ARAB-US RELATIONS - Aug. 21 - Islamic Charities Accused Of Supporting Terror.

The US government alleges that a group of Saudi-backed Islamic charities operating in the US gave material support to terrorists linked with Al Qaida and Hamas. The allegations concerning the Muslim World League and an affiliate, the International Islamic Relief Organisation, are likely to re-ignite concerns about Saudi Arabia's possible role in funding terrorist organisations. The two charities are at the centre of the largest-ever US investigation of terrorist financing. According to an affidavit made public this week, the charities gave money to BMI, a New Jersey-based company suspected of transferring funds to three individuals designated terrorists by the US government. Concerns over Riyadh's role in terrorist funding surfaced last month in a congressional report into the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. That report included a classified section thought to describe the role of the Saudi government in financing terrorists. The two charities, which operated out of a common address in northern Virginia, were raided by US agents more than a year ago. The raid was part of a sweeping investigation into a network of Saudi-backed charities and companies suspected of financing terrorist groups. The money invested in BMI by the two charities came from a $10m endowment from unnamed Saudi donors, according to the affidavit by David Kane, an agent with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. While it is not clear whether that money came from the Saudi government, the affidavit quotes a CIA report that says the Muslim World League "is largely financed by... Saudi Arabia". Kane said the charities gave $3.7m to BMI, which may have passed the money to individuals considered terrorists by Washington. They include Yassin Qadi, accused by the US government of transferring millions of dollars to Osama Bin Laden through charities such as the Muwafaq Foundation; Mousa Abu Marzook, the self-professed head of the political branch of Hamas, the radical Palestinian organisation; and Mohammad Salah, a member of Hamas who spent five years in an Israeli prison. Kane suggested the charities were aware of BMI's involvement with terrorists but tried to hide that they knew.