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Al-Qaeda Continues to Siphon Islamic Charities

(AP/Guardian-UK) Al-Qaeda has siphoned millions of dollars from Islamic charities that help poor Muslims in Africa and Asia, and U.S. and Saudi government efforts to cut the flow have largely failed, Western diplomats and former charity workers say. Donations to the Saudi Arabian-based al-Haramain Foundation to support Islamic preachers ended up in the pockets of a suspect in the November 2002 bombing of an Israeli hotel in Kenya, said a Western diplomat. A U.S. intelligence official said investigators believe al-Haramain is using new names in Kenya, having simply shifted its funds to fresh bank accounts. A recent visitor to al-Haramain's Nairobi office was shooed away by a security guard who said it was closed, although there were parked cars in the driveway and dozens of pairs of shoes outside the front door.
2004-06-08 00:00:00
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