Prison Chaplain thinks sniper suspect (John Mohammed) is part of cult

©Finger Lakes Times 2002 ^ | November 01, 2002 | By: HARI RAO

[Behind Liberal Lines]

ROMULUS NY- Deacon Gregory Kiley, the Roman Catholic chaplain at Five Points Correctional Facility, believes Muhammad is a member of a cult founded in the New York state prison system.

"I'm quite sure that he belongs to a cult ... called the Five Percenters," said Kiley, who works with prisoners of all faiths at the maximum security facility.

"They are not a part of 'Al-Islam,' the worldwide Muslim community. The references to 'I am God'; the five stars on the letters to police; the phrase [used in the letters] 'Word is bond.' All these suggest a connection."

The Five Percenters spun off from the Nation of Islam in the early 1960s. The Nation of Islam was and is a black nationalist group, founded in 1930. Ted Swedenburg, an anthropology professor at the University of Arkansas, says on a Web site about Five Percenters that much of the Nation of Islam ideology is based not on mainstream Islamic beliefs but on theories of black supremacy.

The founder of the Five Percenters was a man who called himself Clarence 13X. Like his mentor, famed black activist Malcolm X, Clarence 13X became disenchanted with the Nation of Islam and decided to form his own organization.

13X adopted most of the Nation of Islam race theory, adding the doctrine of "I am God." According to this doctrine, a man who masters himself takes control of his own destiny, effectively becoming God. Women are referred to as "Earths," and the religion itself is commonly referred to as "The Nation of Gods and Earths."

The name "Five Percenters" refers to the 5 percent of humanity who are believed to be truly divine, or god-like, according to Kiley, who lives in Clyde.

"A true Muslim would never say 'I am God.' That would be blasphemy, a horrible sin," Kiley said. "Even a person who flies planes into buildings would never say such a thing. Muslims say the prayer, 'There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet.'

"Also, a convert to true Islam would change his first name, not his last name, like Mr. Muhammad did. Changing the last name shows disrespect for the convert's father, according to Islam."

John Muhammad's former name was John Allen Williams.

Kiley said he has worked with Five Percenters, Nation of Islam members, and orthodox Sunni Muslims. He says that today's Nation of Islam, headed by Louis Farrakhan, is moving closer to the worldwide Islamic mainstream. By contrast, the Five Percenters cling to old black supremacy theories and are mostly made up of gang members who are often violent and specialize in extortion, Kiley said.

Investigators believe that one of the purposes of the sniper killings was to extort $10 million from the government. A note left by the snipers in Manassas, Va., demanded that $10 million be left in the account of a stolen credit card. The same note said, "Your children are not safe anywhere, at any time."

The Five Percenter ideology has been embraced by members of the modern rap music community, according to Kiley, Swedenburg and the hip-hop music site, www.africana.com. A song by the Jamaican reggae/rap group Brand Nubian has used the Five Percenter phrase "Word is Bond," a phrase used by the snipers in at least one of their letters, the Washington Post has reported.

Rapper Busta Rhymes, members of the highly influential Wu-Tang Clan, are also reported to be active Five Percenters. Kiley speculated that this is how Muhammad learned of the movement and adopted some of its teachings.

When reached yesterday at the command center in Montgomery County, Md., where the investigation into the sniper case is headquartered, Capt. Nancy Demme said investigators had no knowledge of Muhammad's possible connection to the Five Percenters.

[agrandis]

While I believe that the mainline, worldwide Islam is a scourge and holds millions in darkness, what this chaplain is saying is true. The Nation of Islam, and even more so the Five Percenters, are to original Islam what the Moonies are to Christianity. They are completely different religions. It is also true that John Muhammad probably is in one of the american, Black supremacist cults, and not the more mainline, original Islam.

No matter which of the three cults are considered, though, to me, Allah is just another name for Satan.

[Fred Mertz]

Does anyone know if John Muhammad is multi-lingual?

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

This all makes a lot of sense to me.

[Jeff Chandler]

I'm reserving my opinion on this until I hear what Moose has to say about it.

[ContentiousObjector]

Isn't 13X a Garbage song?

[demosthenes the elder]

"...in all african communities."?
Dubious.
I have had long laughs about NoI and this Kwanzaa nonsense with too many native africans for me to credit that. I would think african communities would hack these heretical cultists into little pieces.
did you mean "African-American"?

