Canadian govt gave Hizbul Mujahideen-linked charity a summer jobs grant

A major Islamic charity in Canada that has been penalised by tax authorities was given a grant by Ottawa under its Summer Jobs programme, a media report said.

The Islamic Society of North America-Canada (ISNA-Canada) was suspended for a year from September 12 and fined CA $ 550,000 by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The move came after an audit raised concerns it had “provided resources” to groups with links to the Hizbul Mujahideen, which is focused on Jammu and Kashmir and listed as a terrorist organisation by India, the US and the European Union.

According to a report in the Toronto Sun, it was provided a grant under the Canada Summer Jobs programme of the Canadian government. While that grant period preceded the CRA measures, ISNA-Canada had been under investigation by auditors of the CRA’s Charities Directorate since 2011.

According to a report earlier in the Global News, ISNA-Canada had transferred funds to the Relief Organization for Kashmiri Muslims (ROKM), considered the “charitable arm” of Jamaat-e-Islami, a Pakistani group whose armed wing, Hizbul Mujahideen, has often targeted Kashmir.

“Providing resources to organisations operating in support of a political purpose, including the achievement of nationhood or political autonomy, are not recognised at law as charitable,” CRA had stated.

The CRA believed that by acting as a “conduit” for other organisations, ISNA-Canada “may have, knowingly or unknowingly, provided the benefits of its status as a registered charity to support the efforts of a political party and its armed wing”, the Global News report said.

While ISNA-Canada’s charity status was not revoked, it was required to enter a compliance agreement whereby it must “cease its overseas operations”. The audit based on ISNA’s returns for 2007 and 2009 began in 2011 and concluded with this action.

In recent years, the charity status had been stripped for three affiliated groups: ISNA Islamic Services of Canada, ISNA Development Foundation and Canadian Islamic Trust Foundation.

In a statement responding to the CRA action, ISNA-Canada said it was “saddened by this outcome." It added, “ISNA Canada abhors and rejects terrorism in all its forms, and categorically denies any terrorist links.”

First Published: Oct 06, 2018 08:33 IST