List of charities accused of ties to terrorism

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This is a list of charities accused of ties to terrorism . A number of charities have been accused or convicted in court of using their revenues to fund terrorism or revolutionary movements, rather than for the humanitarian purposes for which contributions were ostensibly collected. During the "war on terror" the names of several such organisations have been published, although the phenomenon predates 9/11. [1] Some detainees have been captured largely because they volunteered or worked for these charities.

Contents

On August 23, 2007, the Bush administration announced plans to implement enhanced security checking of the employees of American charities, which receive funds from U.S. Agency for International Development, looking for those who might have ties to terrorism. [2] Charities which are turned down will not be offered an explanation, or an avenue to appeal the decisions.

Charities accused of ties to terrorism

Name of CharityLocation of CharityAccusersDescription
Afghan Support Committee [3] [4] Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan Flag of the United States Department of State.svg U.S. State Department
  • Alleged to have funneled support to fighters in Afghanistan.
Al-Haramain Foundation [5] Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia Flag of the United States Department of State.svg U.S. State Department
Al Kifah Refugee Center [4] Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of Spain.svg Spanish police
Al Wafa al Igatha al Islamia [5] Flag of the Taliban.svg  Afghanistan Flag of the United States Department of State.svg U.S. State Department
Benevolence International Foundation Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.svg Federal Bureau of Investigation
Bosanska Idealna FuturaFlag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina Flag of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.svg Federal Bureau of Investigation
Global Relief Foundation Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.svg Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • Bosnian offices shut down on US request in 2002
  • Commission of the European Union froze assets in 2006 [7]
Health and Education Project International [8] Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Flag of Canada.svg Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development [9] [10] Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.svg Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • On November 10, 2004, convicted by US federal court of funding Hamas. In 2001 it was the largest Muslim charity in the United States.
İnsan Hak ve Hürriyetleri ve İnsani Yardım Vakfı Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey Flag of Russia.svg  Russia [11]
  • Alleged to have sent weapons and supplies to extremists in Syria during the Syrian Civil War.
International Islamic Relief Organization [4] Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia Flag of the United States Department of State.svg U.S. State Department
International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy (IRFAN-Canada) Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Flag of Canada.svg Canadian Revenue Agency
  • Alleged to have transferred $14.6 million worth of resources to Hamas through various associated organizations. [12] [13]
Interpal [14] Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom

Flag of the United States Department of the Treasury.png United States Treasury Department

Internationale Humanitäre Hilfsorganisation e.V. [18] [19] Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Flag of Germany.svg German Interior Ministry
  • Outlawed in Germany since it has financially supported Hamas, while presenting activities to donors as humanitarian help. [19]
Islamic Relief Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Flag of Israel.svg  Israel, [20]
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates [21] [22]
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany [23]
  • Alleged to have funded Hamas [20] and alleged connections to Muslim Brotherhood. [23] Islamic Relief is contesting the Israeli allegations [24] and publicly refutes any alleged links to the Muslim Brotherhood. [25]
Jamaat al Dawa al Quran [26] Flag of the Taliban.svg  Afghanistan Flag of the United States.svg JTF-GTMO
  • American counter-terrorism analysts at Guantanamo assert this group is an extremist militant group.
Jamat al Tabligh [27] Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan Flag of the United States Department of State.svg U.S. State Department
  • "The Jamat al Tabligh, a Pakistani-based Islamic Missionary organization, is being used as a cover to mask travel and activities of terrorists including members of al-Qaeda"
Maktab al-Khidamat [28] Flag of the Taliban.svg  Afghanistan Flag of the United States.svg 9/11 Commission
Muslim Aid [4] Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Flag of Spain.svg Spanish police, [29]
Flag of Israel.svg  Israel, [30]
Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh [31] [32] [33]
Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage [34] Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait Flag of the United States Department of State.svg U.S. State Department
Popular Front of India Flag of India.svg  India Flag of India.svg Various Indian authorities
Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation(TRO) [37] Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Flag of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.svg Federal Bureau of Investigation
Tamil (Sri Lanka) Refugee-Aid Society of Ottawa [38] [39] Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Flag of Canada.svg Canadian Revenue Agency

See also

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The Students' Islamic Movement of India is a banned organisation organisation that was formed in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh in April 1977. The stated mission of SIMI is the ‘liberation of India’ by converting it to an Islamic land. The SIMI, an organisation of extremists has declared Jihad against India, the aim of which is to establish Dar-ul-Islam by converting everyone to Islam.

