Aliville: Jamaat al-Fuqra in Odum, GA

When the wife and I decided to drive to Washington D.C. last weekend for the Gathering of Eagles, almost immediately the idea of making s small detour on our return trip to Florida came to mind. What could be so important as to get between me and my own bed after a thousand mile drive and a day of counter-protesting in 30 degree temperatures? Aliville. That heretofore mythical Muslims of America compound in northeastern Georgia. I had read blog entries and stories and seen photographs of other MoA encampments (Islamville in Hancock, NY and Madinah Village in Commerce, GA to name but a few), on Gates of Vienna, The Politics of CP, and Doug Hagmann's informative Northeast Intelligence Network website but very little was known about Aliville. So, armed with a camera and a good measure of righteous indignation, I did indeed detour my trip back to the Sunshine State and spent Saturday evening in Hinesville, GA, just a stone's throw from Ft. Stewart - Home of the 3rd Infantry Division (Mech).
At dawn, we hit the continental breakfast at the hotel then hit the road; State Rd. 84 towards Jesup, GA.



GA State Road 84 becomes N. 1st St as you enter Jesup from Hinesville. A right turn on W. Cherry, then a jog right onto 169 North, just as the sun was rising, put us on our way.

Unfortunately, the early hour (especially for a Sunday Morning) prevented me from questioning some of the store owners in Jesup about their reclusive neighbors to the northeast. Perhaps that can be the object of a later trip? 169 North, once you get sufficiently out of Jesup becomes a very rural, isolated 2 lane highway with turnoffs onto dirt roads of compacted red clay. Such was the case as my odometer approached 18 miles out of Jesup. After passing Anne Thompson Rd., I switched on my camera to record my 'drive-by' of Aliville. A few seconds later, I took the two photos (vid-caps actually) below. The first is of the entrance to Aliville (looking east) on Oriole Rd, identifiable by a yellow Dead-End sign. The second is of a white, wooden house on the western edge of the compound as seen from 169. Also below, is a map of 169 North and Oriole Rd.


















The drive by video shoot having been accomplished, I made a U-turn on 169 and headed south back past Oriole Rd and eventually to I-95 South. It was at this very moment that I decided that I hadn't driven this far just to shoot a few seconds of a dirt road at 30 MPH, so I put down my video camera, grabbed my digital camera and made a hasty left onto Oriole Rd and the entrance to Aliville before I could talk myself out if it.
The 'road' was made of the aforementioned compacted red clay and covered by thick growths of trees that obscured the sky as I drove the rental car at idle on the public road so as not to arouse anyone's attention. The first thing I saw was innocuous enough; a black rolling trash bin - the kind you roll to the curb for the truck with the mechanized arm to seize. The picture below is of the western-most entrance to Mecca Circle. Yes it does exist. There are even 2 stop signs at the opposite ends of the circle. The road was not flanked by houses or trailers but there were cleared areas that appeared ready to accommodate some. Notice the red guard shack at the right of the photo and a heavy wooden post to the left. No doubt for a future gate.







No 'Muslims of America' signs or one announcing that you have arrived at 'Holy Aliville', just a guardhouse and a road. Below, however, you can catch a teasing glimpse of what I saw when I peered down the eastern entrance to Mecca Circle. There were a few trailers and several houses, some of them under construction, and a number of cars. This picture was taken after I passed the easternmost entrance to the circle, negotiated a hasty U-Turn on a narrow muddy, clay road and stopped long enough to snap a photo of the road sign and part of a rather nice house. I was sure my maneuvers on the dirt road had gotten the attention of some of the inhabitants as I saw some movement at the far end of the circle. Even though I was on a public street with every right in the world to be there, I decided that I had pressed my luck far enough, stopped to get a clear shot of the road sign, then exited Oriole Rd.









As I suggested earlier, perhaps others, especially those who live closer to Odum, GA than I do, can shed further light on this MoA outpost in the shadow of Ft. Stewart and a Nuclear Power Plant? While I would have liked to have taken more pictures, at least the curtains that have hidden Aliville have now been slightly parted. It's up to others to draw them back completely.