Dwight York

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For similarly named people, see Dwight York (disambiguation).

Dwight York
conspiracy, fraud (tax-evasion),[1]
Penalty135 years imprisonment[1]

Dwight D. York

criminal, black supremacist, pedophile, convicted child molester, Minister, musician, book author, singer and songwriter best known as the founding leader of several black Muslim groups in New York, most notably the Nuwaubian Nation, a black supremacist, new religious movement that has existed in some form since the 1960s.[2][3][1][7][8]

York began founding several black Muslim groups in the late 1960s.

conspiracy theories.[2][3][1] He last called his group the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors, Nuwaubian Nation, or Nuwabians.[2][1]

Around 1990, York and the Nuwaubian Nation relocated to rural

child molestation and violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.[1][7] He is serving a 135-year sentence.[1]

York and his wife, Kathy Johnson, were arrested in May 2002.

child sexual molestation, as well as racketeering and financial reporting violations.[1]
York's case was reported as the largest prosecution for child molestation ever directed at a single person in the history of the United States, both in terms of number of victims and number of incidents.

Biography

Early life

York incorporates a "™" trade-mark suffix into his signature on a Liberian Consulate document.

According to a birth certificate issued in the United States, Dwight D. York was born in

Takoradi, Ghana.[12][citation needed
]

York says that he was raised in

Imaam of the Ansaars in the Sudan until 1959 AD, upon looking into my eyes foretold that I was the one who would possess 'the light.'"[13] He says he returned to the United States in 1957 at age 12 and continued to study Islam. As an adolescent, he moved with his family to Teaneck, New Jersey
.

In the late 1960s York, calling himself "Iman Isa", combined elements of the

black nationalist movement and community. He called it "Ansaar Pure Sufi", or the "Ansaaru Allah Community", c. 1970.[14] He instructed members to wear black and green dashikis.[6]

He later changed his name to "Iman Isa Abdullah" and renamed his "Ansaar Pure Sufi" ministry to the "Nubians" in

Black Hebrews phenomenon, under the name "Nubian Islaamic Hebrews" and "Nubian Hebrew Mission" as of 1969.[15] Unlike other groups, they were not Judeo-Christian but Judeo-Islamic.[16]
This was also the period of Black Power among some African Americans.

Ansaaru Allah Community (1970)

York later traveled to Africa, to

Umma Party). He began to develop the claim of his "Sudanese" roots in order to authenticate his American branch of the sect.[6]

After York returned from a pilgrimage to (

FBI report described this group as a "front for a wide range of criminal activity, including arson, welfare fraud and extortion."[18]

The group wrote:

The women of the Ansaaru Allah Community focus on memorizing history as their

Qur'an. They participate in the compilation of the various texts produced by the community and also work in the recording studio owned by the community. Other than this work, the women's main source of income comes from US government public assistance and monies earned by the men in various enterprises such as food shops, jewelry and merchandise stores, and street vending.[17]

Brooklyn (1980–1993)

The New York Press reported on York:

He was based in

Catskills, around 1991, then to Georgia in 1993.[19]

The community in Brooklyn, reported as identifying as the "Holy Tabernacle of the Most High" and also as the "Children of Abraham", was said to be led by Rabboni Y'shua Bar El Haady. They practiced a mixture of Judaism and Islam. They were reported as numbering about 300 persons and in 1994, the group reportedly still owned nine apartment buildings, of which five were in tax arrears. Local politicians were concerned that the abandoned buildings would become centers of uses that would damage the neighborhood. Anecdotal reports were that some of the group went to Monroe County, New York, and others to Georgia.[20]

Musical productions

In the early 1980s, York performed as vocalist with his own groups, known as Jackie and the Starlights, the Students, and Passion.

He launched his own record label, named Passion Productions, recording as the solo artist "Dr. York". His debut release and also a video, was the single "Only a Dream" (later included in the album New York, Hot Melt Records UK, 1985). "Dr. York" and Passion Productions were advertised in the May 4, 1985, issue of Billboard magazine.[21]

Later York formed York Records releasing the music of several successful artists within the genre of R&B, Hip Hop, Gospel, and others.  York Records released York's single called “It’s Too Late” in 1986 featuring

Ex-Girlfriend featuring Stacy Francis from X-Factor and TV One's R&B Divas Los Angeles. Then Nubian Egyptian/Sudanese vocalist and oud player Hamza El Din “Live At The Ansaaru Allah Community In America” also in 1998.[citation needed
]

