A major Canadian Islamic organization has been suspended and fined by federal charities regulators following an audit that raised concerns it had “provided resources” that may have been used to support to armed militancy.
The Canada Revenue Agency said it had suspended the Islamic Society of North America-Canada (ISNA-Canada) for a year effective Sept. 12 and ordered the Mississauga-based charity to pay a $550,000 penalty.
Government auditors alleged ISNA-Canada had “failed to conduct any meaningful due diligence” when it transferred $136,000 to the war-torn Kashmir region, where the militant Hizbul Muhajideen has been fighting Indian troops.
By acting as a “conduit” for other organizations, 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 CRA wrote.
While the Charities Directorate did not revoke ISNA-Canada’s charity status, the group was required to enter into a compliance agreement under which it must “cease its overseas operations.”
“We are saddened by this outcome,” ISNA-Canada said in a written statement.
It denied any links to terrorism and said it had “made progressive and important changes” to its governance and “how we operate as one of the largest Muslim organizations in Canada.”
“We remain politically impartial and are not in any way linked to any political or extremist group,” the organization said. “We will continue our operations and remain committed to always striving to be the best possible organization we can be in service to Canadians.”
https://globalnews.ca/news/4490892/...litants/?utm_medium=Facebook&utm_source=AM640
2017
Federal regulators have revoked the charity status of a Canadian Islamic organization after an audit uncovered problems including tax receipts that were issued for donations to a Pakistani group linked to armed militancy.
ISNA Islamic Services of Canada was stripped of its charitable status for “non-compliance,” according to records obtained by Global News. Authorities also revoked a related charity, the Canadian Islamic Trust Foundation.
Both are former affiliates of the Islamic Society of North America-Canada (ISNA-Canada), and shared its Mississauga, Ont. address. Politicians of all stripes have attended ISNA-Canada events, notably Justin Trudeau in 2013 and, in April, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.
https://globalnews.ca/news/3606224/...arity-status-audit-cites-pakistani-militants/
2013
Money raised by an Islamic charity created to help Canada’s poor and needy instead went overseas, potentially into the hands of violent militants, a government audit has found.
The federal charity watchdog is now threatening to revoke the charity status of Mississauga’s ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) Development Foundation.
A Canada Revenue Agency audit revealed the foundation shipped more than $280,000 to a Pakistan-based agency, cash the government fears went to supporting the Hizbul Mujahideen — a militant group that seeks the secession of Kashmir from India.
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada...cern_that_canadian_charity_funded_terror.html
2011
Devout Muslims donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to one of Canada’s largest Islamic organizations on the promise that the cash would be used to help the poor.
But only one in four dollars donated to a special pool of money at the Islamic Society of North America Canada (ISNA Canada) actually reached the needy.
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2011/01/20/muslim_charity_squandered_money_for_poor.html
something is rotten at the ISNA
The Canada Revenue Agency said it had suspended the Islamic Society of North America-Canada (ISNA-Canada) for a year effective Sept. 12 and ordered the Mississauga-based charity to pay a $550,000 penalty.
Government auditors alleged ISNA-Canada had “failed to conduct any meaningful due diligence” when it transferred $136,000 to the war-torn Kashmir region, where the militant Hizbul Muhajideen has been fighting Indian troops.
By acting as a “conduit” for other organizations, 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 CRA wrote.
While the Charities Directorate did not revoke ISNA-Canada’s charity status, the group was required to enter into a compliance agreement under which it must “cease its overseas operations.”
“We are saddened by this outcome,” ISNA-Canada said in a written statement.
It denied any links to terrorism and said it had “made progressive and important changes” to its governance and “how we operate as one of the largest Muslim organizations in Canada.”
“We remain politically impartial and are not in any way linked to any political or extremist group,” the organization said. “We will continue our operations and remain committed to always striving to be the best possible organization we can be in service to Canadians.”
https://globalnews.ca/news/4490892/...litants/?utm_medium=Facebook&utm_source=AM640
2017
Federal regulators have revoked the charity status of a Canadian Islamic organization after an audit uncovered problems including tax receipts that were issued for donations to a Pakistani group linked to armed militancy.
ISNA Islamic Services of Canada was stripped of its charitable status for “non-compliance,” according to records obtained by Global News. Authorities also revoked a related charity, the Canadian Islamic Trust Foundation.
Both are former affiliates of the Islamic Society of North America-Canada (ISNA-Canada), and shared its Mississauga, Ont. address. Politicians of all stripes have attended ISNA-Canada events, notably Justin Trudeau in 2013 and, in April, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.
https://globalnews.ca/news/3606224/...arity-status-audit-cites-pakistani-militants/
2013
Money raised by an Islamic charity created to help Canada’s poor and needy instead went overseas, potentially into the hands of violent militants, a government audit has found.
The federal charity watchdog is now threatening to revoke the charity status of Mississauga’s ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) Development Foundation.
A Canada Revenue Agency audit revealed the foundation shipped more than $280,000 to a Pakistan-based agency, cash the government fears went to supporting the Hizbul Mujahideen — a militant group that seeks the secession of Kashmir from India.
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada...cern_that_canadian_charity_funded_terror.html
2011
Devout Muslims donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to one of Canada’s largest Islamic organizations on the promise that the cash would be used to help the poor.
But only one in four dollars donated to a special pool of money at the Islamic Society of North America Canada (ISNA Canada) actually reached the needy.
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2011/01/20/muslim_charity_squandered_money_for_poor.html
something is rotten at the ISNA
