Al Muntada Al Islami Trust denies links with Boko Haram militant group
By Tim Tonkin, Third Sector Online, 13 September 2012
Al Muntada Al Islami Trust
The charity responds to allegations in The Observer that it gave financial support to the group
The development charity the Al Muntada Al Islami Trust has strongly denied any connection to the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.
The Charity Commission said earlier this week that it was looking into claims in The Observer newspaper that a charity called the Al-Muntada Trust had given financial support to Boko Haram, which has links to the terrorist group Al Qaeda and is connected with attacks against churches and Christians in Nigeria.
The regulator said it was trying to establish which charity the allegations related to because there were a number of registered charities with a similar name.
The charity was not answering calls on Monday. But it has now put a statement on its website saying it rejects any link to Boko Haram.
"Al Muntada Al Islami Trust notes, with regret, the publication of an article in last Sunday’s Observer newspaper, which reports unsubstantiated allegations of our involvement with an organisation in Nigeria by the name of Boko Haram," it says.
"The trust has never had any correspondence, never offered any financial assistance or had any contact of any kind with this organisation or any other alleged militant groups in Nigeria or any other country. We condemn and denounce terrorism in all its forms and whatever the source.
"Al Muntada is renowned for its humanitarian work in Africa. We see these allegations as part of a worrying trend whereby aspersions are cast upon Islamic charities without proof, thus harming their efforts to save lives in the world’s poorest regions.
"As a registered charity we are fully compliant with all Charity Commission regulations and look forward to working with them to continue improving our procedures."
A spokeswoman for the Charity Commission said yesterday that there were no updates on the case and that the commission was continuing its assessments.
Source http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/news/1149776/al-muntada-al-islami-trust-denies-links-boko-haram-militant-group/
Al Muntada Al Islami Trust
The charity responds to allegations in The Observer that it gave financial support to the group
The development charity the Al Muntada Al Islami Trust has strongly denied any connection to the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.
The Charity Commission said earlier this week that it was looking into claims in The Observer newspaper that a charity called the Al-Muntada Trust had given financial support to Boko Haram, which has links to the terrorist group Al Qaeda and is connected with attacks against churches and Christians in Nigeria.
The regulator said it was trying to establish which charity the allegations related to because there were a number of registered charities with a similar name.
The charity was not answering calls on Monday. But it has now put a statement on its website saying it rejects any link to Boko Haram.
"Al Muntada Al Islami Trust notes, with regret, the publication of an article in last Sunday’s Observer newspaper, which reports unsubstantiated allegations of our involvement with an organisation in Nigeria by the name of Boko Haram," it says.
"The trust has never had any correspondence, never offered any financial assistance or had any contact of any kind with this organisation or any other alleged militant groups in Nigeria or any other country. We condemn and denounce terrorism in all its forms and whatever the source.
"Al Muntada is renowned for its humanitarian work in Africa. We see these allegations as part of a worrying trend whereby aspersions are cast upon Islamic charities without proof, thus harming their efforts to save lives in the world’s poorest regions.
"As a registered charity we are fully compliant with all Charity Commission regulations and look forward to working with them to continue improving our procedures."
A spokeswoman for the Charity Commission said yesterday that there were no updates on the case and that the commission was continuing its assessments.
Source http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/news/1149776/al-muntada-al-islami-trust-denies-links-boko-haram-militant-group/
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