International Islamic Relief Organization
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The International Organization for Relief, Welfare and Development (Welfare; ar, الهيئة العالمية للإغاثة والرعاية والتنمية), formerly known as the International Islamic Relief Organization or International Islamic Relief Organization of Saudi Arabia (IIROSA), is a charity based in
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
founded by the
Muslim World League The Muslim World League (MWL; ar, رابطة العالم الاسلامي, Rabitat al-Alam al-Islami, ) is an International Islamic NGO based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia that promotes what it calls the true message of Islam by advancing moderate ...
in 1978. It is a full member of
The Conference of NGOs The Conference of NGOs (CoNGO; full "Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations") "is an independent, international, non-profit membership association of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). ...
, where it serves on the board. The IIRO is included in a list of some of the
UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
's major NGO partners and has been involved in many joint programmes with UN Agencies and intergovernmental (such as the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
) and non-governmental organisations. It has enjoyed consultative status on the
United Nations Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...
since 1995. It was the first Islamic NGO to gain observer status with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). It used also to be a member of the
International Humanitarian City International Humanitarian City (IHC) is a Dubai, United Arab Emirates, based global hub for humanitarian emergency preparedness and response, which positions itself as the world's largest aid hub. Founded in 2003 by the Ruler of Dubai, Mohammed b ...
based in
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
,
UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
. Following the
9/11 terror attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated Suicide attack, suicide List of terrorist incidents, terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, ...
, it was alleged that one of Osama bin-Laden's brothers-in-law had utilised the IIRO Philippines and Indonesian Branches to work with terrorist organizations worldwide, and that a brother of Al-Qaeda official
Ayman al Zawahiri Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri (June 19, 1951 – July 31, 2022) was an Egyptian-born terrorist and physician who served as the second emir of al-Qaeda from June 16, 2011, until his death. Al-Zawahiri graduated from Cairo University with a ...
working for the IIRO in Albania had brought a number of members of the terror group
Egyptian Islamic Jihad The Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ, ar, الجهاد الإسلامي المصري), formerly called simply Islamic Jihad ( ar, الجهاد الإسلامي, links=no) and the Liberation Army for Holy Sites, originally referred to as al-Jihad, and ...
to work for IIRO in that European country. IIRO denies any wrongdoing.


History

Welfare is an affiliate of the
Muslim World League The Muslim World League (MWL; ar, رابطة العالم الاسلامي, Rabitat al-Alam al-Islami, ) is an International Islamic NGO based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia that promotes what it calls the true message of Islam by advancing moderate ...
(MWL). A Saudi royal decree issued on January 29, 1979 approved the decision of MWL to form Welfare made in 1978. It is a member of the
International Islamic Council for Da'wah and Relief The International Islamic Council for Da'wah and Relief (IICDR and variously Dawa'a, Dawaa, Dawah or Da’wa) (Arabic: المجلس الإسلامي العالمي للدعوة والإغاثة), headquartered in Cairo, Egypt, consists of 86 Islami ...
(IICDR), has observer status at
Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived fro ...
, consultative status at
United Nations Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...
(ECOSOC) and links to
Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO, formerly ISESCO) is a specialized organization that operates under the aegis of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and is concerned with fields of education ...
(ISESCO) among many others.IIROSA Annual Report for the Fiscal Year 2003/2004
retrieved December 30, 2007
IIRO maintains an up-to-date website in both Arabic and English.


Activities

In 2003 and 2004, approximately US$36 million was spent on 2258 projects involving 4,586,085 recipients in 81 countries. IIROSA's seven main programs received: :* Social Welfare: US$13 million. :* Engineering Department: About US$7 million. :* Society Development and Seasonal Projects: About US$6 million. :* Emergency Relief: About US$4 million. :* Health Care: US$2 million. :* Educational Care: US$2 million. :* Qur'an Memorization: US$1 million. IIRO worked in shared projects with the World Health Organization, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the World Food Program. :* IIRO provided assistance to the victims of 2005 earthquake in the affected areas and regions of
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
which were virtually isolated and inaccessible. In 2012/2013 approximately SAR 127 million riyals was spent on 1,294 projects which benefited 7,056,349 individuals in 58 countries. IIROSA's seven main programs received: :* Emergency Relief Program: SAR 54.5 million riyals. :* Community Development & Seasonal Projects Program: SAR 25 million riyals. :* Educational Welfare Program: SAR 12.4 million riyals. :* Social Welfare Program: SAR 11.8 million riyals :* Engineering Department: SAR 9.9 million riyals. :* Health Care Program: SAR 7.8 million riyals. :* Holy Qur'an and Da'wa Program: SAR 4 million riyals. IIRO activities during this period were based in 58 countries, as follows:


