Dr. James Griffin is the only Black Muslim kid in small town Deposit, New York.

Then one day in eighth grade, the rival basketball team shows up with a whole new roster. Parents in kufis and hijabs. Kids with skin the same color as his. Could it be possible? An entire community of Black Muslims? Right here, in a town where he's always been the only one?

So James does what any kid in his position would do: he walks up and says "as-salamu alaykum."

And gets a look like he just insulted somebody's mother.

They're the Muslims of America, a group that just moved onto a compound down the road, run by a sheikh in Pakistan who, his followers say, speaks directly to God.

At first they become his friends. But being their friend isn't the same as being one of them. And for a kid who's always felt like the outsider, he wants to feel part of. Included. Just like every person does. Until eventually...

...he's at their 30-day summer camp. 4 a.m. Quran. Marching drills. Target practice. And at 15, learning how to sneak up behind a man and slit his throat.

NBD.

Soon, James isn't just hanging around the group. He marries into it, moves onto "the land," hands over ten percent of his paycheck, and builds his whole life around a man he has never actually met.

But here's the thing about cults. This community has a past.

Before it called itself the Muslims of America, it went by Al-Fuqra: a name already tied to bombings, murder, and terrorist plots.

But James knows none of that. At least, not yet...

Because eventually, the community he spends years of his life protecting becomes the exact group he needs protection from.

This is Part One of Dr. James Griffin's story. And it only gets bigger, darker and cultier from here. So be sure to stick around for Part 2 next week.

FOLLOW JAMES

YouTube → @Return2Fitrah
YouTube → @Dr.JamesGriffin
Book → Behind the Minbar: Confronting Sexual Misconduct in Muslim Institutions
Email → emailr2f@gmail.com or jamesdrgriff@gmail.com

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