The Minnesota government, under the leadership of Governor Tim Walz, has come under scrutiny following a report that an organization with links to Al-Qaida was granted $2 million in state funds, according to WND.
This revelation has sparked controversy, as Walz is currently the Vice Presidential nominee for Kamala Harris in the ongoing presidential race. Harris was selected by the Democratic party's elite, replacing Joe Biden, whose mental health has been a topic of concern.
The investigative report disclosed that the state funds were allocated to the Islamic Association of North America (IANA), an organization that has been fundraising for a charity associated with an Al-Qaida affiliate. The IANA received state grants between 2019 and 2024 and has recently been fundraising in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, last year.
The funds are being directed towards Rahma Worldwide, a Michigan-based charity claiming to send humanitarian aid to Gaza. "In a since-deleted Facebook post in October 2023, Rahma Worldwide President Shadi Zaza revealed his charity was collaborating on an aid initiative with the Islamic Heritage Revival Society of Kuwait, a terrorist group sanctioned by the U.S. government for funding al-Qaida," the report stated.
The report also shed light on Walz's connections to Muslim cleric Asad Zaman, who had previously shared a pro-Adolf Hitler movie on social media and defended the October 7 attack. Despite these revelations, Harris's campaign maintains that Walz has no personal relationship with Zaman.
Sam Westrop, a terrorism analyst at the Middle East Forum think tank, commented on the situation, stating, "Embracing and funding an imam that sympathizes with neo-Nazis was apparently only the start."
The IANA, established in 2001, operates about a dozen centers in Minnesota. The state funds were channeled through its health department for outreach and "community vaccinations." The funding amounted to over $1 million in 2022, $238,000 in 2024, and $192,000 in 2023, with more than $612,000 allocated between 2019 and 2021.
The report further detailed that "Yusuf Abdi Abdulle, IANAs director, said on Oct. 7, Palestine has the right to defend itself, which prompted Zaman to reply to the director on Facebook with an image of a Palestinian flag. On Oct. 7, the Walz administration-backed IANA affirmed a statement by its partner group that said Israel was engaged in unprovoked attacks in Gaza after Hamas killed 1,200 people in the Jewish state."
Rahma Worldwide, which is receiving financial support from the IANA, has publicly acknowledged its involvement in a pro-Palestinian aid campaign with Kuwaits Islamic Heritage Revival Society, a group previously sanctioned by the U.S. for supporting al-Qaida.
Westrop criticized the funding, calling it "a complete betrayal of all those moderate Muslim and Somali activists working to fight this extremism in their communities every day." He further condemned the use of state money in this manner as "reprehensible."
This controversy raises questions about the judgment and decision-making of those in power, particularly in light of the upcoming presidential election. It also underscores the need for greater transparency and accountability in the allocation of state funds.
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