Countries of activities

Middle Eastern and Asian Countries: Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Philippines, China, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. African Countries: Uganda, Chad, Tanzania, Comoros, South Africa, Lesotho, South Sudan, Mozambique, Niger, Benin, Djibouti, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Cameroon, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Togo, Gambia, Ghana Kenya, Mali, Egypt, Mauritania and Nigeria. European Countries: Germany, Switzerland, Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosova and Macedonia. South American Countries: Brazil.


Controversy


Southeast Asia

In the wake of the 9/11 destruction of the World Trade Centre twin towers, it was alleged that one of Osama bin-Laden's brothers-in-law (
Mohammed Jamal Khalifa Mohammed Jamal Khalifa ( ar, محمد جمال خليفه) (1 February 1957 – 31 January 2007) was a Saudi businessman from Jeddah who married one of Osama bin Laden's sisters. He has been accused of funding terror plots and groups in the P ...
who was subsequently murdered in Madagascar in 2007) utilised the IIRO Philippines and Indonesian Branches to work with terrorist organizations in the Philippines, Indonesia and elsewhere. Khalifa came to the Philippines in 1987 or 1988 as the first head of the Philippine branch of IIRO. He was also the IIRO's Southeast Asia regional director. According to researcher Zachary Abuza, Khalifa established several charities and Islamic organizations in the Philippines ostensibly for charity and religious work but which channeled money to extremist groups. According to the Philippines National Security Advisor, Roilo Golez, Khalifa "built up the good will of the community through charity and then turned segments of the population into agents." Amongst other organizations, Khalifa established the "International Relations and Information Center", which served as the "primary funding mechanism" for the " Bojinka plan" of
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (sometimes also spelled Shaikh; also known by at least 50 pseudonyms; born March 1, 1964 or April 14, 1965) is a Pakistani Islamist militant held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp under terrorism-re ...
and
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 ...
to assassinate Pope John Paul II and blow up eleven American jetliners (killing some 4000 passengers and bringing air travel to a standstill) in early 1995. (The plan was aborted after a chemical fire drew the Philippine National Police's (PNP) attention on January 6–7, 1995.) A Philippines intelligence report claimed that while the IIRO "claims to be a relief institution" it "is being utilized by foreign extremists as a pipeline through which funding for the local extremists" travels. A defector from the
Abu Sayyaf Abu Sayyaf (; ar, جماعة أبو سياف; ', ASG), officially known by the Islamic State as the Islamic State – East Asia Province, is a Jihadist militant and pirate group that follows the Wahhabi doctrine of Sunni Islam. It is base ...
terror group told authorities, "the IIRO was behind the construction of mosques, school buildings and other livelihood projects", but only "in areas penetrated, highly influenced and controlled by the Abu Sayyaf." According to the defector, "only 10 to 30% of the foreign funding goes to the legitimate relief and livelihood projects and the rest go to terrorist operations." According to Abuza, while Philippine government claimed to have shut down all the charities run by Khalifa to finance Abu Sayyaf, a senior Philippine intelligence official complained to him that, "we could not touch the IIRO." The IIRO stayed open until it was taken over by another Islamic charity, the Islamic Wisdom Worldwide Mission in 1995. According to Abuza, "intense diplomatic pressure" from Saudi Arabia kept the charity open. "Their most important source of leverage was the visas and jobs for several hundred thousand Filipino guest workers."Zachary Abuza,
Funding Terrorism in Southeast Asia: The Financial Network of Al Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah
," ''The National Bureau of Asian Research'' 14, no. 5 (December 2003): 176.
On August 3, 2006, the U.S. Treasury Department designated the Philippines and Indonesian branch offices of IIRO as terrorist entities. Consequently, in August 2006 the
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
listed IIRO's branch offices in Indonesia and the Philippines as belonging to or associated with
al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
United Nations List of proscribed individuals and entities
retrieved January 21, 2010.
– and then after a petition had been made to the UN Ombudsperson, delisted them in 2014. Subsequently, the Philippines and Indonesian branch offices of IIRO were delisted by the US Treasury Department on the 16 August 2016. At the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States,
Steven Emerson Steven Emerson (born June 6, 1954) is an American journalist, author, and pundit on national security, terrorism, and Islamic extremism. Some have called Emerson an Islamophobe, who has recently been accused of spying on two different American ...
, identified IIRO as a major radical Islamic institution, in part, "responsible for fueling Islamic militancy around the world", and,
Rohan Gunaratna Rohan Gunaratna (born 1961) is a Sri Lankan born political analyst specializing in international terrorism. He is the Director General of thInstitute of National Security Studies Professor Gunaratna has over 30 years of academic, policy, and op ...
, Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies, Singapore, stated, "...
Mohammed Jamal Khalifa Mohammed Jamal Khalifa ( ar, محمد جمال خليفه) (1 February 1957 – 31 January 2007) was a Saudi businessman from Jeddah who married one of Osama bin Laden's sisters. He has been accused of funding terror plots and groups in the P ...
is the brother-in-law of Osama bin Laden. He arrived in the Philippines in 1988 and he became the founding director of the International Islamic Relief Organization of Saudi Arabia. He used the IIRO to funnel al Qaeda funds to the
Abu Sayyaf Abu Sayyaf (; ar, جماعة أبو سياف; ', ASG), officially known by the Islamic State as the Islamic State – East Asia Province, is a Jihadist militant and pirate group that follows the Wahhabi doctrine of Sunni Islam. It is base ...
group and the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF; ar, ''Jabhat Taḥrīr Moro al-ʾIslāmiyyah'') is a group based in Mindanao seeking an autonomous region of the Moro people from the central government. The group has a presence in the Bangsamoro r ...
." As well as being designated by the US Treasury in 2006, the Philippines and Indonesian branches of IIRO were also included in the UN list maintained by
United Nations Security Council Committee 1267 The ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee is a committee of the United Nations Security Council tasked with implementing international sanctions against the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. It was established as the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sancti ...
– which subsequently delisted them in 2014. The Philippines and Indonesian branch offices of IIRO were also delisted by the US Treasury Department on the 16 August 2016. Neither the Philippines nor the Indonesian branch offices of IIRO have ever been prosecuted by the Philippines or Indonesian authorities.