He also released Passion on his York Records and Passion Records imprint. A group that consisted of York, Zeemo (Abdul Aziz), and Steve (Segovia) and later even featured Wendell Sawyer, Vernon Sawyer, and Ted Mills of the group Blue Magic.[22] York said he performed popular music in order to "reach a mass majority of my people through my music."[23]

His Passion Studios recorded artists like Force MD's, Fredro Starr of Onyx, and Stetsasonic.[20]

Ministry and fraternal orders

York's groups had a variety of names and functions: quasi-religious, fraternal, and tribal. They were called "Holy Tabernacle Ministries", "Egiptian [sic] Church of Karast," "Holy Seed Baptist Synagogue", "Ancient Mystic Order of Melchizedek", "Ancient Egiptian [sic] Order", "All Eyez on Egypt", "United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors", "Yamassee Native American Tribe", "Washitaw Tribe", and "Lodge 19 of the Ancient and Mystic Order of Malachizodok."[24] While drawing from various religious and historical themes, Malachi York continued to focus on Nubia. He promoted a design featuring an ankh in the middle of a six-pointed star of Judaism and Islamic crescent, a symbol used by the Ansarullah Community. The ankh is associated with pre-Islamic Sudan, Nubia.

Dwight York changed his name legally in 1990 to "Issa al Haadi al Mahdi" when he was still living in Brooklyn.[25] He changed it again in 1993 to "Malachi York",[9] but also adopted a number of titles and pseudonyms, including "The Supreme Grand Master Dr. Malachi Z. York," "Nayya Malachizodoq-El", and "Chief Black Eagle".

By 1985 York had added miracle-performance to his repertoire. He claimed to

materialize sacred, healing ash in front of his followers, much in the fashion of Sathya Sai Baba.[26]

In 1988 York was convicted of obtaining a passport with a false birth certificate.[27]

Move to Georgia and construction of Tama-Re (1993–2002)

The central part of the "Tama-Re" compound, as seen from the air, 2002

York left Brooklyn with an estimated 300 followers about 1990. Some settled in upstate New York. He later moved with numerous followers to Georgia. Others joined them from such cities as Baltimore, Philadelphia, Hartford, New York and Washington, D.C.[8] According to former follower Robert J. Rohan, who later wrote a book about the movement, York moved in order to avoid criminal investigations and other charges in New York.[28]

Perhaps to avoid scrutiny from the international

Muslim community, the Nation of Islam, the Nation of Gods and Earths, legal troubles, and the negative history of his group during their New York period, he changed his own name several times, as well as the group's name, and masked different parts of their doctrine.[18] In Georgia, they changed their name to the "United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors".[14]

At York's direction, the community purchased land and built Tama-Re (originally named Kadesh), an Egyptian-themed complex built on 476 acres (1.93 km2) of land near Eatonton, Georgia. It was built over a period of years and completed in 1993.

Tensions with county authorities increased in 1998, when the county sought an injunction against construction and uses that violated zoning. At the same time, the Nuwaubian community increased its leafletting of Eatonton and surrounding areas, charging white officials with racial discrimination and striving to increase opposition to them. Threats mounted and an eviscerated dog carcass was left at the home of the county attorney.[8]

Within Putnam County, the Nuwaubians lost black support, in part by trying to take over the NAACP chapter. But outside, they appealed to activists, claiming to be persecuted in the county. During this period, the group maintained Holy Tabernacle stores "in more than a dozen cities in the U.S., the United Kingdom and Trinidad."[8] And York purchased a $557,000 mansion in Athens, Georgia, about 60 miles away, the base of the University of Georgia.[8]

In July 1999,

Time magazine reported on the "40-ft. pyramids, obelisks, gods, goddesses and a giant sphinx," built by York's followers in rural Georgia in an article titled "Space Invaders".[29]

In 2005 federal government officials acquired the property of Tama-Re through asset forfeiture after York was convicted and sentenced to prison for 135 years. He owed money for violating financial laws. After the property was sold, new owners demolished the buildings and monuments.

Arrest and conviction of child molestation (2002–present)

Beginning in Brooklyn, York had established strict sexual practices within the community, reserving for himself sexual access to many women and girls, including wives and children of followers.

