PowerBlog! has learned there is an investigation around an Islamic center, school and mosque located on the north side of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Last Friday, agents from the FBI raided a residence in the 1300 block of Boyle Street, not far from the the downtown area. According to FBI sources, the raid is part of a “criminal probe” centered around a three-story, green dwelling that is home to the Sankore Institute and Light of Age Mosque, a facility that “doubles as a school for people seeking to learn the Qu’ran and Islamic religious teachings.”
In Pittsburgh, the raid began about noon Friday, or during Friday prayers (known as the Jummah prayer), when authorities shut down the intersection of Boyle and Hemlock streets; the FBI executed a search warrant at the dwelling and spent much of the day at this location. FBI agents, backed up by an armed tactical squad surrounded the home into the evening. Area residents interviewed by investigators said that a number of men in traditional Arab attire were escorted from the premises and thoroughly searched. Several were placed into the back of a waiting police van at the time of the search. Authorities also used explosive sniffing police dogs and at one point, agents also used a robot to enter the premises.
Last February, the group moved into the neighborhood and distributed fliers that said "we are here to help you make the North Side a better place to live, worship, work and play." Investigators obtained this flyer and other documents originating from the mosque.
It is important to note that area residents and community members familiar with the group firmly denied that the institute is part of the seven mosques making up the Islamic Council of Greater Pittsburgh. Based on direct observation by investigators familiar with such groups and information they developed through interviews with area residents, the members of this group are mostly “African-American.”
We will continue to track this story as it develops.
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