Military Periscope :: Jamaat al-Muslimeen

Jamaat al-Muslimeen

Group Name:

Jamaat al-Muslimeen.

Location/Area of Operation:

The Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago.

Stated Purpose:

Jamaat al-Muslimeen in 1990 attempted to overthrow the government of Trinidad and Tobago. Today, the group mostly runs criminal rackets and operates as a violent street gang.

Strength:

Jamaat al-Muslimeen probably has several hundred members, though its numbers could reach up to 1,000.

External Aid and Links:

Jamaat has spawned several offshoot groups, such as Wajihatul Islamiyyah (Islamic Front); Jamaat al-Murabiteen (The Almoravids); and Jammat al-Islami al-Karibi (Caribbean Islamic Group).

Yasin Abu Bakr, Jamaat al-Muslimeen’s founder and leader, was supported by Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi in the 1980s and 1990s. The Jammat al-Muslimeen received funding through Libya’s World Islamic Call Society (WICS) to finance various construction projects.

Activities:

The Jamaat al Muslimeen is best known for its attempted coup in 1990. More than 100 fighters stormed the parliament, taking the prime minister and members of his Cabinet hostage. The island’s television station was also seized. Within a week, the militants surrendered, having been promised amnesty. A court later agreed they should be freed.

More recently, the group has become associated with criminal activities, including narcotics and weapons trafficking, kidnapping for ransom, money laundering and extortion. Jamaat al-Muslimeen is also one of Trinidad's most notorious street gangs. The group regularly battles rival gangs for control of territory. It is not known for plotting or carrying out any terrorist attacks abroad.

Overview:

The Jamaat al-Muslimeen was founded by Yasin Abu Bakr, formerly Lenox Philip. The group is comprised mostly of black African converts to Sunni Islam. Abu Bakr, now in his mid-60s, is a former police officer and Afro-Trinidadian Muslim convert. He has been involved in Trinidadian politics since the mid-1980s.

For most of its existence, Jamaat al-Muslimeen kept its focus strictly on domestic issues. It is not generally considered to be representative of the Trinidadian Muslim community.

Abu Bakr’s influence is believed to have extended to police and security services, and even to Trinidad's major political parties, allowing his group to play a “kingmaker” role among political parties that count upon Afro-Trinidadians for support.

Abu Bakr was arrested in November 2005 on terrorism and weapons charges. He was implicated in a string of bombings that hit Port-of-Spain and St. James earlier that year. He was also accused of conspiring to murder former members of the Jamaat, though he was later acquitted of those charges. Those onetime members had split from the group because of ideological differences and shifting alliances among various Afro-Trinidadian Muslim groups.

Kala Aki Bua, the group’s second in command, assumed leadership following Abu Bakr’s arrest.

In June 2007, the group gained widespread attention when two alleged members were linked to a reported plot to blow up a jet fuel line at John F. KennedyInternationalAirport in New York.

One prime suspect in the alleged plot was Russell Defreitas, a naturalized Guyanese and former JFK air cargo employee. The other suspects included: Abdul Kadir of Guyana, a former member of the Guyanese parliament; Kareem Ibrahim of Trinidad, who was apparently connected to Jamaat al-Muslimeen until the 1970s when he converted to Shia Islam; and Abdel Nur (real name Campton Eversley) of Guyana. According to federal sources, Kadir and Nur were associates of Jamaat al-Muslimeen. The indictment charged that the suspects planned on seeking help from Jamaat al-Muslimeen in acquiring explosives and support for the attack. It is not clear if and to what degree Jamaat al-Muslimeen planned on assisting them.

Group Chronology:

1980s

Abu Bakr founded Jamaat al-Muslimeen in the 1980s.

1990

July 27: Yasin Abu Bakr, Bilaal Abdullah and 114 members of Jamaat al-Muslimeen attempted to stage a coup in Trinidad and Tobago. This included a bombing of the police headquarters. About 40 insurgents stormed the Red House (the parliament) and seized Prime Minister Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson and most of his Cabinet. Another 70 or so insurgents attacked the Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT) station, at that time the only television station in the country, and the Trinidad Broadcasting Company, one of only two radio stations in Trinidad and Tobago.

The Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force and the police sealed off the area around the Red House. Acting President Emmanuel Carter declared a state of emergency and imposed martial law. Cabinet members not captured in the attack established offices in the Trinidad Hilton. On the evening of July 27, the army took control of the TTT transmitter, taking the station off the air.

