Editing Al-Qaeda (section)

=== Financing ===

Al-Qaeda usually does not disburse funds for attacks, and very rarely makes wire transfers.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Eichenwald|first1=Kurt|author-link=Kurt Eichenwald|title=A Nation Challenged: The Money; Terror Money Hard to Block, Officials Find|work=The New York Times|date=December 10, 2001|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/10/world/a-nation-challenged-the-money-terror-money-hard-to-block-officials-find.html|access-date=May 4, 2011|archive-date=February 19, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219091943/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/10/world/a-nation-challenged-the-money-terror-money-hard-to-block-officials-find.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 1990s, financing came partly from the personal wealth of Osama bin Laden.<ref name="Forbes_May_5_2011">[https://www.forbes.com/2001/09/14/0914whoisobl.html Who is Bin Laden?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729115149/https://www.forbes.com/2001/09/14/0914whoisobl.html |date=July 29, 2017 }}. Retrieved May 5, 2011</ref> Other sources of income included the [[heroin trade]] and donations from supporters in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other Islamic [[Arab states of the Persian Gulf|Gulf states]].<ref name="Forbes_May_5_2011" /> A 2009 [[United States diplomatic cables leak|leaked diplomatic cable]] stated that "terrorist funding emanating from Saudi Arabia remains a serious concern."<ref>Eric Lichtbau and Eric Schmitt [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/06/world/middleeast/06wikileaks-financing.html Cash Flow to Terrorists Evades U.S. Efforts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307185846/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/06/world/middleeast/06wikileaks-financing.html|date=March 7, 2017 }} ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 5, 2010</ref>

Among the first pieces of evidence regarding Saudi Arabia's support for al-Qaeda was the so-called "[[The Golden Chain|Golden Chain]]", a list of early al-Qaeda funders seized during a 2002 raid in Sarajevo by Bosnian police.<ref name="history commons">{{cite web|url=http://www.historycommons.org/searchResults.jsp?searchtext=al-qaeda%20saudi%20arabia&events=on&entities=on&articles=on&topics=on&timelines=on&projects=on&titles=on&descriptions=on&dosearch=on&search=Go|title=History Commons|access-date=June 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805191322/http://www.historycommons.org/searchResults.jsp?searchtext=al-qaeda%20saudi%20arabia&events=on&entities=on&articles=on&topics=on&timelines=on&projects=on&titles=on&descriptions=on&dosearch=on&search=Go|archive-date=August 5, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The hand-written list was validated by al-Qaeda defector Jamal al-Fadl, and included the names of both donors and beneficiaries.<ref name="history commons" /><ref name="auto">[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/United_States_of_America_v._Usama_bin_Laden/Day_2_6_February_2001 United States of America v. Usama bin Laden] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710090442/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/United_States_of_America_v._Usama_bin_Laden/Day_2_6_February_2001 |date=July 10, 2015 }}. Wikisource. Retrieved June 10, 2016.</ref> Osama bin-Laden's name appeared seven times among the beneficiaries, while 20 Saudi and Gulf-based businessmen and politicians were listed among the donors.<ref name="history commons" /> Notable donors included Adel Batterjee, and [[Wael Hamza Julaidan]]. Batterjee was designated as a terror financier by the US Department of the Treasury in 2004, and Julaidan is recognized as one of al-Qaeda's founders.<ref name="history commons" />

Documents seized during the 2002 Bosnia raid showed that al-Qaeda widely exploited charities to channel financial and material support to its operatives across the globe.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB104794563734573400|title=List of Early al Qaeda Donors Points to Saudi Elite, Charities|first1=Glenn R.|last1=Simpson|date=March 19, 2003|access-date=June 21, 2016|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|archive-date=August 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822011925/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB104794563734573400|url-status=live}}</ref> Notably, this activity exploited the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) and the Muslim World League (MWL). The IIRO had ties with al-Qaeda associates worldwide, including al-Qaeda's deputy Ayman al Zawahiri. Zawahiri's brother worked for the IIRO in Albania and had actively recruited on behalf of al-Qaeda.<ref name="steve emerson">Emerson, Steve (2006). ''Jihad Incorporated: A Guide to Militant Islam in the US''. Prometheus Books. p. 382.</ref> The MWL was openly identified by al-Qaeda's leader as one of the three charities al-Qaeda primarily relied upon for funding sources.<ref name="steve emerson" />