al-Haramain Foundation

Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation (AHIF) was a charity foundation, based in Saudi Arabia. Under various names it had branches in Afghanistan, Albania, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Comoros, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Tanzania, and the United States, and "at its height" raised between $40 and $50 million a year in contributions worldwide. While most of the foundation's funds went to feed poor Muslims around the world, a small percentage went to Al-Qaeda, and that money was "a major source of funds" for the terrorist group. In 2003, Saudi authorities ordered Al-Haramain to shut down all overseas branches, and by 2004 Saudi authorities had dissolved Al-Haramain. However, US intelligence officials believed it had reopened branches under new names.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lashkar-e-Taiba</span> Pakistan-based Islamist and revolutionary organization

Lashkar-e-Taiba is a Pakistan-based militant Islamist Salafi jihadist organisation. Described as one of Pakistan's "most powerful jihadi groups", it is most infamous outside Pakistan. The organisation's primary stated objective is to merge the whole of Kashmir with Pakistan. It was founded in 1985-6 by Hafiz Saeed, Zafar Iqbal Shehbaz Abdullah Azzam and several other Islamist mujahideen with funding from Osama bin Laden during the Soviet–Afghan War. It has been designated a terrorist group by numerous countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maktab al-Khidamat</span> 1984–1989 organization fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan

The Maktab al-Khidamat, also Maktab Khadamāt al-Mujāhidīn al-'Arab, also known as the Afghan Services Bureau, was founded in 1984 by Abdullah Azzam, Wa'el Hamza Julaidan, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri to raise funds and recruit foreign mujahideen for the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan. MAK became the forerunner to al-Qaeda and was instrumental in creating the fundraising and recruitment network that benefited Al-Qaeda during the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human Appeal</span> British development and relief charity

Human Appeal is a British international development and relief charity based in Manchester. It was established in 1991. It runs targeted poverty relief programmes in emergency response and sustainable development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interpal</span>

Interpal is the working name for Palestinian Relief and Development Fund, a British charity founded in 1994 that describes itself as a non-political charity to alleviate problems faced by Palestinians, and focused solely on the provision of relief and development aid to the poor and needy Palestinians the world over, but primarily in the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and Jordan.

Terrorism financing is the provision of funds or providing financial support to individual terrorists or non-state actors.

The Sannabil Charitable Committee was a charity front in the United Kingdom which raised money for the banned terrorist organization called the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which is aligned with al-Qaeda. Sannabil was banned worldwide, and its assets frozen, on 7 February 2006 by the United Nations Security Council Committee 1267. Several related corporations and individuals were embargoed at the same time.

Muslim Aid is a UK faith based International Non-Governmental Organization. It acts as an international humanitarian charity with relief and development programmes in countries across Africa, Asia, and Europe. The charity works to support people suffering the effects of poverty, war, and natural disaster through both emergency relief and sustainable programmes designed to provide long-term support and independent futures to the most vulnerable communities around the world.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Popular Front of India</span> Banned Indian Muslim political organisation

Popular Front of India (PFI) is an Islamic political organisation in India, that engages in a radical and exclusivist style of Muslim minority politics. Formed to counter Hindutva groups, it was banned by the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on 28 September 2022 for a period of five years.

al-Aqsa Foundation International charitable organization (est. 1997)

The al-Aqsa Foundation is an international charity established in 1997. The head office of the foundation was located in Germany until it was closed by the German authorities in July 2002. The organisation is known to have local branch offices in the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Sweden, Pakistan, South Africa, Yemen and elsewhere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nitsana Darshan-Leitner</span> Israeli activist and lawyer

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrorism in the United Kingdom</span> Overview of terrorism in the United Kingdom

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The Union of Good, also known as the Charity Coalition, is an umbrella organization consisting of over 50 Islamic charities and funds which funnel money to organizations belonging to Hamas, which currently rules the territory of the Gaza Strip. Hamas, which characterizes itself as an "Islamic resistance movement against Israeli occupation" is also on the US State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

The Turkish-German association Internationale Humanitäre Hilfsorganisation e.V. or IHH Germany, was a registered association based in Frankfurt with branches in Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Austria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Investigative Project on Terrorism</span>

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Qatar has been accused of allowing terror financiers to operate within its borders, which has been one of the justifications for the Qatar diplomatic crisis that started in 2017 and ended in 2021. In 2014, David S. Cohen, then United States Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, accused Qatari authorities of allowing financiers who were on international blacklists to live freely in the country: "There are U.S.- and UN-designated terrorist financiers in Qatar that have not been acted against under Qatari law." Accusations come from a wide variety of sources including intelligence reports, government officials, and journalists.

