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Muwaqaf (Blessed Relief) Foundation
The Muwaqaf (Blessed Relief) Foundation was a Saudi charity that operated internationally during the 1990s. Its leadership and activities have been tied to terrorist activity.Unger, Craig. (2004). House of Bush, House of Saud: The Secret Relationship Between the World’s Two Most Powerful Dynasties: Scribner. Pg. 286. Formation and activities The Muwafaq Foundation was started by Khalid bin Mahfouz in Saudi Arabia in 1991 to “establish an endowment like the Rockefeller Foundation to give grants for disaster relief, education, and health”. The organization operated schools and health clinics in various countries ranging from Pakistan to Bosnia and Somalia. The organization was directed by Khalid bin Mahfouz's son, Abdulrahman bin Mahfouz, and Yasin al-Qadi, another prominent Saudi businessman who has also been linked to terrorist funding and was listed as a Specially Designated National by the U.S. Department of Treasury. Khalid bin Mahfouz owned National Commercial Bank, Sau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Khalid Bin Mahfouz
Khalid bin Mahfouz ( ar, خالد بن محفوظ; December 26, 1949 – August 16, 2009) was a Saudi Arabian billionaire, banker, businessman, investor and former chairman of the National Commercial Bank (NCB). Khalid is the son of Salem Bin Mahfouz, a Saudi entrepreneur who rose from being a small-time moneychanger to becoming the founder of the NCB, the first private Saudi bank. With a personal wealth estimated to be around $3.2 billion, Bin Mahfouz ranked 24th in Arabian Business magazine's list of the world's most influential Arabs in 2008. In the same year, Bin Mahfouz ranked number 214 in Forbes Billionaires List After the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, in which 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis, considerable suspicion fell on Saudi financiers and charities as sources of financing for terrorism and Khalid Bin Mahfouz faced accusations in books, newspapers and magazines that he and his family had funneled money to Al Qaeda. Biography Khalid bin Mahfouz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zakat
Zakat ( ar, زكاة; , "that which purifies", also Zakat al-mal , "zakat on wealth", or Zakah) is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah. It is considered in Islam as a religious obligation, and by Quranic ranking, is next after prayer ('' salat'') in importance. As one of the Five Pillars of Islam, zakat is a religious duty for all Muslims who meet the necessary criteria of wealth to help the needy. It is a mandatory charitable contribution, often considered to be a tax.Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan Ṭūsī (2010), ''Concise Description of Islamic Law and Legal Opinions'', , pp. 131–135. The payment and disputes on zakat have played a major role in the history of Islam, notably during the Ridda wars. Zakat on wealth is based on the value of all of one's possessions. It is customarily 2.5% (or ) of a Muslim's total savings and wealth above a minimum amount known as ''nisab'' each lunar year, but Islamic scholars differ on how much ''nisab'' is and other a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Front Organizations
A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy groups, or corporations. Front organizations can act for the parent group without the actions being attributed to the parent group, thereby allowing them to hide certain activities from the authorities or the public. Front organizations that appear to be independent voluntary associations or charitable organizations are called front groups. In the business world, front organizations such as front companies or shell corporations are used to shield the parent company from legal liability. In international relations, a puppet state is a state which acts as a front (or surrogate) for another state. Intelligence agencies Intelligence agencies use front organizations to provide "cover", plausible occupations and means of income, for their covert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charities Based In Saudi Arabia
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a charitable organization (and of charity) varies between countries and in some instances regions of the country. The Charity regulators, regulation, the tax treatment, and the way in which charity law affects charitable organizations also vary. Charitable organizations may not use any of their funds to profit individual persons or entities. (However, some charitable organizations have come under scrutiny for spending a disproportionate amount of their income to pay the salaries of their leadership). Financial figures (e.g. tax refund, revenue from fundraising, revenue from sale of goods and services or revenue from investment) are indicators to assess the financial sustainability of a charity, especially to charity evaluators. This ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercy International
Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social, and legal contexts. In the social and legal context, mercy may refer both to compassionate behavior on the part of those in power (e.g. mercy shown by a judge toward a convict), or on the part of a humanitarian third party, e.g., a mission of mercy aiming to treat war victims.Sarat, Austin and Hussain, Nasser. ''Forgiveness, mercy, and clemency'', 2006 pp. 1-5Menke, Christopher. ''Reflections of equality'' by Christoph Menke 2006 p. 193 Definition "Mercy" can be defined as "compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power"; and also "a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion." "To be at someone's mercy" indicates a person being "without defense against someone." La ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1993 World Trade Center Bombing