Theodore Gabriel wrote about these practices:

[W]hile extolling the virtues and importance of family life and the conjugal relationship, he [York] denies such relationships to his followers except at strictly controlled intervals. He urges his female followers to pattern themselves on the Islamic paradigms of the wife and the mother, apparently desiring the creation of stable family units. But in reality the husbands and wives are segregated in dormitories, separated also from their children. York permits spouses to cohabit only once every three months. They are permitted to meet in the "Green Room" by prior appointment only.[30]

Anonymous letters were sent to Putnam County officials alleging child molestation at the Nuwaubian community. The FBI, which had started investigating the group in 1993, assigned a major task force to it. In 2002 York was arrested and charged with more than 100 counts of sexually molesting dozens of children, some as young as four years old. According to Bill Osinski, who wrote a 2007 book about York and the case:

When he [York] was finally indicted, state prosecutors literally had to cut back the number of counts listed — from well beyond a thousand to slightly more than 200 — because they feared a jury simply wouldn't believe the magnitude of York's evil.… [It] is believed to be the nation's largest child molestation prosecution ever directed at a single person, in terms of number of victims and number of alleged criminal acts.[31]

In early 2003 York's lawyer had him evaluated by a

personality disorders; histrionic personality traits, self-defeating personality traits, and schizotypal personality features.[32]

In 2003, York entered into a

indigenous person
:

Your Honor, with all due respects to your government, your nation, and your court, we the indigenous people of this land have our own rights, accepted sovereign, our own governments. We are a sovereign people,

Native American Creeks, Seminole, Washitaw Mound Builders. And all I'm asking is that the Court recognize that I am an indigenous person. Your court does not have jurisdiction over me. I should be transferred to the Moors Cherokee Council Court in which I will get a trial by juries of my peers. I cannot get a fair trial, Your Honor, if I'm being tried by the settlers or the confederates. I have to be tried by Native Americans as a Native American. That's my inalienable rights, and it's on record.[33]

He asserted to the court that he was a "secured party", and answered questions in court with the response: "I accept that for value." This may have been a heterodox legal strategy based on

patriot mythology.[34][clarification needed
]

Early in 2004, York was convicted in federal court by a jury of multiple RICO, child molestation, and financial reporting charges. He was sentenced to 135 years in prison.[35]

His case was appealed to the

U.S. Supreme Court appeal was denied in June 2006.[37]

York's followers assert a number of defenses, including that their leader Malachi Z. York, who was charged and convicted, is not the same person as the Dwight D. York who is listed in court documents as the defendant. (One of York's sons is named Dwight, and sometimes the claim is made that it is York's son and not York who is or should be the real defendant.) Others say that York was "set up" by his son

al Qaeda-linked American mosques jealous of York's influence among black Muslims.[citation needed
]

York believes that his betrayal, arrest, trial and imprisonment (and eventual release) were foretold in chapter 10 of Zecharia Sitchin's The Wars of the Gods and the Men, with York being represented by Mar-duq in that story.[38]

Imprisonment

As of 2020, Dwight York is serving his sentence at the United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility (ADX) in Florence, Colorado, as Inmate # 17911–054. His projected release date is July 12, 2120.[39]

York's followers have said that since 1999 York has been a Consul General of

Charles Taylor. They argue he should be given diplomatic immunity from prosecution and extradited as a persona non grata to Liberia.[40]
Officials have not accepted this claim.

In 2018 the Republic of Liberia's courts have confirmed possession of York's citizenship documents and York's attorneys in Liberia have been working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to reengage the United States Department of State on York's behalf.[41]

Teachings

Main article:
Nuwaubianism

York has taught an ever-changing and multifaceted doctrine over the years, with influences and borrowings from many sources. It has included a baroque

race and human origins, cryptozoological and extraterrestrial speculations, black nationalism, conspiracy theory
, and religious practices invented or borrowed from many existing religions.

Claim of extraterrestrial origin

York has claimed to be an extraterrestrial master teacher from the planet Rizq. He wrote, "We have been coming to this planet before it had your life form on it. ... My incarnation as an Ilah Mutajassid or Avatara was originally in the year 1945 A.D. In order to get here I travelled by one of the smaller passenger crafts called SHAM out of a Motherplane called MERKABAH or NIBIRU." This version of York came to Earth on March 16, 1970. (

better source needed
]

Descent

York has had a variety of stories about his ancestry and birth, including that he was born in Omdurman, Sudan. This has not been documented. His parents of record are Mary C. York (née Williams), now also known as Faatimah Maryam, and her husband David Piper York.[8] York has claimed that his biological father was Al Haadi Abdur Rahman Al Mahdi, whom his mother ostensibly met while studying as a student in the Sudan.[43] This is not supported by any documentary sources.

