International Islamic Relief Organization
Encyclopedia
The International Islamic Relief Organization, , is a charity based in Saudi Arabia
. It is a member of The Conference of NGOs
, where it serves on the board. The IIRO is included in a list of some of the UNHCR
's major NGO partners, which states, "Mention or omission does not imply any form of endorsement by UNHCR.".
(IIRO is not to be confused with Islamic Relief - UK
(IR-UK), an English NGO with offices in about 15 nations.)
Mohamed S. Omeish, the brother of Dr. Esam Omeish
, is President of the US branch of IIRO.
The United Nations
has listed its branch offices in Indonesia and the Philippines as belonging to or associated with al-Qaeda
.
(MWL). A Saudi royal decree issued on 29 January 1979 approved the decision of MWL to form IIROSA.
It is a member of the International Islamic Council for Da’wa and Relief (IICDR), has observer status at Organisation of the Islamic Conference
, consultative status at United Nations Economic and Social Council
(ECOSOC) and links to Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(ISESCO) among many others.
recipients in 81 countries. IIROSA seven main programs received:
It worked in projects with the World Health Organization, United Nation International Children’s Emergency Fund, United Nation High Commission for Refugees and the World Food Program.
, identified IIRO as a major radical Islamic institution, in part, "responsible for fueling Islamic militancy around the world", and, Rohan Gunaratna
, Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies, Singapore, stated, "... Mohammad Jamal Khalifa is the brother-in-law of Osama bin Laden. He arrived in the Philippines in 1988 and he became the first director, the founding director, of the International Islamic Relief Organization of Saudi Arabia. He used the IIRO to funnel al Qaeda funds to the Abu Sayyaf
group and the Moral [sic] Islamic Liberation Front
."
IIRO is designated by the US OFAC as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist
group, which allows the US to block the assets of foreign individuals and entities that commit, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism.
Association with IIRO has been raised by the Canadian and U.S. governments against people accused of association with terrorism. These include Mustafa Ahmed Hamlily
, Mahmoud Jaballah, and Mammar Ameur
The Philippine and Indonesian branches of IIRO are included on a list of proscribed individuals and entities associated with the Taliban or Al-Qaeda, maintained by United Nations Security Council Committee 1267
. IIRO petitioned the Security Council for removal from the list in January 2010, but was unsuccessful.
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. It is a member of The Conference of NGOs
The Conference of NGOs
The Conference of NGOs, "is an independent, international, non-profit membership association of non-governmental organizations...
, where it serves on the board. The IIRO is included in a list of some of the UNHCR
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to...
's major NGO partners, which states, "Mention or omission does not imply any form of endorsement by UNHCR.".
(IIRO is not to be confused with Islamic Relief - UK
Islamic Relief
Islamic Relief Worldwide is a Muslim international relief and development organization consisting of a family of 15 aid agencies that aims to alleviate the suffering of the world’s poorest people...
(IR-UK), an English NGO with offices in about 15 nations.)
Mohamed S. Omeish, the brother of Dr. Esam Omeish
Esam Omeish
Esam S. Omeish is a Libyan-born American physician and chief of the Division of General Surgery at Inova Alexandria Hospital since 2006...
, is President of the US branch of IIRO.
The United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
has listed its branch offices in Indonesia and the Philippines as belonging to or associated with 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...
.
History
The IIROSA is an affiliate of the Muslim World LeagueMuslim World League
The Muslim World League is one of the largest Islamic non-governmental organizations. Muslim religious figures from 22 states founded it in Makkah in 1962.-Structure:...
(MWL). A Saudi royal decree issued on 29 January 1979 approved the decision of MWL to form IIROSA.
It is a member of the International Islamic Council for Da’wa and Relief (IICDR), has observer status at Organisation of the Islamic Conference
Organisation of the Islamic Conference
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Upon the groups's renaming, some sources provided the English-language translation "Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation", but and have since indicated the preferred English translation omits the "the". is an international organisation consisting of 57...
