United Muslim Christian Forum

The United Muslim Christian Forum (UMCF) is an entity of Muslims of the Americas and is based at its 70-acre headquarters called Islamberg, along with the International Quranic Open University. UMCF says it was established by a radical cleric in Pakistan named Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani.

UMCF says it seeks to “recognize similarities between Muslims and Christians, diminish differences and seek a new solid foundation of joint respect based on the unchallenged commandments of God and love for the blessed Messengers of God (peace upon them all).”[1]

At its 2008 Muslim-Christian World Peace Rally in New York City, a speaker said, “We serve notice to the world, that as Muslims and Christians, we will no longer be duped or manipulated by a ‘hidden hand’ into fighting or going to war with each other.” Another speaker claimed that 4,000 Jews that work at the World Trade Center stayed home on September 11, 2001. An article on the website about the event states that the 9/11 attacks were “Stage One of getting the Western world, on behalf of the Jews, to go to war with the Arab world.”[2]

The organization had Dr. Ali Mazrui as a speaker at a January 8, 2011 event honoring Jesus.[3] He compares Israel to Nazi Germany and said at a Muslim Public Affairs Council event in 2002 that:

“There is also suspicion that some members of the Bush administration, in collusion with Israel, are more than ready to plunge the Middle East into turmoil in the hope that the final outcome would be to the territorial advantage of Israel and the strategic advantage of the United States. All this is part of the emerging external sadism of the United States, a readiness to hurt others abroad.”[4]

On April 16, 2011, UMCF held an interfaith event in Owego, New York. The keynote speaker was Muhammad Ali Qadiri, the “mayor” of the Muslims of the Americas site in Red House, VA referred to as “Ahmadabad.” He preached that the U.S. may be destroyed by Allah because of the burning of the Quran.[5]

Clarion Project National Security Analyst Ryan Mauro attended the event and described being closely followed, peppered with questions and barred from filming or taking photos. He says that he spoke to “Mayor” Qadiri about the organization’s anti-Semitism, who replied that “We are trying not to get into the bashing business anymore. I mean some of this is trial and error when you go into it and the longer we do it, the more we’re finding that certain things are a little bit too offensive … categorically we do not deny anything we said.”

When asked about the gunfire heard at Muslims of the Americas communes, he said, “What is wrong with shooting your gun in the United States of America?”[6]

On April 21, 2012, UMCF held an event at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC [7] UMCF chairperson Khalifa Hussein Adams spoke and stated that “[Jesus] is a role model for the Sufis, as opposed to the Jews who deprived him of the honor of being born to a blessed virgin mother. They also conspired to take his life. He was called the son of an illegitimate birth, while his mother was termed a woman of ill repute. Perhaps you are well aware of the fact that the Jews brought false allegations of sedition and rebellion against Jesus son of Mary to their Roman masters. Because of this, they say he was crucified.”

Adams also said that no “orthodox Muslim” has ever been charged with carrying out a terrorist attack anywhere in the world. He said that Muslims of the Americas are the only true Muslims and said that the Muslim Brotherhood, Wahhabists and Shiites aren’t real Muslims.[8]

In October 2012, UMCF called on the U.S. government to punish the makers of an anti-Islam film titled Innocence of Muslims. Its press release claimed that it was an act of “media terrorism” and “barbarous treason” aimed at inciting conflict between Muslims and Christians. It said that it is not protected by the First Amendment, and “therefore, we demand immediate action by the appropriate government agencies to stop this film and bring its perpetrators to justice for this malicious hate speech.”[9]