York claims that the name he was given at birth was "Isa Al Haadi Al Mahdi" and that he was not given the name "York" (without a first name) until a month later when he and his mother returned to Boston.[44] David and Mary York had four other children together: David, Dale, Debra and Dennis.[43] York has claimed, without documentation being found, that his father was descended from "Ben" York, an enslaved African American who took part in the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806).[43]

He claims a paternal Sudanese grandfather, As Sayyid Abdur Rahman Al Mahdi, making York a descendant of the Muslim leader Muhammad Ahmad.[45] On his mother's side, York described his maternal grandfather, Clarence Daniel "Bobby" Williams, as "an Egyptian Moor named Salah Hailak Al Ghala, a merchant seaman from a little village called Beluwla, in Nubia of Ancient Egypt."[46] Another genealogical tree shows Bobby Williams' father as unknown and his mother as "Madam Decontee" of the Bassa tribe of Liberia.[43] These claims have not been documented.

Aliases

York has been known by a multitude of aliases over the years, many of which he used simultaneously. They include the following:

  • Dr. York
  • Malakai Z. York
  • Dr. Malachi Z. York-El
  • H.E. Dr. Malachi Kobina Yorke™
  • Imperial Grand Potentate Noble: Rev. Dr. Malachi Z. York 33°/720°
  • Consul General: Dr. Malachi Z. York ©™
  • Grand Al Mufti "Divan" Noble Rev. Dr. Malichi Z. York-El
  • As Sayyid Al Imaam Issa Al Haadi Al Mahdi
  • Asayeed El Imaam Issa El Haaiy El Mahdi
  • Isa Abd'Allah Ibn Abu Bakr Muhammad
  • Isa al Haadi al-Mahdi
  • Al Hajj Al Imaam Isa Abd'Allah Muhammad Al Mahdi
  • Irie I Sayyid Al Mumbra Issa El Haajidi Tundi the Divine and Noble Blackthello

