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CNN Promotion of Islamic Relief Worldwide Group Linked to Jihadist Organizations

By Jeffrey Imm

In CNN's coverage of the current battles between Israel and the terrorist group Hezbollah, CNN has provided a list of "aid groups" to assist civilians in the "Mideast crisis". One of these groups is the Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) group - which has been reported to have disturbing links to Jihadism and recently documented fund-raising links to US State Department-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) Hamas.

Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) is an international Islamic aid organization that was founded in United Kingdom, in 1984, by Dr Hany El Banna. It was reported in 1999 that IRW's main UK office received $50,000 from a Canadian group that "the U.S. Treasury Department called 'a(n Osama) bin Laden front.' Moscow's Obshchaya Gazeta has reported that IRW has collected and funneled millions of dollars to the Chechen terrorist rebels in Russia, who have ties to al Qaeda.

In 2004, IRW had a fundraiser at Britain's Birmingham Central Mosque, which has historically been a source of jihad recruitment, including meetings of Al-Muhajiroun and reported recruitment of UK suicide bombers who attacked Tel Aviv in 2003.

In May 2006, Iyaz Ali, a UK IRW project coordinator, was arrested in Israel for assisting the terrorist group Hamas. Part of IRW coordinator Ali's activities involved transferring funds and assisting Hamas institutions and groups, including Al Wafa and Al Tzalah, both of which are officially illegal in Israel. When Ali was investigated, incriminating files were found on his computer which showed links to IRW's ties with illegal Hamas funds in UK and Saudi Arabia, as well as photographs of swastikas, of "Nazi German officials, of Osama Bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, as well as many photographs of Hamas military activities."

If Islamic Relief is actively supporting FTO groups, why is CNN promoting them?