Islamic American Relief Agency
Encyclopedia
The Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA-USA) is an "American non-profit organization
established in 1985 and dedicated to the empowerment of disadvantaged people everywhere through relief and participatory development programs emphasizing human dignity, self-reliance, and social justice." It has been under scrutiny by the FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force
since October 2004, when its offices were raided and its operations shut down.
On March 8, 2007, the organization and five of its leaders were charged in the 33-count indictment, handed down by a grand jury in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri for sending $1.4 million to Iraq
during the sanctions
that took place from 1990 to 2003.
by a group of concerned Sudanese residents in the United States as a response to the humanitarian emergency in Sudan and other parts of Africa. As the time went on, the organization has helped many people in many parts of the world, including the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the United States. Although they were all Muslims, they served to help the needy around the world, no matter what nationality or religion their recipients may be.
, Albania
, Azerbaijan
, Bangladesh
, Chad
, Ethiopia
, Jordan
, Kenya
, Lebanon
, Mali
, Pakistan
, Somalia
, Uganda
, and Yemen
.
, Bangladesh, Somalia, and the Balkans
.
, former U.S. Representative from Michigan's 4th congressional district
, was indicted for his role in helping the Islamic American Relief Agency raise more than $130,000 that was allegedly sent to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda
. On July 7, 2010, Siljander pled guilty to obstruction of justice and acting as an unregistered foreign agent, and Abdel Azim El-Siddig, formerly a part-time fundraiser for IARA, pled guilty to conspiring to hire Siljander to lobby for IARA's removal from the US Senate Finance Committee's list of organizations supporting terrorism.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
established in 1985 and dedicated to the empowerment of disadvantaged people everywhere through relief and participatory development programs emphasizing human dignity, self-reliance, and social justice." It has been under scrutiny by the FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force
Joint Terrorism Task Force
A Joint Terrorism Task Force is a partnership between various U.S. law enforcement agencies that is charged with taking action against terrorism, which includes the investigation of crimes such as wire fraud and identity theft...
since October 2004, when its offices were raided and its operations shut down.
On March 8, 2007, the organization and five of its leaders were charged in the 33-count indictment, handed down by a grand jury in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri for sending $1.4 million to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
during the sanctions
Iraq sanctions
The Iraq sanctions were a near-total financial and trade embargo imposed by the United Nations Security Council on the nation of Iraq. They began August 6, 1990, four days after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, stayed largely in force until May 2003 , and certain portions including reparations to Kuwait...
that took place from 1990 to 2003.
Early history
IARA-USA opened its doors in Columbia, MissouriMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
by a group of concerned Sudanese residents in the United States as a response to the humanitarian emergency in Sudan and other parts of Africa. As the time went on, the organization has helped many people in many parts of the world, including the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the United States. Although they were all Muslims, they served to help the needy around the world, no matter what nationality or religion their recipients may be.
Orphan sponsorship
Of all its programs, IARA-USA was very successful in its Orphan Sponsorship program, where donors could sponsor an orphan in another country for $1.00 per day. This amount provided food, clothing, medical care, education, and other necessities to the orphan in the time he/she was sponsored. Every sponsor received a photo and biographical information for each child he/she sponsored. The IARA-USA Orphan Sponsorship program served orphans in AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, and Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
.
Health clinics
IARA-USA was also concerned with poor health care in areas of conflicts around the world. They addressed the need for adequate health care (particularly for children and pregnant women) by providing primary health care, immunizations, nutrition counseling, and supplementation, prenatal care, infectious disease prevention, and sanitary water supplies. IARA-USA also helped to establish medical and therapeutic facilities for rape victims, and to train medical personnel at those facilities. These projects have been especially strong in MaliMali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, Bangladesh, Somalia, and the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
.
Education and training facilities
Education and vocational training was a vital part of all IARA-USA’s development initiatives. It sponsored educational projects supporting elementary and secondary schools as well as community education services. Many of IARA-USA’s development projects involved vocational training in sewing, welding, carpentry, and other areas. Health education programs were implemented in coordination with their medical projects.Djindjini-Koire Community School in Mali
The Djindjini-Koire Community School in Mali served 123 boys and 92 girls. It was built as part of IARA-USA’s Community Education, Water, and Income Generation Project, under which a number of similar educational initiatives were being implemented. These efforts included helping local people to organize their own educational systems, train their own teachers, and construct more schools. The goal of the project was to establish a self-sufficient, quality educational infrastructure in the Circle of Timbuktu through the active participation of the local communities.Anwar Educational Center in Bosnia
The Anwar Educational Center in Bosnia was established in 1996 to address the post-war recovery needs of the inhabitants of Bosnia, especially the young women and demobilized soldiers. The Anwar Center provided computer and language training, the purpose of which was to help the target groups overcome the economic and social difficulties arising from the war by helping them get jobs and attain economic self-sufficiency and a sense of personal confidence.Alleged connection to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda
On January 16, 2008, Mark D. SiljanderMark D. Siljander
Mark Deli Siljander is a former Republican U.S. Representative and deputy United Nations ambassador from the state of Michigan who was convicted of obstruction of justice and acting as an unregistered foreign agent related to his work for an Islamic charity with ties to international terrorism...
, former U.S. Representative from Michigan's 4th congressional district
Michigan's 4th congressional district
Michigan's 4th congressional district is a United States Congressional district that currently includes portions of Northern and Central Michigan, consisting of all of...
, was indicted for his role in helping the Islamic American Relief Agency raise more than $130,000 that was allegedly sent to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
. On July 7, 2010, Siljander pled guilty to obstruction of justice and acting as an unregistered foreign agent, and Abdel Azim El-Siddig, formerly a part-time fundraiser for IARA, pled guilty to conspiring to hire Siljander to lobby for IARA's removal from the US Senate Finance Committee's list of organizations supporting terrorism.