alive
with the sound of jihad...

/Julie Andrews off