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v "Nuwaubian Nation of Moors". SPLCenter.org. Montgomery, Alabama: Southern Poverty Law Center. 2022 [September 2015]. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  2. ^
    S2CID 236767801
    .
  3. ^
    ISSN 1874-6691
    .
  4. ^ "United States v. York, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, October 27, 2005". Findlaw.
  5. ^ Purported birth certificate of York shows birth as June 26, 1945, Archived August 21, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b c d e Philips, Abu Ameenah Bilal. The Ansar Cult in America, Tawheed Publications 1988, p. 1. Philips claims that in 1975 York's publications changed his declared birth year from 1935 to 1945, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Sudanese Mahdi, who is popularly believed to have been born in 1845.
  7. ^ a b Menjor, David S. (September 28, 2018). "Mixup at U.S. Bureau of Prisons over Identity of Dr. Malachi York and Son, Dwight". Liberian Observer. Archived from the original on September 2, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Moser, Bob. "'Savior' in a Strange Land: A black supremacist cult leader meets his match in rural Georgia", Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Report 107 (Fall, 2002), as archived by the Internet Archive March 2005; Archived June 4, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ a b In the Matter of the Application of Issa Al Haadi Al Mahdi for leave to change his name to Malachi York January 15, 1993 [1] Archived December 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Osinski, Bill "Cult leader ignored his own rules," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 7, 2002 "Ajc.com | Metro | Cult leader ignored own rules". Archived from the original on March 3, 2003. Retrieved April 14, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ISBN 1573928429
    P.184
  12. ^ York, Mary C. "Affidavit of confirmation of true birth records of Malachi Kobina York/Yorke by myself his biological mother," April 19, 2001
  13. ^ Malachi Z. York, The Ansaar Cult, Rebuttal to the Slanderers, Factology website, archived by the Internet Archive in Feb. 2005;
  14. ^ a b Carol Brennan, "York, Dwight D.", Encyclopedia.com, 2016
  15. ^ Glossary from McKee, Susan, "A Provisional History of Muslims in the United States" (work-in-progress), as archived by the Internet Archive, Jan. 2004;
  16. ^ Philips, Abu Ameenah Bilal. The Ansar Cult in America Tawheed Publications, 1988, p. 3
  17. ^ a b "Ansaaru Allah Nubian Islamic Hebrews: Ourstory!", Archived March 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ a b "Ancient Mystic Order of Malchizedek, Index of Cults and Religions", Watchman Fellowship ministry
  19. ^ Heimlich, Adam. "Black Egypt: A Visit to Tama-Re", New York Press, 14 November 2000, Archived January 10, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ a b Hevesi, Dennis. "Muslims Leave Bushwick: The Neighbors Ask Why," New York Times, April 24, 1994
  21. ^ "Dr. York". Billboard. May 4, 1985. p. 41.
  22. ^ "Record News", Sounds, December 14, 1985, p. 6
  23. ^ York, Malachi Z. "El's Qur'aan 18:60–82, What It Means Today," The Truth (Bulletin), The 7 Heads and the 10 Horns (1993) p. 12
  24. ^ "Malachi York". Masonic Info. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2016.;
  25. ^ "In the matter of the Application of Dwight York a/k/a/ Isa Muhammad, leave to change his name to Issa al Haadi al Mahdi," N.Y. Supreme Court, Brooklyn, Kings County, November 27, 1989
  26. ^ Philips, Abu Ameenah Bilal. The Ansar Cult, 1988, p. 36 (referring to York's 1985 books The Man of Miracles in This Day and Time and You Are Adam's Descendants)
  27. ^ Testimony of Jalaine Ward, quoted in Peecher, Rob. "FBI: York molested dozens; grand jury indicts Nuwaubian leader on 116 state counts", The Macon Telegraph, May 14, 2002 "The Macon Telegraph | 05/14/2002 | FBI: York molested dozens; grand jury indicts Nuwaubian leader on 116 state counts". Archived from the original on June 16, 2002. Retrieved August 11, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  28. ^ Sharon E. Crawford, "Former Nuwaubian writes book, tells how York duped followers," The Macon Telegraph, 14 March 2005, posted at New Age Fraud website; accessed May 26, 2016
  29. ^ Joe Kovac Jr., "New Book Asks Provocative Questions About Dwight York", The Macon Telegraph, May 20, 2007
  30. ^ Gabriel, Theodore. "Dwight York – a religious and cultural bricoleur," in Partridge, C. UFO Religions, Routledge, 2003, p. 152
  31. ^ Osinski, Bill. Ungodly: Fact Sheet Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Ungodly: A True Story of Unprecedented Evil book website
  32. ^ Robinson, Matt. Attachments filed with the 2241 habeas corpus motion, April 27, 2006
  33. ^ U.S. v. York (Case 02-CR-27-1) 30 June 2003 transcripts
    see also: Peecher, Rob "York claims immunity as Indian: Defense raises new issues as about 200 show support," Macon Telegraph, 1 July 2003
  34. ^ Peecher, Rob. "Lawyer withdraws guilty plea for York: Nuwaubian leader likely to face new charges, including racketeering," Macon Telegraph, October 25, 2003
  35. ^ [2], Online Athens, Georgia
  36. ^ U.S. v. Dwight D. York, a.k.a. Malakai Z. York, etc. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, D.C. Docket No. 02-00027-CR-CAR-5-1, October 27, 2005 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 3, 2005. Retrieved October 28, 2005.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  37. ^ Dwight D. York, Petitioner v. United States Docket for 05-1503
  38. ^ "York, Malachi Z. Compilation of Powerful Letters 27 June 2005" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 28, 2006. Retrieved March 20, 2006.
  39. ^ Inmate Locator, Federal Bureau of Prisons
  40. ^ "Liberian Repatriation Efforts" Nuwaubian Administration of International Affairs "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved March 20, 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link); see also Johnson, Joe "Notaries play role in fake document ploy: York's sect at it again," Athens Banner-Herald 20 December 2009
  41. ^ admin (August 28, 2018). "Court Confirms Dr. York's Liberian Citizenship". FrontPageAfrica. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  42. ^ "Man from Planet Rizq". The Holy Tabernacle Ministries. January 1996.
  43. ^ a b c d "York Genealogy Chart of African and Native Decendancy" Nuwaubian Administration of International Affairs[3] Archived April 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  44. ^ "Issue #1 Who is Dwight D. York?" United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors [4] Archived April 20, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  45. ^ Philips, Abu Ameenah Bilal. The Ansar Cult in America, Tawheed Publications, 1988, p. 12
  46. ^ "Genealogy of Consul General Dr. Malachi Z. York and his African-Native Moorish American-Aboriginal and Indigenous Peoples of the Land Heritage," Nuwaubian Administration of International Affairs [5] Archived November 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine

External links

Further reading

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