IARA denies U.S. claims it’s funding Al Qaeda

11/2/2004 4:00:00 PM GMT

The Islamic African Relief Agency (IARA) dismissed on Monday the U.S. allegations that it is providing funds to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and the Palestinian movement Hamas and said that the U.S. accusations could result in more suffering to the victims of conflicts all over the world.

Washington alleged last month that the Sudan-based aid agency, IARA, and five of its top officials "were providing direct financial support to Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda, Hamas and other terrorist groups."

Director-General Mohamed Ibrahim Suleiman, one of the accused, said that the organization was consulting lawyers about taking legal action.

Speaking at the IARA's run-down Khartoum office, Suleiman said that the United States didn’t contact the agency about the claims and that they had known about it through the media.

"If someone accused us of such a serious crime, then they should tell us exactly what that crime was," said Suleiman, a doctor, who has led the non-governmental organization (NGO) since 1986.

The U.S. Treasury department warned last month that it was freezing the IARA's accounts in the United States. On the other hand, Suleiman said that the agency did not have any funds or assets in the U.S., adding that he feared that people may now be afraid to donate money to the organization.

He also said that IARA has many offices in the region and Asia, adding that its biggest operations are in Afghanistan and Sudan. It also operates in Iraq, Jordan and Uganda.

Suleiman had even invited U.S. officials to visit him and examine the IARA's accounts. "But the damage is already done," he said.

"Now we will have to spend money on suing the U.S. government for these baseless allegations, when the money should be helping those in need."

Suleiman denied having any links to bin Laden or with the Hamas movement. He also noted that more than 85 percent of the NGO's funding came from UN partnership programs and the rest from philanthropists and Islamic centers.

In its statement, the U.S. Treasury claimed that the IARA was also known as the Islamic American Relief Agency in the United States. Its office was raided by FBI investigators last month.

Suleiman denied any links between the two groups. He said that the IARA had no offices in the United States and it had never been operating there.