Sheikh Eid bin Mohammad Al Thani Charitable Association

The Eid Bin Mohammad Al Thani Charitable Association is an Islamic charitable organization established in 1995 in Doha, Qatar.[1] A 2003 State Department cable described the organization as a small domestic charity that did little international work.[2] More recently, the association has been regarded as “probably the biggest and most influential activist Salafi-controlled relief organization in the world.”[3] According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, it is one of several Qatari charities that comprise a “fairly well-developed sector providing aid and support at home and abroad.”[4]

The association is alternatively known as the Sheikh Eid bin Mohammad Al Thani Charitable Organisation, or the Eid Charity Foundation. Its mission, as described by the Gulf Times, is “to execute charitable and benevolent projects, develop volunteer work, and preserve noble values through skilled human resources, dynamic administrative systems and strategic organization.”[5]

Relief efforts

The organization provides a wide range of services to people in need in Qatar and elsewhere in the Middle East from food collection and distribution to the poor to supporting drug awareness and rehabilitation programs.[5][6] It has also supported relief efforts in Syria and the Palestinian territories.[7]

In August 2014, the association allocated over $8 million (USD) for humanitarian aid to Gaza Strip, after providing over $3 million earlier that summer for “food relief, sheltering and medical items.” Since 2007, the association has reportedly donated over $64 million toward “relief, educational, medical and construction projects for the benefit of the Palestinian people.”[8]

Controversy

The association has been accused of funneling funds to Hamas through its charitable endeavors in the Gaza Strip. Most notably, Israel banned the association and 35 other member organizations of the “Union of Good,” which the Israeli government considers “a roof organization for foundations operated by Hamas around the world, especially in Europe and the Persian Gulf countries.” The Chairman of the Union of Good is Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a Qatari-based cleric who is the “spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.”[9][10]

In 2013, one of the founders of the association, Abd Al-Rahman al-Nuaimi, was named a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States Government for his alleged role in facilitating financing and communications for Al-Qaeda affiliates in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia.[11] He was similarly sanctioned by the United Nations, European Union, United Kingdom, and Turkey in 2014, resulting in a freeze of his assets.[12][13][14][15]

While he has denied the allegations, subsequent media reports noted his connection to the government-backed charity and other humanitarian organizations.[16][17][18][19]

References

  1. ↑ "Sheikh Eid bin Mohammad Al Thani Charitable Association - Al Luqta 52, Al Rayyan, Qatar (موسسة الشيخ عيد بن محمد الثاني الخيرية) - TEN Yellow Pages". yp.theemiratesnetwork.com. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  2. ↑ "Cable: 03DOHA1748_a". wikileaks.org. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  3. ↑ "http://carnegieendowment.org/files/kuwaiti_salafists.pdf" (PDF). carnegieendowment.org. Retrieved 2015-07-10. External link in |title= (help)
  4. ↑ "Qatar | Middle East and North Africa". www.unocha.org. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  5. 1 2 Holla, Anand (14 June 2015). "‘We are trying to reach all the needy people in Qatar’". Gulf Times. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "Qatargas supports Sheikh Eid Charitable Association (14 April 2012)". www.qatargas.com. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  7. ↑ "Leaders of Charity Work Praise the Initiatives of His Highness the Emir for the Relief of the Syrian people-Foundation Raf raf-thani.com". www.raf-thani.com. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  8. ↑ "Qatar comes in aid to Gaza". Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  9. ↑ "Defense Minister signs order banning Hamas-affiliated charitable organizations". mfa.gov.il. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 7 July 2008. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  10. ↑ "Senior cleric denounces former Egyptian president's death sentence as 'nonsense'". Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  11. ↑ "Treasury Designates Al-Qa’ida Supporters in Qatar and Yemen". www.treasury.gov. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  12. ↑ "Security Council Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee Adds Fourteen Individuals and Two Entities to Its Sanctions List | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". www.un.org. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  13. ↑ "EUR-Lex - 32014R1058 - EN - EUR-Lex". eur-lex.europa.eu. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  14. ↑ "CONSOLIDATED LIST OF FINANCIAL SANCTIONS TARGETS IN THE UK". hmt-sanctions.s3.amazonaws.com. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  15. ↑ "POLITICS - Turkey adds more than a dozen names to al-Qaeda list". Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  16. ↑ Kerr, Simeon (20 December 2013). "US sanctions prominent rights activist for alleged al-Qaeda links". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  17. ↑ "Al-Qaeda terror financier worked for Qatari government". Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  18. ↑ Warrick, Joby; Root, Tik (2013-12-22). "Islamic charity officials gave millions to al-Qaeda, U.S. says". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  19. ↑ "The 'Club Med for terrorists'". Retrieved 2015-07-10.
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