Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

has been frequently accused of supporting

terrorism financing Terrorism financing is the provision of funds or providing financial support to individual terrorists or non-state actors. Most countries have implemented measures to counter terrorism financing (CTF) often as part of their money laundering la ...

within its borders. Kuwait has been described as the world's biggest source of terrorism funding, particularly for

ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...

and

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 ...

. In 2014, David S. Cohen, then

Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence The Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence is a position within the United States Department of the Treasury responsible for directing the Treasury's efforts to cut the lines of financial support for terrorists, fight financial c ...

, accused the Kuwaiti government of supporting terrorism. Since the early 1990s, accusations of Kuwait funding terrorism have been very common and come from a wide variety of sources including intelligence reports, government officials, scholarly research, and renowned journalists.William Mauldin
"U.S. Calls Qatar, Kuwait Lax Over Terror Financing"
''The Wall Street Journal'', October 23, 2014 Kuwait is listed as sources of militant money 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 ...

and

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 ...

. Kuwait is described as a "source of funds and a key transit point" for

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 ...

and other militant groups. On 26 June 2015, a

suicide bombing A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...

took place at a Shia mosque in Kuwait City, consequently 27 people died. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. It was the largest terrorism attack in Kuwait's history. In the aftermath, a lawsuit was filed accusing the Kuwaiti government of negligence and direct responsibility for the terror attack. The Kuwait-based

Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage The Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage () (RIHS) is a Kuwait-based NGO with branches in a number of countries. Spain According to the Spanish intelligence agency CNI, Kuwait provided funding and aid to Islamic associations and congregation ...

(RIHS) is globally famous for supporting Islamic terrorism and appears on the

United States State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) is a designation for non-United States-based organizations deemed by the United States Secretary of State, in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (INA), to be involved ...

. The branches in Pakistan and Afghanistan allegedly became corrupted by members of

; those two branches were embargoed on 9 January 2002 by 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 ...

. The

government of Russia The Government of Russia exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers. It has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Russia ...

has banned RIHS from operating anywhere in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and has deemed the society to be a

terrorist organisation A number of national governments and two international organizations have created lists of organizations that they designate as terrorist. The following list of designated terrorist groups lists groups designated as terrorist by current and fo ...

. A release from the Treasury's Press Office alleged that the Pakistan office, under the direction of Abd al-Muhsin al-Libi, had inflated the number of orphans under its care. The United States has the organization listed on the

OFAC The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the U.S. Treasury Department. It administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions in support of U.S. national security and foreign policy o ...

SDN list The Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, also known as the SDN List, is a United States government sanctions/embargo measure targeting U.S.-designated terrorists, officials and beneficiaries of certain authoritarian regimes, a ...

(as ''Administration of the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society Committee''), thus prohibiting U.S. citizens and permanent residents from doing business with the Kuwaiti organization. According to the Spanish intelligence agency CNI, Kuwait provided funding and aid to Islamic associations and congregations in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

through its subsidiary branch of RIHS. Kuwait this way funded mosques in

Reus Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The area has always been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental importance at the time of the Phylloxera plague. Nowadays it is k ...

and

Torredembarra Torredembarra (), normally called La Torre by its inhabitants, is a town in the ''comarca'' of the Tarragonès, in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the Costa Daurada, it faces Altafulla to the west, La Pobla de Monto ...

who spread an ideology contrary to the integration of Muslims into Spanish society and fostering hatred of non-Muslims.

References

Foreign relations of Kuwait Funding of terrorism State-sponsored terrorism Politics of Kuwait 2010s in Kuwait Human rights abuses in Kuwait {{Politics-stub

See also

References