Albania

Another country where IIRO is alleged to have aided and abetted bringing in foreign terrorists was the former Communist country of
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
. In 1992, with the support of the government of
Sali Berisha Sali Ram Berisha (; born 15 October 1944) is an Albanian conservative politician and former cardiologist who served as the second President of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and Prime Minister from 2005 to 2013. He is also the current chairman of ...
"turned to Saudi Arabia for financial support". Among the thirty Islamic NGOs and Islamic associations worked toward re-Islamization Albania was the IIRO. Muhammad al Zawahiri, (the brother of
Ayman al Zawahiri Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri (June 19, 1951 – July 31, 2022) was an Egyptian-born terrorist and physician who served as the second emir of al-Qaeda from June 16, 2011, until his death. Al-Zawahiri graduated from Cairo University with a ...
, the leader of the
Egyptian Islamic Jihad The Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ, ar, الجهاد الإسلامي المصري), formerly called simply Islamic Jihad ( ar, الجهاد الإسلامي, links=no) and the Liberation Army for Holy Sites, originally referred to as al-Jihad, and ...
movement and
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 ...
's key lieutenant) as an accountant for the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO). In addition to helping with relief and spreading correct Islam, IIRO was secretly helping other members of Islamic Jihad find jobs within "charitable organizations building mosques, orphanages and clinics" in Albania. They included the architect Muhammad Hassan Tita, who was assigning him collecting 20% of the salaries earned by Islamic Jihad members employed by NGOs. By the mid-1980s, there were 13 members of Islamic Jihad in Albania's capital Tirana. Shawki Salama Attiya, a former instructor in Afghan camps in the 1980s, who specialized in false identity documents came to Albania under the pseudonym of Majed Mustafa, and Ahmed Osman Saleh, who was wanted by the Egyptian authorities on suspicion of involvement in the attempted assassination of Egypt's Prime minister Atef Sidiqi in 1993. This conspiracy was later exposed during an investigation carried out by the American and Albanian secret services, and several Egyptian Islamist accused of terrorist activities were arrested in 1998, particularly after the
1998 United States embassy bombings The 1998 United States embassy bombings were attacks that occurred on August 7, 1998. More than 200 people were killed in nearly simultaneous truck bomb explosions in two East African cities, one at the United States Embassy in Dar es Salaam, ...
.


