ABSTRACT

Jamaat-al-Muslimeen (JAM), a little-known Islamic political group based in Trinidad and Tobago, illustrates almost every possible spectrum of the potential links, interactions and blurred lines found between organized crime and terrorism. This chapter explores the nature of JAM’s political and organized crime activities in Trinidad and Tobago, charting the history and evolution of the group, its spectacular attempt to stage a violent coup in the country in 1990 and why and how JAM survived the aftermath of the coup’s failure. In doing so, the chapter charts how JAM has progressively (and at times simultaneously) operated as a community organization, religious movement, vigilante posse, terrorist group and organized crime network.