Aug. 1: The insurgents surrendered after a six-day standoff and were taken into custody. They were tried for treason, but in 1992 the Court of Appeal upheld the promise of amnesty offered to secure their surrender, and they were released. The U.K. Privy Council later invalidated the amnesty, but the Jamaat al-Muslimeen members were not re-arrested.

About 24 people died during the coup attempt, including one parliament member.

2001

Jan. 23: Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Basdeo Panday warned that opposition groups were plotting to seize power. Panday told the legislature, "The government has received information that certain groups are amassing arms, recently smuggled into the country, for what is believed to be a violent attempt to take control of the country."

June: A Jamaat al-Muslimeen member, Keith Andre Glaude, was arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. for attempting to purchase automatic weapons and silencers for export to Trinidad.

2005

July 22: An explosion in Port of Spain injured 13 people. Abu Bakr was believed to be responsible.

Aug. 4: Clive Lancelot Small (aka Olive Enyahooma-El), a 70-year-old member of Jamaat al-Muslimeen, was sentenced by a U.S. District judge to more than 12 years in prison for attempting to smuggle 60 AK-47 assault rifles, as well as 10 Mac-10 machine guns and silencers, from Florida to Trinidad and Tobago.

Oct. 14: An explosion in a bar in St. James, on the outskirts of Port-of-Spain, injured 10 people. The bombing was the fourth bombing in as many months. Six people were arrested in connection with the attacks, including Abu Bakr and four minors connected to Jamaat al-Muslimeen.

Oct. 16: Abu Bakr was released. The five others who were arrested were also released without being charged.

Nov. 10: Abu Bakr was arrested and charged with incitement, sedition and extortion in connection with a speech given Nov. 4 at his mosque during Eid ul-Fitr, the end of Ramadan. In that speech, he threatened "war" and "bloodshed" if wealthy Muslims did not give him zakat, or alms.

Nov. 11: Security forces raided the Jamaat al-Muslimeen headquarters and seven other mosques affiliated with the group. A sniper rifle, hand grenade and 500 rounds of ammunition were found at the gang’s main compound.

Nov. 22: Prosecutors added a more serious charge of terrorism in the case against Abu Bakr.

Dec. 25: Two members of Jamaat al-Muslimeen were found in possession of a large bomb.

2006

Feb. 19: The son of Hasan Ali, an imam associated with Jamaat al-Muslimeen, was murdered by members of G-Unit, a rival street gang. The killing took place at La Horquetta, Arima.

April 10: Abu Bakr appeared in court for a retrial of the case in which he was accused of conspiring to murder two former members of his group. The case had first been brought against him in March of 2005, but a nine-member jury had failed to reach a unanimous verdict.

April 22: Guyana’s Minister of Agriculture Satyadeow Sawh was assassinated at his home, along with his brother, sister and security guard. Police interrogated David Millard, a former member of Jamaat al-Muslimeen, in connection with the killing. Millard fled Trinidad in 2003 to avoid arrest warrants.

December: Abu Bakr was acquitted on charges of conspiracy to murder. The charges alleged that he had instructed two lieutenants to kill Salim Rasheed and Zaki Aubaidah, both former member of Jamaat al-Muslimeen. The attempted murder killed an innocent bystander and injured several others.

2007

May: Abdel Nur (one of the alleged JFK plotters) was said to have met with Abu Bakr in Trinidad, allegedly to discuss plans for a terrorist attack on JFK International Airport in New York.

June: Abu Bakr continued to face charges of incitement, sedition and terrorism that stemmed from statements he reportedly made on Nov. 2, 2005, at his mosque outside Port-of-Spain. He was also charged with terrorism in November 2005. Abu Bakr has so far been denied bail.

June 2: Authorities in the United States and Trinidad rounded up four suspects who were allegedly plotting to blow up JFK International Airport. They were indicted for conspiring to attack a public transportation system. While they had not procured any explosives at the time of their arrest, they reportedly planned to approach Jamaat al-Muslimeen for help.

2008

June: The four conspirators in the JFK bombing plot pleaded not guilty to their charges.

October: Suspected JFK plotter Kareem Ibrahim may be starving himself to death in federal prison in New York City, according to officials cited by New York's Daily News.

Last Updated:

November 2008