Bribery by the Islamic American Relief Agency

The Islamic American Relief Agency (not to be confused with the tedious list of other Muslim “charities” using the words “Islamic” and “Relief” such as Islamic Relief USA, Islamic Relief Worldwide, or the International Islamic Relief Organization) was designated by Congress as a terrorist entity in 2004.

In an obvious effort to get Congress to reverse its designation, IARA decided to go out and buy a congressman that year.  But there were just too many darned ethics and campaign finance rules in the way.  Maybe it would be easier to go under the radar to pay for congressmen’s rent in D.C., they reasoned.

Their effort failed.  Not only did the designation against IARA stand, but their clumsy attempt to subvert our Congress was exposed, and IARA’s former executive entered a guilty plea for terror finance related charges this year.  That sure seems like good news, and one would expect that the media might actually point out who the original culprit was behind this would-be bribery scheme.

However, a Christian group called Fellowship was also involved as the landlord in the middle of this awful transaction.  The author of this article casts the entire episode as the work of the “secretive Christian organization” that runs a “controversial Christian boardinghouse.”  IARA itself is not referred to as secret or controversial, and IARA’s crimes are only described as “alleged.”

Read the pitiful Oct. 14 article by Zachary Roth on “The Upshot” (which itself looks like a ripped off version of an article from the Washington Post).  Apparently, being an illegal Islamic charity is not controversial or negative until a Christian group receives money from it.

Where are they now?

The Treasury Department has designated seven U.S. Muslim charities since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.  Critics of U.S. designation procedures love to point out that only one of those organizations involved has been convicted, but what of the others?

Al Haramain Islamic Foundation—The Saudi charity Al Haramain funded Somali and Bosnian Islamists, had ties to Al Qaeda, and helped fund the 2002 Bali bombing.  Its U.S. branch in Oregon was designated by Treasury in 2004.  Al Haramain’s parent organization was dissolved by the Saudi government and the United Nations also blacklisted Al Haramain.  Legal charges in the U.S. were dropped because the two individuals who operated the charity fled to Saudi Arabia.  The charity was shut down and its assets are sold.  Therefore the government determined, “it would be an inefficient waste of resources to proceed against the shell corporation in this case until one of the individual defendants is apprehended.”

Benevolence International Foundation—BIF raised money to arm Al Qaeda.  Treasury designated them in 2002.  The “charity” has been shut down, and their CEO is serving time in federal prison for racketeering.