According to financing records examined by the Washington Examiner, the state of Minnesota gave more than $2 million to an Islamic organization that raises money for a charity associated with an al Qaeda offshoot when Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) was in office.
The Islamic Association of North America (IANA), which will get state subsidies for the years 2019 to 2024, is selling fliers claiming that it is sending humanitarian aid to Gaza on behalf of Rahma Worldwide, a Michigan-based charity, in response to Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7.
President Shadi Zaza of Rahma Worldwide disclosed in a since-deleted Facebook post that his organization was working on an aid project with the Islamic Heritage Revival Society of Kuwait, a terrorist organization that the US government had blacklisted for supporting al Qaeda.
This news coincides with the revelation of the Walz administration’s donations to the IANA. Walz, the governor of Minnesota, has welcomed Zaman on multiple occasions.
The organization is described as “a nationwide umbrella organization with over 35 centers” and offshoots, more than 12 of which are located in Minnesota. According to its website, the IANA represents “Muslim communities on national levels and speaking on behalf of member organizations on all matters concerning Muslims.” It also mentions that membership dues are paid by members, including mosques.
State records show that the IANA received an award from the Minnesota Health Department in 2024 totaling more than $238,600. The IANA received over a million dollars from the agency in 2022 and over $612,200 from 2019 to 2021. In 2023, the agency gave the IANA $191,900.
On October 7, IANA’s director Yusuf Abdi Abdulle stated, “Palestine has the right to defend itself.” Zaman responded to the statement on Facebook by posting a picture of a Palestinian flag. On October 7, the IANA, which is supported by the Walz administration, confirmed a statement made by its partner organization claiming that Israel was carrying out “unprovoked” attacks in Gaza following 1,200 Palestinian deaths at the hands of Hamas.
The vice presidential campaign of Kamala Harris has persisted in asserting that Walz and Zaman are not personally connected.
The funding appears to have gone toward community immunization programs and outreach to the Somali population, among other public health-related projects.
Rahma Worldwide, the nonprofit organization supported by the Walz administration through IANA, has highlighted on social media that it is a part of a pro-Palestinian relief campaign alongside Kuwait’s Islamic Heritage Revival Society.
The same Kuwait-based organization was subject to penalties by the Treasury Department in 2008 for its support of al Qaeda and involvement in a fundraising effort for Hamas.
Zaza and Abdulle appeared together on a brochure for a fundraiser that benefited Rahma Worldwide in December of last year. Additionally, on January 1st of this year, Abdulle shared a different flier on Facebook advertising a Rahma Worldwide fundraiser for Gaza that would take place in Minneapolis and feature Zaza as a speaker.
In the meantime, Sheikh Hassan Dhooye, the former director of the IANA, congratulated Walz in an Aug. 6 post on X that featured a photo of the two of them.
Recently, Dhooye congratulated Hamas ally and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his reelection. According to a press release, Dhooye met with Erdogan in Ankara, Turkey, in 2020 as a member of a delegation of Muslim leaders.
Dhooye, real name Hassan Mohamed Jama, gained notoriety in 2011 after CBC News revealed that the Somali community suspected him of being involved in a finance and recruitment scheme for terrorism.
Dhooye seems to be still active in the group supported by the Walz administration.
