On Sunday (October 23), a Diwali party is being held at ‘The Bell House’ in the Brooklyn borough of New York to raise funds for a Pakistan-based jihadi outfit. Under the pretext of raising funds for victims of flooding in Pakistan, the proceeds from the event are being channelised to Alkhidmat Foundation (the charity wing of the radical outfit Jamaat-e-Islami).
The matter was first flagged by the Stop Hindu Hate Advocacy Network (SHHAN) after ‘The Bell House’ posted a tweet, confirming the development.
“This Sunday 10/23, Arti Gollapudi and Maya Deshmukh present DIWALI PARTY 2022! Feat. Aparna Nancherla, Sunita Mani, Proma Khosla, Pooja Reddy & Zubi Ahmed, with music by DJ Rekha and Cardamami! Proceeds go to Alkhidmat Foundation to support relief efforts in Pakistan,” the tweet read.
The said event is being held on Sunday (October 23) at ‘The Bell House’ from 7:30 pm (local time) onwards. The cost per head, for general admission to the programme, is $19.72 (equivalent to INR 1,627).
A poster of the event has been doing the rounds of the internet. On being called out on social media, ‘The Bell House’ quickly deleted the tweet without any explanation. However, the link to the ticket window was still live at the time of writing.
Alkhidmat Foundation, for which the New York DIWALI PARTY is raising funds, and its links to terrorism
As per a 2018 report in Rabah Times, Alkhidmat Foundation serves as the charity wing of the Islamist political party, Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) Pakistan. The organisation was responsible for the genocide of the Bengali population during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War.
In 2006, JeI reportedly transferred $1,00,000 to the terror outfit, Hamas, to continue their Jihad against Jews and the State of Israel. Rabah Times had flagged how the organisation had been working closely with the ‘Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD)’, a Muslim American charity.
Global Terror Links – JeI/ Hamas
— DisInfo Lab (@DisinfoLab) June 14, 2021
IMANA/ ISNA have also been funding Al-Khidmat, the ‘charity wing’ of JeI, and has also been funding Hamas. ISNA has also links with Holy Land Foundation, banned in USA for HAMAS links.
18/n pic.twitter.com/nhV3qjKOky
Last year, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Siraj-ul-Haq rejected the idea of using taxpayers’ money for constructing temples in Pakistan.
While assuming taxpayers in Pakistan to be only ‘Muslims’, Haq said that the money cannot be used against the guidelines of the Sharia and the discretion of the Muslim population in the country.
سراج الحق صاحب، اس ملک میں پچاس لاکھ ہندو ٹیکس پیئر شہری ہیں. آپ ان کے پیسوں سے بنادیں.
— Kapil Dev کپل دیو (@KDSindhi) February 28, 2021
اگر یہ بھی نہیں منظور تو ہمارے نام پر خرید و فروخ ہونے والی شراب کی مد میں موصول ٹیکسز سے بنادیں.
یہ بھی نہیں تو محکمہ اوقاف کو ملنے والے بند
مندرون اور گردواروں کے کرایوں سے بنادیں. https://t.co/OvgmsJyHIN
While slamming Siraj-Ul-Haq for his comments, Pakistani Hindu activist Kapil Dev tweeted, “Siraj-ul-Haq, there are five million Hindu tax payers in this country. You make it with their money. Even if it is not approved, make it from the taxes received from buying and selling alcohol in our name. If not, the endowment department will be closed. Build from the rents of temples and gurdwaras.”
It is thus ironical that a Hindu festival is now being used to raise funds for the charity wing of the Islamist outfit under the garb of relief work. Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist political party that is based in Pakistan, is the Pakistani successor to Jamaat-e-Islami, which was founded in colonial India in 1941.
Founded by Abul Ala Maududi in Lahore, The Jamaat-e-Islami was split into Jamaat-e-Islami(Hind) and Pakistan soon after the partition. Earlier in an OpIndia report, we revealed how the organisation is receiving funds from Saudi Arabia universities to spread radical Islam in the country.
