The Canadian government taking a strong note on terror funding has decided to suspend a leading Canadian Muslim charity and has also fined it for allegedly funding terrorists and creating instability in the Kashmir region.
According to the reports, the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) has suspended Islamic Society of North America-Canada (ISNA- Canada) for funding $136,000 to a group allegedly linked to Islamic terrorists in Kashmir. The CRA has said that the Islamic charity organisation has been banned for a year from September 12 and has also ordered the charity to pay a fine of $550,000.
The Canadian government auditors have alleged ISNA-Canada had “failed to conduct any meaningful due diligence” when it transferred $136,000 to the Kashmir region, where the terrorist groups like Hizbul Muhajideen have been fighting Indian troops. The CRA said that the Islamic charity has acted as a ‘conduit’ for many organisations which supports terrorist activities in other countries.
“It is the CRA’s view that the society’s resources may have, directly or indirectly, been used the support the political efforts of Jamaat-e-Islami and/or its armed wing Hizbul Mujahideen,” according to CRA documents.
CRA audit documents reportedly allege that ISNA-Canada donated $90,000 to the Relief Organization for Kashmiri Muslims (ROKM) between 2007 and 2009. The audit documents also revealed that ISNA-Canada funded an additional $46,000 to the Kashmiri Relief Fund of Canada, which had also previously raised additional funds for the ROKM, according to the CRA.
According to CRA reports, the ROKM is considered to be the “charitable arm” of Jamaat-e-Islami, a Pakistani Islamist political party and it’s terror group Hizbul Mujahideen. However, the ISNA-Canada has denied all the allegations levelled against it by the CRA.
