NEFA Foundation "Spot Report": Ummah Welfare Trust and the Barclays Bank Controversy

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has released a new "Spot Report" titled "Ummah Welfare Trust and the Barclays Bank Controversy." On December 16, 2008, a representative from Barclays Bank PLC wrote to the Ummah Welfare Trust (UWT) to inform the organization that after a review of Barclays’ “business risk exposure,” the bank would be closing UWT’s accounts on January 19. UWT has responded forcefully, urging supporters to “Contact Barclays and ask for a reason of account closure and inform them that you and your associates will be closing your accounts if the decision is not immediately reversed.” Several Muslim organizations, including the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) in the U.K. and Ireland, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), MPAC-UK, and the Islamic Forum of Europe, have issued press releases in support of UWT. For example, referencing the recent closure of an Interpal bank account, the MCB announced that it was “deeply concerned” and saw “no justification for these summary closures and denial of services.” And the National Union of Kenyan Muslims has even threatened a global boycott of Barclays. These efforts have been supplemented by an online petition, which assailed the “indiscriminate” closure of Islamic charity accounts, along with a website: http://www.saynotobarclays.com. However, an examination of UWT’s financial records and other open source material reveals numerous linkages to terror-linked organizations, particularly those affiliated with Hamas. UWT has sent Interpal over £190,000 and collaborated with the Al-Salah Islamic Association; both organizations have been named Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) by the U.S. government for their links to Hamas. Moreover, UWT has funneled money to four members of the Union of Good, a Hamas-tied umbrella organization also named an SDGT. And numerous data points provide evidence of UWT’s ideological orientation. The UWT website has featured a tribute to deceased Hamas founder Ahmad Yasin, heralded the "unparalleled" status of martyrs, counseled readers to "consider the Police and Intelligence as filthy human beings," and advertised a guest speaker at fundraisers who has urged followers to avoid "align[ing] yourselves with the kuffar.”

A copy of the NEFA report on Ummah Welfare Trust can be downloaded from the NEFA Foundation website.

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