The Al Kifah Refugee Center is a

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

that was active in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Al Kifah Refugee Center
''Tracking the threat'' and was based in the Faruq Mosque in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

.Complete 911 Timeline
''Cooperative Research''

Overview

Al Kifah Refugee Center had clandestine links to forces fighting in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

dating to the late 1980s, when the fighters enjoyed American support in their struggle against the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

occupiers. It is asserted that funds raised in the USA were covertly sent to

Maktab al-Khidamat The ''Maktab al-Khidamat'' () was an Arab charitable organization founded in 1984 by Abdullah Azzam, Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and other volunteers during the Soviet–Afghan War, It raised funds and recruited foreign mujahideen for the ...

, an organization

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...

is said to have later transformed into

al Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...

. Cooperative Research asserts that Ali Mohamed, an instructor at

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

offered military and demolition training through the center. They assert El-Sayyid Nosair recruited students for this military training conducted through the center. They assert that some of those involved in bombing of the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

received training from Ali Mohamed through the center. Among the causes the center raised funds for was Bosnian orphans.Tangled Ties: Law-enforcement officials follow the money trail among suspected terrorists straight to the doors of the Saudi Embassy
, ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'', April 7, 2003 ''

'' reported that

Aafia Siddiqui Aafia Siddiqui ( ur, ; born 2 March 1972) is a Pakistani national who is serving an 86-year sentence at the Federal Medical Center, Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, United States for attempted murder and other felonies. Siddiqui was born in Paki ...

, who disappeared when she fell under suspicion of ties to terrorism, made large donations to the Al Kifah Refugee Center and

Benevolence International The Benevolence International Foundation (Benevolence International Fund in Canada, Bosanska Idealna Futura in Bosnia) (BIF) was a purported nonprofit charitable trust based in Saudi Arabia. It was determined to be a front for terrorist group Al- ...

.Stockman, Farah
Activist turned extremist, US says.
''The Boston Globe.'' August 12, 2008.

References

Charities based in New York (state) Covert organizations Islamic terrorism in the United States {{US-philanthropy-org-stub