[demosthenes the elder]

ARRRRGH! I had hoped to never again hear a "what 'is' is" discussion, you merciless sadist!

[demosthenes the elder]

ok, I have seen it too often now to just let it slide without asking: what is this "Molon Labe" stuff?

[ZULU]

Number of errors here. Elijah Mohammad, the founder of the Black Muslims changed his last name. Also, Black Muslims are not "moving towards mainstream Islam." Black Muslims continue to spout racist garbage. Aldo they honor their half-baked founder Elijah Mohammad as a prophet. Both of the last are anathema to true Muslims. Yet if John Williams is a Black Muslim, he wouldn't have been shooting black people.

The only cult Williams belongs to is ISLAM and the honorable Deacon is just another one of those featherbrained liberals who just can't recognize mainstream Islam for the social threat it represents.

[ZULU]

"The founder of the Five Percenters was a man who called himself Clarence 13X. Like his mentor, famed black activist Malcolm X, Clarence 13X became disenchanted with the Nation of Islam and decided to form his own organization."

Another error. Malcolm X didn't leave the Black Muslims to found his own group. He left the Black Muslims after travelling to Mecca and viewing the large number of white Muslims living together in harmony with black orthodox Muslims, gleefully plotting the overthrow of non-Muslim governments of ALL colors.

[demosthenes the elder]

ahhh. thought it looked a trifle familiar.
interesting. the 300 spartans at thermopylae are still remembered by name by the Greeks over 2000 years after the event... the heroes of that flight that crashed in PA are not only a handful of months later.(witness my own ignorance - well, never LEARNED their names, actually)
There is something deeply wrong with this.
Not with the Greeks, but with us.
Where is the national ritualized honor for the dead?

[fortheDeclaration]

Its called I-S-L-A-M.

Amen!

[per loin]

Islam pretends that some Muslims are not "really" Muslims. Kinda like the friends and relatives of a mass murderer claiming that "he's such a nice person, he can't be guilty."

[TexKat]

Does anyone know if John Muhammad is multi-lingual?

There is no telling, he seems to be a male of many traits.

[blackie]

GWB Is The Man !!

Death To all Muslim Extremist's !!

Snuff Saddam, NOW !!

The RATS Are In Disarray...Eradicate The Rodents !!

Fire Democrats, Hire Republicans !!

The Second Amendment...
Let's Roll !!

Molon Labe !!

[blackie]

Molon Labe!

[RobbyS]

I think Father needs to do a little reading. He might start with "The Arab Mind," by Raphael Patai. Islam is rooted in the Arab culture; its very language makes it hard for any Arab to connect with western patterns of throught.

[wideawake]

You're welcome.

[Hari Rao]

Hello. I am the author of the article.

The points the chaplain was trying to make to me were:

A) John Muhammad was likely a member of the Five Percent Nation.

B) The Five Percent Nation is not mainstream Islam. It is not even fringe Islam, like the Nation of Islam. It is a cult. Its only connection to Islam are the words 'Islam', 'Muslim', and 'Allah'. Their beliefs are completely different. Just calling yourself a Christian doesn't make it so. The same applies here.

These people think they are Gods. They call each other 'God'. They have been a part of hip-hop music since the beginning, apparently. They are a huge influence on most of the top rappers of the last 15 years. Don't believe me? Do your own google search for "Five Percenters" and see what I mean.

I thought the Deacon was a crackpot when I first saw his E-mail. But my google search convinced me he was on to something. These "Five Percenters" use the same language the snipers did. In prison, the mainstream Muslims cannot stand the Five Percenters. They are blasphemers, and common thugs in most cases. By contrast, many of the Sunni Muslims and even the N.O.I. guys are trying to better themselves. They believe in hard work, abstinence, and traditional family values - like you people. Most of the Five Percenters do not. They are essentially anarchists.

I don't have an "agenda". I too thought the snipers could be al Qaeda members. But the evidence thus far suggests they were merely cult members with delusions of grandeur.

I was as happy as you people when the C.I.A. killed those al Qaeda members today. Islam has its problems - there are many Muslims who support terror. But I believe that the snipers have nothing to do with Islam itself.

There are many kinds of terrorists. Even 'Christians' can be terrorists. I believe it is important to differentiate between a 1 billion-member religion and an obscure cult. They may both do evil, but one should not be blamed for the crimes of another.

Don't lump all these people together because it is convenient and fits your world-view. Think.