, consultative status at United Nations Economic and Social Council
United Nations Economic and Social Council
The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations constitutes one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and it is responsible for the coordination of the economic, social and related work of 14 UN specialized agencies, its functional commissions and five regional commissions...
(ECOSOC) and links to Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization was established by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in May 1979. ISESCO is one of the largest international Islamic organizations and specializes in the fields of education, science, and culture...
(ISESCO) among many others.
Activities
In 2003/2004 approximately US$36 million was spent on 2258 projects involving 4,586,085recipients in 81 countries. IIROSA seven main programs received:
- Social Welfare: US$13 million.
- Engineering Department: About US$7 million.
- Society Development and Seasonal Projects: About US$6 million.
- Emergency Relief: About US$4 million.
- Health Care: US$2 million.
- Educational Care: US$2 million.
- Qur’an Memorization: US$1 million.
It worked in projects with the World Health Organization, United Nation International Children’s Emergency Fund, United Nation High Commission for Refugees and the World Food Program.
- In 2005, IIRO provided a number of relief packages for 2004 tsunami and earthquake2004 Indian Ocean earthquakeThe 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
victims in IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Sri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, MaldivesMaldivesThe Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...
and ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. - IIRO also provided assistance to the victims of 2005 earthquake in the affected areas and regions of PakistanPakistanPakistan , 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...
which were virtually isolated and inaccessible.
Claims of links to terrorist groups
At the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, Steven EmersonSteven Emerson
Steven Emerson, is an American journalist and author, who writes about national security, terrorism, and Islamic extremism.Emerson is the author of six books, and co-author of two more. His television documentary Jihad in America won the 1994 George Polk Award for best Television Documentary, and...
, identified IIRO as a major radical Islamic institution, in part, "responsible for fueling Islamic militancy around the world", and, Rohan Gunaratna
Rohan Gunaratna
Rohan Gunaratna is an international terrorism expert. He is the head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research ] at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore...
, Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies, Singapore, stated, "... Mohammad Jamal Khalifa is the brother-in-law of Osama bin Laden. He arrived in the Philippines in 1988 and he became the first director, the founding director, of the International Islamic Relief Organization of Saudi Arabia. He used the IIRO to funnel al Qaeda funds to the Abu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya is one of several military Islamist separatist groups based in and around the southern Philippines, in Bangsamoro where for almost 30 years various Muslim groups have been engaged in an insurgency for an independent province in the country...
group and the Moral [sic] Islamic Liberation Front
Moro Islamic Liberation Front
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front is an Islamist group located in the southern Philippines. It is one of two Islamic militant groups, the other being the Abu Sayyaf, that are fighting against Government of the Philippines...
."
IIRO is designated by the US OFAC as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist
Specially Designated Global Terrorist
Specially Designated Global Terrorist is a designation authorized under U.S. Executive Order 13224 , among other executive orders, and Title 31, Parts 595, 596, and 597 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, among other U.S. laws and regulations. SDGT designations are administered and enforced...
group, which allows the US to block the assets of foreign individuals and entities that commit, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism.
Association with IIRO has been raised by the Canadian and U.S. governments against people accused of association with terrorism. These include Mustafa Ahmed Hamlily
Mustafa Ahmed Hamlily
-Transcript:On March 3, 2006, in response to a court order from Jed Rakoff the United States Department of Defense published a five page summarized transcript from his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.-First annual Administrative Review Board:...
, Mahmoud Jaballah, and Mammar Ameur
Mammar Ameur
Mammar Ameur is a citizen of Algeria who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.The Department of Defense reports that Ameur was born on December 1, 1958, in L'aghouat, Algeria....
The Philippine and Indonesian branches of IIRO are included on a list of proscribed individuals and entities associated with the Taliban or Al-Qaeda, maintained by United Nations Security Council Committee 1267
United Nations Security Council Committee 1267
The 1267 Committee , was established on 15 October 1999, pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1267 concerning Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda and/or the Taliban and associated individuals and entities. The 1267 Committee is one of three Security Council committees dealing with counter-terrorism...
. IIRO petitioned the Security Council for removal from the list in January 2010, but was unsuccessful.