Investigation: Foundations Gave Millions To Groups Accused Of Terror Ties
PETER HASSON
DailyCaller.com
11/03/2017
Major American foundations have given millions of dollars in funding to Islamic organizations accused of having ties to radical Islamist movements or designated terrorist organizations and a group of activists are trying to convince them to stop.
Groups like Islamic Relief Worldwide, which some countries have banned for allegedly funding Hamas and other terrorist organizations, have received millions of dollars from corporate charities like the GE Foundation, community foundations like the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and independent foundations like George Soros’ Open Society Foundation.
Researchers with the Middle East Forum, an activist group devoted to promoting American interests abroad, identified the financial stream from American foundations to seven Islamic groups with radical ties: Islamic Relief Worldwide and its sister organization in the United States — Islamic Relief USA, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Muslim American Society (MAS), the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and, despite rebounding from highly damaging terrorist allegations in 2008, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
The various foundations have given $5.8 million to these seven groups since 2000, IRS filings show, with $5.6 million of that taking place since 2008.
In total, 46 corporate foundations, eight community foundations, nine private foundations and one donor-advised fund have given money to these seven groups.
The MEF researchers tried — with very limited success — to privately persuade every foundation on the list to cease giving money to the seven groups, before sharing their findings exclusively with TheDC. In the interest of transparency, TheDC included the entire list of donations — with accompanying documentation — at the bottom of this article.
Terror-Linked Groups
All seven groups have all been accused of having ties either to radical Islamist movements or to designated terrorist organizations.
The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) supports the establishment of an Islamic caliphate and has ties to a radical Pakistani political group called Jamaat-e-Islami. Al-Qaeda recruiter Anwar al-Awlaki spoke at an event for the ICNA in 2002. ICNA members have been involved in terroristic activities in the United States. One woman was arrested in 2015 for allegedly planning a terrorist attack had spoken at multiple ICNA events. Five students who were arrested for terrorist activities in 2009 were all members of an ICNA mosque in Alexandria, Va.
The Rest…HERE
