The USAID’s links to terror funding getting unearthed by the day. In this article, we will take a look at 3 organisations disguised as charities that are “allegedly” linked to terror outfits in the Indian subcontinent.
Muslim Aid
Muslim Aid, one of the largest Islamic charities globally, has come under scrutiny for its ties to Islamist extremist groups and terror financing. Founded in 1985 in London, the charity has grown significantly, with an annual revenue in the tens of millions of pounds. However, its connections to violent organizations have raised alarms among counter-terrorism experts and government agencies.
The charity is widely considered a key outpost of Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist movement linked to violence and extremism, that was founded to propagate Islamic values across the Indian subcontinent and advocate for an Islamic political system.
In 2013, a Bangladeshi war crimes tribunal sentenced one of the charity’s founders, Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin, to death in absentia for his role in leading a Jamaat-e-Islami death squad during the 1971 Liberation War, which was responsible for abducting and murdering 18 individuals. Despite these grave accusations, Muslim Aid has continued to operate in the international aid sector.
In 2013, USAID transferred over $1.5 million to Muslim Aid through ACDI/VOCA, an international development organization.
Yet, documents obtained by the Middle East Forum through a Freedom of Information Act request suggest that Muslim Aid was investigated by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control for potential terror financing activities.
Further investigations reveal that the charity’s Australian branch has supported jihadist organizations in Indonesia. Muslim Aid’s operations have also been linked to several other instances of terror financing. The government of Bangladesh included Muslim Aid on a list of ten Islamic charities that support Islamist terrorism, while Spanish authorities accused the charity of funding jihadists in Bosnia during the 1990s.
Muslim Aid has admitted to funding groups connected to Hamas, including a grant of more than $18,000 to the al-Ihsan Charitable Society, which is designated as a terrorist sponsor by the U.S. government. Additionally, Muslim Aid’s Pakistan branch has partnered openly with Al-Khidmat, the charitable arm of Jamaat-e-Islami’s Pakistani chapter, which also collaborates with Hizbul Mujahedeen, a terrorist organization designated by both India and the US.
The charity’s Pakistan operations have been marked by further controversy, notably in 2009 when it appointed a senior official from Pakistan’s notorious Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as chairman of its board of trustees. The charity’s management has faced repeated criticism for failing to monitor its financial activities effectively. In 2012, British charity regulators censured Muslim Aid for inadequate oversight after three individuals used the organization’s infrastructure to raise funds for suicide bombings.
Other officials linked to Muslim Aid have also been involved in controversial activities. Manazir Ahsan, a prominent British Islamist, coordinated riots in the UK against novelist Salman Rushdie over his book The Satanic Verses, while Iqbal Sacranie, another leading British Islamist, expressed violent rhetoric against Rushdie. Jafer Hussain Qureshi, a senior official of Muslim Aid’s UK branch, also manages the affairs of Zakir Naik, an internationally wanted preacher with ties to terrorist groups. Qureshi has served as the trustee of the Zakat Foundation of India, which operates UPSC Civil Services training classes for Muslims and is registered under India’s Income Tax Act and the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
READ Foundation
In a further extension of these links, USAID has also provided funding to several organizations with direct connections to Jamaat-e-Islami and terrorist groups. USAID granted $600,000 to Pakistan’s READ Foundation, an organization linked to Jamaat-e-Islami, which operates schools in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir alongside its sister organization, the Ghazali Education Trust, which has ties to Hizbul Mujahideen.
The Rural Education and Development (READ) Foundation, one of the largest educational networks in the Indian subcontinent, is part of a massive network of charities and organizations controlled by Jamaat-e-Islami. READ manages nearly 400 schools in PoK and other rural areas in Pakistan, catering to over 120,000 students. While it operates in Pakistan, READ has expanded its reach with offices in the United Kingdom and a presence in the United States.
READ is a key player in the complex web of Jamaat-e-Islami’s network, which operates as a vehicle for political influence, religious proselytism, and radicalization in both the Indian subcontinent and the West. Through these charities, the Jamaat gains converts, wins votes, and extends its reach into impoverished rural communities. Al Khidmat Foundation, in particular, has been tied to fundraising for Hamas, and both Al Khidmat and Ghazali Education Trust are directly linked to Syed Salahuddin, the leader of Hizbul Mujahideen, the paramilitary wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. Hizbul Mujahideen is a designated terrorist organization in both the United States and India.
The READ Foundation has also received significant funding from U.S. taxpayers. Through intermediaries, USAID and the U.S. State Department have transferred at least $600,000 to support the READ Foundation’s schools. These funds have helped subsidize institutions that promote extremist ideologies. Notably, some READ Foundation schools encourage students to revere Mumtaz Qadri, an extremist who assassinated Punjab governor Salman Taseer in 2011. Qadri’s crime was committed in response to Taseer’s support for a Pakistani Christian woman convicted of blasphemy. READ schools have posted messages on social media praising Qadri, describing him as a “messenger of Allah.” Furthermore, posts from the schools have condemned the U.S. as “secular terrorists” and accused them of causing destruction in Iraq, painting a negative and inflammatory image of Western nations. Additionally, some READ schools have glorified violence through student performances depicting gun battles, mimicking events reminiscent of Gaza under Hamas rule.
Helping Hand for Relief And Development (HHRD)/ICNA
Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD), the overseas aid branch of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), is linked to the violent Islamist movement Jamaat-e-Islami. In 2017, HHRD came under scrutiny after it was revealed that the organization had organized a conference in Pakistan with the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, leading to multiple congressional inquiries and a USAID investigation.
HHRD’s primary partner in South Asia, the Al-Khidmat Foundation, has openly financed Hamas, a designated terrorist organization, as mentioned above. In 2006, Al-Khidmat announced it had sent six million rupees to Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal. Additionally, HHRD’s parent organization, ICNA, has been found to have links to terrorist groups such as Hamas, Hizballah, and militants in Kashmir and Afghanistan.
HHRD is also associated with the Unlimited Friends Association in Gaza, which is aligned with Hamas, further cementing its ties to terrorist organizations. Speakers at ICNA conferences, including senior Hamas members, have incited violence against Jews, further raising concerns about HHRD’s involvement with extremist ideologies.
USAID provided $110,000 to Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD) which has been linked to the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation, the humanitarian wing of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the terrorist group responsible for the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
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