Al-Aqsa Foundation
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| Formation | 1997 |
|---|---|
| Type | NGO |
| Legal status | Foundation |
| Headquarters | Aachen, Germany (until 2002) |
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Region served
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Worldwide |
| Website | http://www.al-aqsa.nl/ |
| Remarks | The group has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United Nations, the European Union, Australia, Canada, the UAE, the United Kingdom and the United States. |
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.
On its website, al-Aqsa Foundation states that it is a non-political organization “providing for the religious, cultural and social needs of the poor and needy Palestinians living within the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon and Jordan.”
The foundation claims to be working only with “bona fide organizations that are duly registered with the appropriate local authorities.”
Al-Aqsa Foundation maintains that its work with charitable organizations and Zakaah committees is “subject to a strict funding agreement and complete accountability and transparency on how and where the money is spent.”
Al-Aqsa foundation does not acknowledge its association with Hamas or other terrorist organizations. However several ties between the foundation and terrorist organizations have been confirmed.
Al-Moayad claimed to be the personal spiritual advisor of Osama bin Laden in the 1980s, although Bin Laden allegedly issued a fatwa calling for al-Moayad’s death after being publicly criticized by the cleric.
Based on the U.S. federal indictment against al-Moayad, in 2003 the cleric traveled to Germany to meet Mohamed Alanssi, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) informant, and a FBI undercover agent. Al-Moayad was recorded by the FBI at a Frankfurt hotel while promising to funnel about $2 million to Hamas, and was eventually arrested by the German police at the request of the FBI.
The legal proceedings also describe a 2002 meeting at which the cleric provided receipts to confirm the financial support of the Yemeni branch of the Al-Aqsa Foundation to the jihadist cause.
In particular, al-Moayad provided receipts from Interpal and three other organizations. Interpal is a UK-based charity which the U.S. government has accused of supporting terrorism and the UK Charity Commission has investigated several times based on alleged links between the charity and organizations involved in terrorism, but none of the accusations have been substantiated. Interpal is a member of the Union of Good, an umbrella organization consisting of over 50 Islamic charities and funds which funnel money to organizations belonging to Hamas. The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control designated the Union of Good as a terrorist entity in 2008. However, the British High Court found it is libellous in July 2010 to state that Interpal supported Hamas. The most recent records available feature Al-Aqsa foundation and its Yemeni branch, listed as “Al-Aqsa Islamic Charitable Society Yemen,” as members of the Union of Good as well.
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Wikipedia