International Islamic Relief Organization

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The International Islamic Relief Organization, (also International Islamic Relief Organization of Saudi Arabia, IIRO and IIROSA), is a charity based in Saudi Arabia. It is a member of The Conference of NGOs where it serves on the board.^[1] 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.".^[2] The United Nations^[3] and others have associated the IIRO with terrorism.

Contents 1 History 2 Activities 3 Linked to terrorism 4 References

[edit] History

The IIROSA is an affiliate of the Muslim World League (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^[4] (ECOSOC) and links to Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) among many others.^[5]

[edit] Activities

In 2003/2004 approximately ~US$36 million was spent on 2258 projects involving 4,586,085 recipients 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 and
• 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.^[5]

• In 2005, IIRO provided a number of relief packages for 2004 tsunami and earthquake victims in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Thailand
• IIRO also provided assistance to the victims of 2005 earthquake in the affected areas and regions of Pakistan which were virtually isolated and inaccessible^[6]

[edit] Linked to terrorism

At the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, Steven Emerson, 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 Islamic Liberation Front."^[7]

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^[8], Mahmoud Jaballah^[9], and Mammar Ameur^[10]

The Philippine and Indonesian branches of IIRO are included on a list of proscribed individuals and entities associated with the Tabilan or Al-Qaeda^[3], maintained by United Nations Security Council Committee 1267.

[edit] References

1. ^ 23rd CONGO General Assembly 5-7 December 2007, Geneva. [1] retrieved 30 December 2007
2. ^ A UNHCR Handbook for the Military on Humanitarian Operations 1995 retrieved 30 December 2007
3. ^ ^{a b} United Nations List of proscribed individuals and entities retrieved 30 December 2007.
4. ^ University of Copenhagen Islamic NGOs in Africa: The Promise and Peril of Islamic Voluntarism retrieved 30 December 2007
5. ^ ^{a b} IIROSA Annual Report for the Fiscal Year 2003/2004 retrieved 30 December 2007
6. ^ IIRO Assists Earthquake Victims In Pakistan. The Saudi Arabia Information Resource, 24 October 2005.
7. ^ National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, Public Hearing, Wednesday, July 9, 2003 retrieved 30 December 2007.
8. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Mustafa Ahmed Hamlily's Combatant Status Review Tribunal - pages 16-20
9. ^ Jaballah admits he knew Khadr, canada.com, May 19, 2006
10. ^ Summarized transcript (.pdf), from Mammar Ameur's Administrative Review Board hearing - page 230