For several years now, researchers at the Middle East Forum have been exposing the radical South Asian-based movement, Jamaat-e-Islami, (sometimes referred to as the South Asian cousin of the Muslim Brotherhood) and its overt ties to extremism and terror.
Here in America, Jamaat-e-Islami is served by proxies, of which the main two are: the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA); and its sister organization, Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD).
While the head of Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan is calling for a Jihad against India in Kashmir, Forum researchers found that ICNA’s international aid branch, HHRD, has openly organized events in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir with the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation, the charitable wing of the Pakistani terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba, both of which are U.S.-designated terrorist organizations.
HHRD has also openly admitted to carrying out 214 different projects with Al Khidmat, the official “welfare arm” of Jamaat-e-Islami, which publicly works with Hizbul Mujahedeen, another U.S-designated terrorist group. Al Khidmat also openly finances Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist organization.
Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami’s “student wing” in Bangladesh was named the third most violent non-state armed group in 2015. Yet, as Forum researchers showed, that has not stopped Jamaati officials from hiring high-powered lobbyists to whitewash their image in the U.S.
In spite of its extremism ICNA and various other Jamaati proxies have been the recipient of millions of dollars of U.S. government monies. This must stop.
To address these issues, Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) introduced H.Res. 160, which warns about the threat posed by Jamaat-e-Islami, and calls on law enforcement to investigate the terror finance links of its proxies here in the United States.
Please click this link to send a quick note to your Congressman, letting them know you support H.Res. 160 and want them to co-sponsor this bill.
