the Taliban's Favorite Charities

Submitted by Anti Jehad (India), Aug 5, 2007 at 16:43

• The notorious Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM)— "movement of holy warriors"—labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S.
With leaders trained in Afghanistan, HUM focused its activities on Kashmir, killing tourists there. It was responsible for
the December 1999 hijacking of an Indian airliner to Afghanistan. The group fought the Soviets during the war and has
close ties to the Taliban. It reportedly has recruited in North America.

• International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) and the Muslim World League, two closely associated Muslim charities.
Both are tightly tied to the Saudi royal family and have been previously investigated for possible terrorist activities,
according to The Washington Post. The IIRO has given $60 million to the Taliban. In 1999 an Orlando, Florida, resident
who had worked for the Muslim World League in Pakistan was jailed after he refused to explain his connections to
people involved in the U.S. embassy bombings in Africa. The IIRO said it has nothing to do with terrorism, and Saudi
intelligence claims there are no ties to the Saudi royal family. But Jonathan Winter, a former State Department official,
testified before Congress last week, saying that Islamic charities have "either provided funds to terrorists or failed to
prevent their funds from being diverted to terrorist use," according to the Post.

• Al-Fuqra (AF), which began clandestine activities in the Muslim communities of North America and the Caribbean in
the 1980s. This group is reported to have raised money for fundamentalist groups in Pakistan and recruited groups of
African Americans to train within Pakistan. Based in Hancock, New York, the group had an estimated 1000 to 3000
members in the U.S. in the '90s

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".