Sending Office: Honorable Jim Banks
Sent By:
Amy.Surber@mail.house.gov

        Request for Signature(s)

Dear Colleague:

I invite you to join me in urging Ambassador Nathan Sales, the Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the State Department, to review the Helping Hands for Relief and Development (HHRD) and their “sister organization,” the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA). This
letter asks Ambassador Sales to use the full powers of his office to further investigate the potential terror finance links between groups like ICNA and HHRD, and U.S. and UN Security Council designated terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahedeen, given
numerous media reports of clear operational links between the these groups.

If you would like more information or want to sign on to the letter, please contact Amy Surber in my office at
Amy.Surber@mail.house.gov.

Sincerely,

JIM BANKS
Member of Congress

 

Letter Text

Ambassador Nathan Sales
Coordinator for Counterterrorism
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, D.C. 200037

Dear Ambassador Sales,

We write to you today concerning an issue vital to the U.S. and our allies, particularly those in the South Asia region, such as India and Bangladesh. Specifically, we write about the threat from Jamaat-e-Islami and their international network of proxy groups
and associates, and significant evidence that these networks and proxy groups are linked to promoting extremist ideology and terror finance.

As you may know, Jamaat-e-Islami was founded by Abul A’la Maududi, in India in 1941, prior to partition of the Indian sub-Continent. Maududi believed that Islam was a “non-conventional religion,” and instead was “a revolutionary ideology,” that called for an
“international revolutionary party,” which he then established. It has driven conflict and violence and preached radical ideology in South Asia ever since.

In recent decades, Jamaat-e-Islami has repeatedly acted in accordance with its theocratic views, including acting as a paramilitary wing of Pakistan’s intelligence agencies during the Bangladeshi War of Independence in which countless Bangladeshi freedom fighters
and civilians alike were murdered. The war crimes tribunals continue to this day. Additionally, various wings of Jamaat-e-Islami, such as Hizbul Mujahedeen, which was founded as the “militant wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami,”[1]
is a U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization.[2] Jamaat-e-Islami’s student wing in Bangladesh, Islami Chhatra Shibir, was named the 3^rd most violent non-state armed group in the world in 2015.
[3] More recently, Jamaat-e-Islami was banned in India controlled Kashmir for driving terrorism in the region.[4]

Unfortunately, Jamaat-e-Islami’s affiliates and proxy groups are not limited to South Asia, and extends to other areas of Asia and Europe, and even extend even here to the United States. This is unsurprising, given that Maududi explicitly stated that “(W)herever
you are, in whichever country you live, you must strive to change the wrong basis of government, and seize all powers to the rule and make laws from those who do not fear God.”[5]

Specifically of concern are the innocuous sounding organization, Helping Hands for Relief and Development (HHRD) and their “sister organization,” the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA).[6] While they sell
themselves as innocuous Muslim civic society organizations, they are, in fact, arms of one of the most radical networks in the world.

There is no serious doubt that ICNA and HHRD are part of Jamaat-e-Islami’s international network. Indeed, the evidence is overwhelming and extensive.[7]  Vali Nasr of Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced
and International Studies names ICNA as one of the most important branches of Jamaat-e-Islami in the world.[8] Regrettably, there is significant evidence that Helping Hands for Relief and Development and ICNA are
directly involved in terror finance. Indeed, Helping Hands for Relief and Development, under the guise of international aid, has openly worked with U.S. designated terrorist organizations in the disputed region of Kashmir.

In December 2017, HHRD organized a conference in Pakistan. Other organizations sponsoring the event included the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation, the charitable wing of the Pakistani terrorist organization, Lashkar-e-Taiba.[9]
In 2016, the U.S. Treasury Department designated the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation as a terrorist organization.[10] But that’s just one example. Another sponsor of the conference was a Pakistani charity named Al-Khidmat,
which is the main charitable wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. Al-Khidmat support the aforementioned Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Jamaat-e-Islami’s armed wing, a U.S. designated terrorist group, and works on projects that are run by Hizb-ul-Mujahaideen.[11]
But Al-Khidmat’s ties to terror finance don’t end only with other Jamaat-e-Islami affiliated groups. In 2006, Jamaat-e-Islami announced that Al-Khidmat sent 6 million rupees ($100,000) to Hamas, another U.S. designated terrorist group, for their “just Jihad.”[12]
Moreover, HHRD’s partnership with Al-Khidmat is not relegated to this one conference. Indeed, according to HHRD’s 2017 report, HHRD had done 214 different projects with Al-Khidmat.[13]
 

Further troubling are recent events in Connecticut, which suggests the problem may be far deeper. According to news stories, Fareed Ahmed Khan, a Pakistani-American (naturalized in the early 2000’s) is accused of lying to the FBI multiple times, in connection
with a terror finance investigation. According to one recent story, Kahn is charged with falsely claiming that “(H)e wasn’t associated with the Islamic Circle of North America, a related charity called ICNA Relief, or two other organizations, Helping Hands
and Helping Hand for Relief and Development…He is also accused of saying falsely that the only packages he had sent to Pakistan contained clothing and went to his brother and sister.”[14] When, in fact, Kahn
was “(I)n charge of all money collections and had been in charge for a long time,” for the New England branch of ICNA.[15] Further court filings show that his brother openly solicited funds for the Falah-e-Insaniat
Foundation, the U.S. designated terrorist organization and arm of Lashkar-e-Taiba.[16] Very recently, Kahn was found guilty of lying to law enforcement during the investigation.[17]While
it is possible that Kahn was a rogue ICNA member, given further ties between ICNA and Falah-e-Insaniat and other U.S. and UN Security Council designated terror groups, that should not be assumed.

We believe the documented facts above would give a reasonable person good reason to investigate just how extensive and systemic these ties are. The nexus of charitable networks and terrorist groups is well known and pernicious. This is particularly important
to investigate, as ICNA has received over ten million dollars in government grants, even from the current Administration.[18]

The ongoing tension and violence in Kashmir is a threat to peace and stability for both India and Pakistan. It is clearly in the best interests of the U.S. to keep peace in the region and not fan the flames of war.  It is thus vital that the U.S. do whatever
it can to stop the flow of any and all funds that we can to terrorist organizations operating in the region. Thus, we ask that you use the full powers of your office to further investigate the potential terror finance links between groups like ICNA and HHRD,
and U.S. and UN Security Council designated terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahedeen.
 

Sincerely,

Jim Banks
Member of Congress

 

 

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