Responses from IIRO

IIRO has always denied that it, or any of its branch offices, has ever supported in any manner, and whether directly or indirectly, Al Qaida or any terrorist group. The accuracy, reliability and veracity of the allegations particularly the role of Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, has always been strongly disputed by IIRO, especially since IIRO was in fact founded in Saudi Arabia in 1978, 10 years before Mohammed Jamal Khalifa is alleged to have been one of its founding directors in the Philippines. In addition, IIRO had closed its Philippines branch in 2004, more than two years before it was designated. Although Mohammed Jamal Khalifa was an employee of IIRO between 1991 and 1993, he was never a director of IIRO. More than 10 years after he ceased to be employed by IIRO, Mohammed Jamal Khalifa was dismissed from the 9/11 lawsuits by the US district court. He was murdered in Madagascar in 2007. It has also been alleged that Abd al Hamid Sulaiman Muhammed al-Mujil, who was the regional manager of the eastern office of IIRO in Saudi Arabia between 1986 and 2006 was involved in financing terrorism via both the Philippines and the Indonesian branches of IIRO. The accuracy, reliability and veracity of this accusations has always been strongly denied both by IIRO and by Abd al Hamid Sulaiman Muhammed al-Mujil – who after presenting a petition to the UN Ombudsperson was removed from the UN Security Council Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee's Sanctions List on the 1 July 2013, more than 6 years after he had ceased to be employed by IIRO. IIRO has always maintained that it has only ever been solely concerned with providing humanitarian aid wherever it is most needed irrespective of ethnic background, nationality, social status or belief.


De-listing from suspected terror list

In 2009, IIRO petitioned the Security Council for removal of these two branches from the list in January 2010, and as a result on January 6, 2014, the
Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and ...
Committee removed the IIRO offices in Indonesia and the Philippines from this Al-Qaida Sanctions List after concluding its consideration of the delisting requests for these names submitted through the Office of the UN Ombudsperson established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1904 (2009), and after considering the Comprehensive Reports of the Ombudsperson on these delisting requests.Security Council Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee Deletes Two Entries from Its List
6 JANUARY 2014 SC/11243. United Nations. Meetings, Coverage and Press Releases.
As a result of the UN delisting, the EU also delisted the Indonesia and Philippines Branch Offices of IIRO. and the United Kingdom HM Treasury Financial Sanctions Notice (dated 14 January 2014) confirmed the deletion of IIRO
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
and
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
branches from its consolidated list of persons and entities having a connection with
Al-Qaida 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 countri ...
. None of the member states represented on the Committee appears to have objected to the de-listing. Subsequently, the Philippines and Indonesian branch offices of IIRO were delisted by the US Treasury Department on the 16 August 2016.


Current status

In 2014 The International Organization for Relief, Welfare and Development "formerly the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIROSA)" signed a memorandum of understanding with
United Nations Relief and Works Agency The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians displaced by the 1948 ...
(UNRWA) to establish a mutual cooperation framework to provide assistance to
Palestinian refugees Palestinian refugees are citizens of Mandatory Palestine, and their descendants, who fled or were expelled from their country over the course of the 1947–49 Palestine war (1948 Palestinian exodus) and the Six-Day War (1967 Palestinian exodu ...
. Remarking on the occasion Peter Ford, Representative of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, said: "We are very pleased to be renewing and intensifying our cooperation with IIROSA, which has a high reputation for professionalism as well as humanitarian concern. We have worked together in the past and will be delighted to breathe new life into our cooperation for the benefit of Palestine refugees who continue to suffer, especially the 2 million living under occupation and the almost half million suffering from the fallout of the Syrian conflict."


References


External links


Official website (English)

ArabNews


{{Authority control Islamic relief organizations Islamic organisations based in Saudi Arabia Organizations established in 1978 1978 establishments in Saudi Arabia