Saudi
Submitted by Templar Titan on Mon, 07/25/2005 - 19:14.
JERUSALEM — Saudi Arabia has played a major role in the growing Islamic insurgency movement in Europe. A leading Saudi charity, the Al Haramain Foundation, has been cited as the financier of mosques and other Islamic activity in Europe. Al Haramain, sponsored by the Saudi Islamic Affairs Ministry, was said to have financed Islamic insurgency activity in several European Union states. Saudi influence in the rise of Islamic insurgency movements in the Netherlands, in particular, was reviewed by Manfred Gerstenfeld, a leading analyst. Gerstenfeld told the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs that a Dutch intelligence report cited several mosque organizations established through Saudi financing. |
"The Amsterdam Tawhid mosque, which in the past has put extreme anti-Semitic statements on its website, is linked financially, organizationally and personally with the Saudi Al Haramain Foundation," Gerstenfeld said during an appearance in early 2005 and later published in a report. "Several other mosques are supported financially by Saudi charities." In December 2004, the Dutch Interior Ministry published a 60-page report, "From Dawa to Jihad," on the threat of radical Islam to the country. The report, prepared by the AIVD intelligence service, asserted that 10 recruiters were stationed in the Netherlands to identify Muslim immigrants ready to fight for Al Qaida. The report said dozens of Muslims have been recruited. Gerstenfeld said the Dutch report detailed Saudi support to mosques linked to Islamic insurgency movements. The report cited the Arab European League Movement and urged tighter controls over the flow of funds into the Netherlands. "Three other mosques are linked with the private Saudi mission, Al Waqf Al Islami, that is related to key figures in the Saudi establishment," Gerstenfeld said. "Though not explicitly Salafist, there are several other mosques in the Netherlands which are supported financially by Saudi charities, private philanthropists or government bodies. Sometimes the payments are not made to the mosques directly but to the imams. The [Dutch] report considers both the origin and destination of this financing to be obscure." The Dutch report said many so-called radical Islamic clerics in the Netherlands have studied in Saudi Arabia. The report also said Saudi Arabia has not fulfilled a pledge to fully report the kingdom's financing of mosques in the Netherlands. Dutch intelligence has estimated the number of Muslims in the country at 1 million. About 95 percent of the Muslims are not considered an insurgency threat, but a government report said Islamic attacks have increased in the Netherlands since Al Qaida's suicide strikes on the United States in 2001. "Also within the Dutch Muslim community resistance against radical forces is low. The moderate organizations and individuals are not able to counterbalance the radical forces," Gerstenfeld said. "The ambassador of Saudi Arabia in early 2004 promised full transparency on financing," Gerstenfeld said. "However, since then, very little has happened on that matter. While there has been some recent moderation in the sermons, the AIVD now believes the incitement takes place elsewhere in smaller, closed meetings."
Charities that fund Al Qaida operating with impunity in Saudi Arabia
U.S. officials said that despite numerous appeals the Saudi kingdom has not arrested financiers of Al Qaida or related groups. They said the kingdom has also failed to freeze assets of leading Saudi financiers of Islamic insurgency groups. "Wealthy Saudi financiers and charities have funded terrorist organizations and causes that support terrorism and the ideology that fuels the terrorists' agenda," said Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey. "Even today, we believe that Saudi donors may still be a significant source of terrorist financing, including for the insurgency in Iraq." It was the first time a senior Bush administration official asserted that Saudi nationals have been financing the Sunni insurgency in Iraq. The Bush administration has focused on Syria's role in the flow of insurgents and funding into Iraq over the past two years. [In an unrelated development, the Bush administration announced on July 14 the freezing of any U.S. assets of a London-based Saudi opposition group alleged to be linked to Al Qaida. The target was identified as the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia.] Officials said Levey's assertion follows increasing U.S. frustration over Riyad's failure to stem the flow of private Saudi funding to the Al Qaida-aligned insurgency in Iraq. They said the Saudi government has not directly funded the Sunni insurgency. Instead, much of the funding to Al Qaida and related groups has been transferred through three Saudi government-sponsored charities — the International Islamic Relief Organization, the World Association of Muslim Youth and the Muslim World League. Despite decrees by the kingdom, these groups continue to finance Al Qaida-aligned activities in Africa, the Palestinian Authority, the Balkans, Chechnya and Kashmir. "Saudi Arabia-based and -funded organizations remain a key source for the promotion of ideologies used by terrorists and violent extremists around the world to justify their hate-filled agenda," Levey said on July 13. In testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, officials said Riyad has ordered a halt to charity collection at mosques and retail shops. But the officials added Saudi authorities have not enforced these orders. The Senate committee was told that the administration has pressed Gulf Cooperation Council states, including Saudi Arabia, to lower their reporting thresholds for international cash transfers. Saudi nationals have relayed cash through couriers to Iraq, they said. "We continue to stress in our discussions with the Saudis the need for full implementation, including a fully functioning charities commission," said Assistant Secretary of State Anthony Wayne. Source: Geostrategy |
