The Ugly Truth: US Organizations are Funding Terrorism

As reported this week by the Daily Caller, major American foundations have donated millions of dollars to terrorist-linked organizations.  

Take Islamic Relief Worldwide, for example, which has received big bucks from George Soros’ Open Society Foundation (OSF), the GE Foundation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Islamic Relief Worldwide is banned in multiple countries for alleged ties to Hamas and other terrorist groups.

“Researchers with the Middle East Forum, an activist group devoted to promoting American interests abroad, identified the financial stream from American foundations to seven Islamic groups with radical ties,” reports the Daily Caller. 

Those seven groups are:

• Islamic Relief Worldwide/Islamic Relief USA 

• The Islamic Society of North America

• The Muslim American Society 

• The Muslim Public Affairs Council 

• The Islamic Circle of North America 

• The Council on American-Islamic Relations 

The report identified 64 foundations that combined have donated nearly $6 million to these seven groups since 2000. These groups have been linked to radical groups such as Jamaat-e-Islami (in Pakistan), Al-Qaeda, Hamas, and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Members of these organizations have lobbied Congress to remove Hamas and Hezbollah from its list of terrorist organizations, have been arrested for participating in terrorist activities, and have demonstrated anti-Semitic behavior.

George Soros’ Open Society Foundation has donated over $600,000 to the Islamic Society of North America. When asked for details about its connection to ISNA, the foundation cited ISNA’s charitable services, including youth leadership programs.

It’s true that the organizations listed above provide charitable services, but that does not mean we should support them. As National Review points out, “By providing social services, Islamist terror groups gain political and moral legitimacy among the people under their control as well as among their supporters abroad.”

As Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan has explained, “Hezbollah builds bombs. Hezbollah also builds homes…When you help Hezbollah build homes, you are also helping Hezbollah build bombs.”

Another foundation that stands out in terms of donation amount is the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, which gave more than $330,000 to Islamic Relief and CAIR between 2008 and 2015. Lawmakers and researchers have urged SVCF to stop funding these organizations, but the foundation has refused.