Islamic State: Member of Australian charity charged with raising funds for jihadists and recruiting for IS
2015-Jul-03
Lisa Main and Susanne Dredge
The [Australian] charity,
Dar al Quran wa Sunnah, was set up to help Syrian
orphans, but it has come under scrutiny from Lebanese authorities after the arrest of one of its members,
Ibrahim Barakat,
....two other dual Australian-Lebanese members of the Sydney-based charity are under investigation in relation to the fundraising charges.
....The charity is registered with the
ACNC [Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission] and
continues to fundraise in Australia for its operations in Tripoli, Turkey and Bangladesh.
....
Adnan Baradaaji, a dual Australian-Lebanese citizen, is listed on the ACNC website as the charity's president and lives in Sydney.....Ahmad Taleb, the lawyer representing Barakat,...told the ABC that
Mr Baradaaji had sent money to Barakat for a long time, but it was unknown whether that money was legitimately used for the purposes of aid, or if any of the money was used to fund jihadist activities.
Mr Baradaaji declined repeated requests by the ABC for an interview but
said Barakat was innocent, and maintained
his charity did not support terrorism [only Syrian orphans!].
....
The group was seen in June raising funds from a shopping centre in the south-western Sydney suburb of Bankstown, asking interested individuals to give their bank details for regular direct debits.
[
to support 'orphans' in Syria ]