==== Allegations of Qatari support ====

{{See also|Qatar and state-sponsored terrorism|Qatar diplomatic crisis}}
Several Qatari citizens have been accused of funding al-Qaeda. This includes [[Abd Al-Rahman al-Nuaimi]], a Qatari citizen and a human-rights activist who founded the Swiss-based [[non-governmental organization]] (NGO) [[Alkarama]]. On December 18, 2013, the [[US Treasury]] designated Nuaimi as a terrorist for his activities supporting al-Qaeda.<ref name="treasury press">{{cite web|url=https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl2249.aspx|title=Treasury Designates Al-Qa'ida Supporters in Qatar and Yemen|access-date=June 21, 2016|archive-date=May 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508002454/https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/pages/jl2249.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> The US Treasury has said Nuaimi "has facilitated significant financial support to al-Qaeda in Iraq, and served as an interlocutor between al-Qaeda in [[Iraq]] and Qatar-based donors".<ref name="treasury press" />

Nuaimi was accused of overseeing a $2{{spaces}}million monthly transfer to al-Qaeda in Iraq as part of his role as [[mediation|mediator]] between Iraq-based al-Qaeda senior officers and Qatari citizens.<ref name="treasury press" /><ref name="fiscal times qatar">{{cite web|url=http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2015/12/29/How-Qatar-Funding-al-Qaeda-and-Why-Could-Help-US|title=How Qatar Is Funding al-Qaeda – and Why That Could Help the US|access-date=June 21, 2016|archive-date=January 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123003345/http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2015/12/29/How-Qatar-Funding-al-Qaeda-and-Why-Could-Help-US|url-status=live}}</ref> Nuaimi allegedly entertained relationships with Abu-Khalid al-Suri, al-Qaeda's top envoy in Syria, who processed a $600,000 transfer to al-Qaeda in 2013.<ref name="treasury press" /><ref name="fiscal times qatar" /> Nuaimi is also known to be associated with Abd al-Wahhab Muhammad 'Abd al-Rahman al-Humayqani, a [[Yemen]]i politician and founding member of [[Alkarama]], who was listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) by the US Treasury in 2013.<ref name="bin ki moon">{{cite web|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/06/ban-ki-moon-shakes-hands-with-alleged-al-qaeda-emir.php|title=Ban Ki-Moon shakes hands with alleged al Qaeda emir|website=The Long War Journal|date=June 23, 2015|access-date=June 21, 2016|archive-date=May 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190519235851/https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/06/ban-ki-moon-shakes-hands-with-alleged-al-qaeda-emir.php|url-status=live}}</ref> The US authorities claimed that Humayqani exploited his role in Alkarama to fundraise on behalf of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).<ref name="treasury press" /><ref name="bin ki moon" /> A prominent figure in AQAP, Nuaimi was also reported to have facilitated the flow of funding to AQAP affiliates based in Yemen. Nuaimi was also accused of investing funds in the charity directed by Humayqani to ultimately fund AQAP.<ref name="treasury press" /> About ten months after being sanctioned by the US Treasury, Nuaimi was also restrained from doing business in the UK.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/11172244/Terrorist-paymaster-targeted-by-Britain.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/11172244/Terrorist-paymaster-targeted-by-Britain.html|archive-date=January 10, 2022|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|title=Terrorist paymaster targeted by Britain|date=October 18, 2014|access-date=June 21, 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Another Qatari citizen, Kalifa Mohammed Turki Subayi, was sanctioned by the US Treasury on June 5, 2008, for his activities as a "Gulf-based Al-Qaeda financier". Subayi's name was added to the [[UN Security Council]]'s Sanctions List in 2008 on charges of providing financial and material support to al-Qaeda senior leadership.<ref name="fiscal times qatar" /><ref name="un press">{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2015/sc11790.doc.htm|title=Security Council Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee Amends One Entry on Its Sanctions List – Meetings Coverage and Press Releases|access-date=June 21, 2016|archive-date=November 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105193910/http://www.un.org/press/en/2015/sc11790.doc.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Subayi allegedly moved al-Qaeda recruits to South Asia-based training camps.<ref name="fiscal times qatar" /><ref name="un press" /> He also financially supported Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a Pakistani national and senior al-Qaeda officer who is believed to be the mastermind behind the September 11 attack according to the ''[[9/11 Commission Report]]''.<ref name="9-11commission.gov">{{Cite web|url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf|archive-date=October 9, 2022|url-status=live|title=The 9/11 Commission Report<!--bot generated title-->}}</ref>