The 1993 World Trade Center bombing was a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, U.S., carried out on February 26, 1993, when a van bomb detonated below the North Tower of the complex. The urea nitrate–hydrogen gas enhanced device was intended to send the North Tower ( Tower 1) crashing into the South Tower ( Tower 2), bringing both towers down and killing tens of thousands of people. It failed to do so, but killed six people, including a pregnant woman, and injured over one thousand. About 50,000 people were evacuated from the buildings that day. The attack was planned by a group of terrorists including Ramzi Yousef, Mahmud Abouhalima, Mohammad Salameh, Nidal A. Ayyad, Abdul Rahman Yasin, and Ahmed Ajaj. They received $660 from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Yousef's uncle. In March 1994, four men were convicted of carrying out the bombing: Abouhalima, Ajaj, Ayyad, and Salameh. The charges included conspiracy, explosive destruction of property, and interst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramzi Yousef
Ramzi Ahmed Yousef ( ur, , translit=''Ramzī Ahmad Yūsuf''; born 20 May 1967 or 27 April 1968) is a Pakistani convicted terrorist who was one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the bombing of Philippine Airlines Flight 434; he was also a co-conspirator in the Bojinka plot. In 1995, he was arrested by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and U.S. Diplomatic Security Service at a guest house in Islamabad, Pakistan, while trying to set a bomb in a doll,Targeted: Volume 1, The Evil Genius (Ramzi Yousef) (Wild Eyes Productions for the History Channel; A&E Networks) 2003 then extradited to the United States. He was tried in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York along with two co-conspirators and was convicted of planning the Bojinka plot. He received two life sentences plus 240 years for his part in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and Bojinka plot. Yousef's maternal uncle is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, with whom he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in the Egyptian Air Force. He served as its commander from 1972 to 1975 and rose to the rank of air chief marshal in 1973. In 1975, he was appointed vice president by President Anwar Sadat and assumed the presidency after his assassination in 1981. Mubarak's presidency lasted almost thirty years, making him Egypt's longest-serving ruler since Muhammad Ali Pasha, who ruled the country for 43 years from 1805 to 1848. Less than two weeks after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat, Mubarak quickly assumed the presidency in the single-candidate 1981 referendum, and renewed his term through single-candidate referendums in 1987, 1993, and 1999. Under United States pressure, Mubarak held the country's first multi-party election in 2005, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Africa Confidential
''Africa Confidential'' is a fortnightly newsletter covering politics and economics in Africa. It was established in 1960 and is owned by the British company Asempa Limited. Founded by a group of six individuals under the banner of Miramoor Publications, Africa Confidential' was originally printed on blue airmail paper and was thus nicknamed "The Blue Sheet". It is available by subscription only. ''Africa Confidential'' focuses on issues that affect the continent, analyses political complexities and reports on areas and topics that receive little coverage in the mainstream press. With its investigations into corruption and political intrigue, the journal punches above its weight and was famously the subject of a record six-year libel case that ended in June 2001. Its Zimbabwe, Kenya, Nigeria and Sudan coverage often makes the news in the mainstream press. Patrick Smith has edited ''Africa Confidential'' since 1991. Former editors include Richard Kershaw (1964–1968) and Stephen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mujahedeen
''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in ''jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the community (''ummah''). The widespread use of the word in English began with reference to the guerrilla-type militant groups led by the Islamist Afghan fighters in the Soviet–Afghan War (see Afghan mujahideen). The term now extends to other jihadist groups in various countries such as Myanmar (Burma), Cyprus, and the Philippines. Early history In its roots, the Arabic word ''mujahideen'' refers to any person performing ''jihad''. In its post-classical meaning, ''jihad'' refers to an act that is spiritually comparable in reward to promoting Islam during the early 600s CE. These acts could be as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitution, (; ), is a country in the Horn of Africa. The country is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Kenya to the southwest. Somalia has the longest coastline on Africa's mainland. Its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains, and highlands. Hot conditions prevail year-round, with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall. Somalia has an estimated population of around million, of which over 2 million live in the capital and largest city Mogadishu, and has been described as Africa's most culturally homogeneous country. Around 85% of its residents are ethnic Somalis, who have historically inhabited the country's north. Ethnic minorities are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development aid, developmental aid to children worldwide. The agency is among the most widespread and recognizable social welfare organizations in the world, with a presence in 192 countries and territories. UNICEF's activities include providing immunizations and disease prevention, administering Antiretroviral drug, treatment for children and mothers with HIV, enhancing childhood and maternal nutrition, improving sanitation, promoting education, and providing emergency relief in response to disasters. UNICEF is the successor of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, created on 11 December 1946, in New York, by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, U.N. Relief Rehabilitation Administration to provide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
