Muslim Charity that provided a foothold for al Qaeda in the United States
Funded terrorists in Chechnya and the Philippines
Was shut down by U.S. government in 2002
Formed in 1992, the Benevolence International Foundation (BIF) identified its mission as "helping those afflicted by wars" with "short-term relief such as emergency food distribution" and "long term projects providing education and self-sufficiency to the children, widowed, refugees, injured and staff of vital governmental institutions."
BIF was the product of a merger between two already existing organizations — (a) the Islamic Benevolence Committee, which raised funds for the Afghan mujahedeen who were battling the Russian military in the Middle East, and (b) Benevolence International in the Philippines, which was founded by Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law Mohammed Jamal Khalifa — to finance both the newly emerging al Qaeda network and the Abu Sayyaf Islamic rebels in the Philippines.
BIF also operated in Bosnia, Chechnya, Pakistan, China, Ingushetia, and other nations. In 1993 the Foundation opened an office in Florida, then moved to Chicago in order to be closer to terrorist fronts that Hamas had established in the United States. From Chicago, BIF actively sought donations from Muslim Americans and other sources in order to fund terrorist operations in Chechnya and the Philippines; the Philippine operations are believed to have been headed by 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.
Another of BIF's more notable members was al Qaeda operative Jose Padilla, the suspected "dirty bomb" plotter who was arrested in Chicago by U.S. authorities in May 2002.
Following the passage of the Patriot Act, the U.S. government was able to collect evidence at BIF offices in Bosnia that the funds the organization was raising were being sent to al Qaeda for the purpose of buying weapons and transporting terrorists all over the world. On November 19, 2002, the United States Treasury Department formally classified BIF as a funder of terrorism, and shut down its U.S. operations. A Treasury Department press release stated:
"Enaam Arnaout, BIF's Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors, recently was indicted in the United States for operating BIF as a racketeering enterprise and providing material support to organizations, including al Qaida, that are engaged in violent activities. Substantial evidence documents the close relationship between Arnaout and Usama bin Laden, dating from the mid-1980s. … Various documents also established that Arnaout worked with others -- including members of al Qaida -- to purchase rockets, mortars, rifles, and offensive and defensive bombs, and to distribute them to various mujahideen camps, including camps operated by al Qaida. … BIF also … lent direct logistical support in 1998 to Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, a bin Laden lieutenant present at the founding of al Qaida. … BIF is also linked to Mohamed Loay Bayazid, who was implicated in the U.S. embassy bombings trial for his efforts, approved by Salim, to obtain weapons components on behalf of bin Laden in 1993-1994. Bayazid's driver's license application, dated September 12, 1994, identifies his address as the address of BIF's Illinois office. In the late 1990s, Saif al Islam el Masry, a member of al Qaida's majlis al shura (consultation council), served as an officer in BIF's Chechnya office."
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