References

  1. Richey, Warren (January 14, 1985). "On the trail of US funds for IRA". Christian Science Monitor.
  2. Walter Pincus (August 23, 2007). "Foreign Aid Groups Face Terror Screens". Washington Post . Retrieved 2007-08-23.
  3. 1 2 Terrorist Exclusion List, US State Department , November 15, 2002
  4. 1 2 3 4 Spain charity terror link alleged Archived 2006-12-31 at the Wayback Machine , CNN , December 8, 2002
  5. 1 2 Dossier (.pdf) [ permanent dead link ] of Jamal Muhammad Alawi Mar'i, Combatant Status Review Tribunal
  6. 1 2 3 4 Complete 911 Timeline Archived 2006-04-27 at the Wayback Machine , Cooperative Research
  7. Commission Regulation 76/2006
  8. National Post Apologizes to Human Concern International Archived 2013-01-15 at archive.today , South Asia Partnership Canada
  9. Charities Held Liable in Teen Death Archived 2006-11-14 at archive.today , Wildman Harrold Attorneys and Counselors
  10. Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, NY Times
  11. Winter, Chase. "Russia claims Turkish NGOs are 'main supplier' of extremists in Syria". DW. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  12. Canada, Service (2014-04-29). "Government of Canada Lists IRFAN-Canada as terrorist entity". gcnws. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  13. "Terrorism Profile – International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy-Canada". The Mackenzie Institute. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  14. "U.S. Designates Five Charities Funding Hamas and Six Senior Hamas Leaders as Terrorist Entities" Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine , United States Department of the Treasury, August 22, 2003.
  15. Matthew Levitt, Dennis Ross, Hamas: Politics, Charity, And Terrorism in the Service of Jihad, Yale University Press, 2007, p. 158, ISBN   0300122586, 9780300122589
  16. Dominic Casciani, Islamic charity cleared of Hamas link, BBC, 24 September 2003.
  17. Niki May Young (27 July 2010). "Interpal wins High Court case against Sunday Express claims of terror links". Civil Society Media. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
  18. "Germany outlaws IHH over claimed Hamas links, Haaretz 12.07.10". Haaretz.com. 12 July 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  19. 1 2 "Germany bans group accused of Hamas links, Ynet 07.12.10". ynet. 12 July 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  20. 1 2 "Israel bans UK-based Muslim charity accused of funding Hamas". Reuters. 19 June 2014.
  21. Simeon Kerr (2014-11-16). "UAE blacklists 83 groups as terrorists". FT.com. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  22. "Charity banned over 'links to terrorism'". The Times . 2014-11-18. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  23. 1 2 "Islamic Relief hat Kontakte zur Muslimbruderschaft". Frankfurter Rundschau. 16 April 2019.
  24. "Islamic Relief to contest Israeli 'terrorism' allegations in court". the Guardian. 2020-07-27. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  25. "UAE's tolerance embraces faiths, runs up against politics". AP NEWS. 2 February 2019. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  26. Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Sahib Rohullah Wakil's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 16-25
  27. Combatant Status Review Board Letters, final release (.pdf), Department of Defense Freedom of Information Office -- see page 4 of the .pdf
  28. National Commission on Terrorist Attack Upon the United States: appendix a common abbreviations, 9/11 Commission
  29. "CNN.com - Spain charity terror link alleged - Dec. 8, 2002" . Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  30. "Defense Minister signs order banning Hamas-affiliated charitable organizations". GxMSDev. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  31. "NGOs under scanner for 'funding militancy'" . Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  32. "Hasina: No vote rigging by AL-backed candidates - Dhaka Tribune" . Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  33. "Ten Islamist outfits to face ban - Dhaka Tribune" . Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  34. Summary of Evidence (.pdf) Archived 2013-05-04 at the Wayback Machine from pages 25-26 of Mohammed Fenaitel Mohamed Al Daihani's Combatant Status Review Tribunal
  35. "PFI India's Number One Terrorist Organisation, Says Former Mumbai Police Officer". HuffPost India. 2015-11-28. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  36. "Ban PFI, India's no 1 terror organisation: Former Maharashtra cop". Hindustan Times. 2016-02-23. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  37. "'Charities' back terror, Ottawa Sun".
  38. "Summary of Reasons for Revocation - Tamil (Sri Lanka) Refugee-Aid Society of Ottawa". www.cra-arc.gc.ca. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  39. "Ottawa Tamil group loses charitable status". CBC News. Retrieved 31 December 2016.