Qataris provided support to al-Qaeda through the country's largest NGO, the [[Qatar Charity]]. Al-Qaeda defector al-Fadl, who was a former member of Qatar Charity, testified in court that Abdullah Mohammed Yusef, who served as Qatar Charity's director, was affiliated to al-Qaeda and simultaneously to the [[National Islamic Front]], a political group that gave al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden harbor in [[Sudan]] in the early 1990s.<ref name="auto" />

It was alleged that in 1993 [[Osama bin Laden]] was using [[Middle East]] based [[Sunni]] charities to channel financial support to al-Qaeda operatives overseas. The same documents also report Bin Laden's complaint that the failed assassination attempt of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had compromised the ability of al-Qaeda to exploit charities to support its operatives to the extent it was capable of before 1995.<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 1, 2024|title=Osama bin Laden {{!}} Biography, al-Qaeda, Terrorist Attacks, Death, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Osama-bin-Laden|access-date=January 28, 2024|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=June 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150616235439/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Osama-bin-Laden|url-status=live}}</ref>

Qatar financed al-Qaeda's enterprises through al-Qaeda's former affiliate in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra. The funding was primarily channeled through [[kidnapping]] for ransom.<ref name="funding al nusra">{{cite web|url=http://stopterrorfinance.org/blog/510652383-funding-al-nusra-through-ransom-qatar-and-the-myth-of-humanitarian-principle|title=Funding Al Nusra Through Ransom: Qatar and the Myth of 'Humanitarian Principle'|first1=CATF|last1=Reports|website=stopterrorfinance.org|access-date=June 6, 2017}}</ref> The Consortium Against Terrorist Finance (CATF) reported that the Gulf country has funded al-Nusra since 2013.<ref name="funding al nusra" /> In 2017, ''[[Asharq Al-Awsat]]'' estimated that Qatar had disbursed $25{{spaces}}million in support of al-Nusra through kidnapping for ransom.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aawsat.com/home/article/510121/%D8%B5%D9%81%D9%82%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86-25-%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%84%D9%80%C2%AB%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%B5%D8%B1%D8%A9%C2%BB-%D9%88%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B4-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%83-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%84|title=صفقة العسكريين: 25 مليون دولار لـ"النصرة"... وهامش تحرك في عرسال|website=الشرق الأوسط|access-date=November 12, 2019|archive-date=November 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112020038/https://aawsat.com/home/article/510121/%25D8%25B5%25D9%2581%25D9%2582%25D8%25A9-%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584%25D8%25B9%25D8%25B3%25D9%2583%25D8%25B1%25D9%258A%25D9%258A%25D9%2586-25-%25D9%2585%25D9%2584%25D9%258A%25D9%2588%25D9%2586-%25D8%25AF%25D9%2588%25D9%2584%25D8%25A7%25D8%25B1-%25D9%2584%25D9%2580%25C2%25AB%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584%25D9%2586%25D8%25B5%25D8%25B1%25D8%25A9%25C2%25BB-%25D9%2588%25D9%2587%25D8%25A7%25D9%2585%25D8%25B4-%25D8%25AA%25D8%25AD%25D8%25B1%25D9%2583-%25D9%2581%25D9%258A-%25D8%25B9%25D8%25B1%25D8%25B3%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, Qatar has launched fundraising campaigns on behalf of al-Nusra. Al-Nusra acknowledged a Qatar-sponsored campaign "as one of the preferred conduits for donations intended for the group".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/syrian-conflict-said-to-fuel-sectarian-tensions-in-persian-gulf/2013/12/18/e160ad82-6831-11e3-8b5b-a77187b716a3_story.html|title=Syrian conflict said to fuel sectarian tensions in Persian Gulf|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=June 21, 2016|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126131441/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/syrian-conflict-said-to-fuel-sectarian-tensions-in-persian-gulf/2013/12/18/e160ad82-6831-11e3-8b5b-a77187b716a3_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/08/analysis-qatar-still-negligent-on-terror-finance.php|title=Analysis: Qatar still negligent on terror finance – The Long War Journal|date=August 19, 2015|access-date=June 21, 2016|archive-date=April 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417142200/https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/08/analysis-qatar-still-negligent-on-terror-finance.php|url-status=live}}</ref>