WASHINGTON, 5 August 2006 — The US Department of the Treasury charged the Philippine and Indonesian branch offices of the Saudi-based International Islamic Relief Organization, IIROSA, Thursday for “facilitating fund-raising for Al-Qaeda and affiliated terrorist groups.”

Even though the US Treasury haven’t presented any valuable evidence to the media nor the people, the US Treasury charged Abd Al-Hamid Sulaiman Al-Mujil, the executive director of the Eastern Province branch of IIROSA in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, whom they called “a high-ranking IIROSA official in Saudi Arabia,” as “using his position to bankroll Al-Qaeda network in Southeast Asia.”

In a backgrounder provided to the media, the Treasury Department called Al-Mujil the “million dollar man” for supporting Islamic militant groups.

“Al-Mujil provided donor funds directly to Al-Qaeda and is identified as a major fund-raiser for the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI),” said the statement.

Thursday’s decision prohibits US citizens from engaging in transactions with the designees, and allows the US government to freeze any assets they may have under US jurisdiction. The IIROSA was established in 1978 and, according to its website, the organization has branch offices in over 20 countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. 

Wendell Belew, a lawyer for the Friends of Charities Association, FOCA, of which the International Islamic Relief Organization is a member, told Arab News in a phone interview Thursday afternoon that the charges have left him baffled. “Treasury has a very uninformed view of these things, “said Belew.

“We’ve had a long-standing offer to share documents with the US government regarding all the information we have on these organizations — they have not taken us up on it.

In fact, we learned from US law enforcement officials currently serving in Saudi Arabia that they had been ordered — over the protests of the local agents — not to have contact with IIROSASA and some other Saudi charities.

Belew said the Secretary-General of IIROSASA pledged to cooperate with the US government to identify and resolve any issues that might be raised concerning his organization.

“That pledge fell on deaf ears. The United States will not fare well in its fight against terrorism — and in its efforts to improve its esteem in the Arab and Muslim world — if it continues to reject such offers of help from respected Muslim leaders and organizations.”

Acknowledging the issues was quite complex, Belew said: “According to the Treasury Department press release, a principal problem with the Philippine office of IIROSA is that until 1994 Mohamed Jamal Khalifa, a brother-in law of Osama Bin Laden was its director. Unsubstantiated allegations contend that he and IIROSASA had given money to the militant Abu Saif Group. He was detained in 1994 in the US, questioned and released. After the release he was sent to Jordan where he faced trial on charges relating to the Philippine allegations. He was acquitted on all counts.

“The Philippines government says he is not under investigation and the Saudi government says he is free to travel,” said Belew, who has worked with FOCA for 21/2 years. “In addition, he has not been designated as a supporter of terrorism by the US government. So in this case we have an organization — IIROSA of the Philippines — designated on the basis of its link to an individual, Khalifa, who has not been designated and who has been, in fact, cleared of terrorist related charges. This is yet another example of the Treasury Department’s practice of guilt by association — in this case, even with the innocent,” said Belew.