JEDDAH, 29 November 2003 — The Washington Times has retracted a report accusing the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, an Oregon-based non-profit organization, of Al-Qaeda links and apologized to the charity. A retraction by a reputed international newspaper like The Times is a major victory for Islamic charities worldwide, which have been accused of funding terrorism following the Sept. 11 attacks.
“Al-Haramain welcomes the retraction and apology by the Washington Times published on Page 3 of its Nov. 24 issue and on its web edition,” a press statement from the charity said. The Times’ retraction came a day after the imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah lambasted what he called a “Western campaign” against Islamic charities.
Sheikh Saleh Bin-Humaid warned that any moves to hamper charity work would bring catastrophe. “It will end support and cooperation between people...the hungry will die of hunger and selfishness will rule the world as the wolves of humanity prey on the weak,” he said. The imam said the “smear campaign” had led to the freezing of charity funds, confiscation of assets and closure of organizations. It had also hit philanthropists and businesses supporting charity.
Al-Haramain said the organization was “dedicated to explaining that Islam is a religion of justice, peace, and mercy, and committed to the promotion of its tenets on peaceful co-existence among people of all faiths and mutual understanding.”
Following The Washington Times’ Sept. 15 story, entitled “Oregon Non-Profit Investigated for Terror Ties,” AHIF’s lawyer, Lynne Bernabei of Bernabei and Katz, PLLC pointed out numerous inaccuracies.
The mistakes were made notwithstanding Bernabei’s full cooperation with the reporter prior to publication, the press statement said.
“We are pleased that this subsequent action by the Times recognizes its factual errors so soon after the original publication and proves that the sensationalist comments in the story lacked any foundation or basis in fact,” Bernabei said.
Such allegations are not new, according to AHIF board member Soliman Albuthi. “In 1998, the PBS news show Frontline retracted a story when presented with the facts that Al-Haramain was not linked to any terrorist act in Africa,” stated Albuthi. “While the actual settlement with PBS is confidential, it was a victory not just for AHIF and our charitable work but for the truth,” he added.
“In these sensitive times, we must be more careful about what we publicly allege or publish. I am delighted that the Times has come clean and printed the retraction within a matter of weeks,” said Pirouz Sedaghaty, a member of AHIF’s board of directors.
“Our organization has always been committed to following the rule and spirit of the law condemning terrorism. Such stories are a disservice to the principles of AHIF that are guided by the Islamic principles of non-violence, peaceful co-existence of all people and charity toward those in need.” The organization “stated its active opposition to terrorism in its founding articles of incorporation in 1999,” he added.
The retraction reads as follows:
“The Times, in its Sept. 15, 2003 editions, reported that Al-Haramain was listed in a Presidential Order in 2001 allowing the United States to block the resources of individuals and institutions determined to be involved in possible terrorists acts, and that Al-Haramain allegedly has ties with Al-Qaeda. The Times, in its Sept. 19, 2003 editions, had an editorial discussing the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, Inc. (USA) as an example of ‘suspicious Saudi charities.’
“Al-Haramain (Saudi Arabia) has had branches in various places around the world. The branches in Somalia and Bosnia were closed at the demand of the United States, which asserted that those two branches were tied to Al-Qaeda. On March 11, 2002, Treasury Secretary O’Neill stated that the Saudi headquarters is dedicated to promoting Islamic teachings.
“The Ashland, Oregon-based Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, Inc. (USA) was not mentioned in a Presidential Order in 2001 or any other Presidential Order regarding possible terrorists acts. The Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, Inc. (USA) has not been identified as being involved in actual or possible terrorists acts or with having any ties to Al-Qaeda. The Times regrets any inference to the contrary in the article.”
