The media is widely reporting on the arrest of former Congressman Mark Deli Siljander who is charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice for allegedly lying about being hired to lobby senators on behalf of the Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA), an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to a Muslim Brotherhood-supported Afghan leader with ties to Al Qaeda and the Taleban. IARA, in turn, has several connections to the Muslim Brotherhood that are not being reported by the media:
- The Afghan leader named in the case is Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, whom the United States has designated a global terrorist, is known to have received funds from the now defunct Al-Taqwa bank, headed by Muslim Brotherhood leaders Youssef Nada and Ghaleb Himmat.
- It has been reported that in 1986, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) gave $170,000 in start-up capital to the Islamic African Relief Agency which the U.S. government says is affiliated to IARA. ISNA is part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood
- The U.S. Treasury Department said in 2004 that Al-Aqsa Belgium was reportedly linked to the Islamic African Relief Agency (IARA) who was moving funds to the Palestinian territories for use in terrorist activities. Al-Aqsa Belgium is part of global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi’s Union of Good and has multiple ties to the Muslim Brotherhood in Belgium.