GERMANY BANNED ISLAMIC "CHARITY"ORG IN GERMANY

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Aug. 6, 2002
Germany bans Palestinian charity linked to Hamas
By NEWS AGENCIES


Germany banned on Monday a Palestinian charity accused of having close links
to Hamas and of supporting the families of suicide bombers in Israel.

Investigators seized 300,000 euros ($296,000) from Al-Aqsa's accounts in
Aachen and Cologne, Interior Minister Otto Schily said yesterday. Numerous
documents were also seized in searches of the organization's premises and
members' apartments, he said. Among its activities, Al-Aqsa calls for
donations to support "martyr families," which authorities interpreted as
support for the families of suicide bombers, Schily said.

He said the charity also provided support to Hamas, as funds collected by Al-
Aqsa were transferred to "social and humanitarian organizations in the
partially autonomous Palestinian territories which are connected with the
organizational structure of Hamas or its associates," Schily said.

"The goal of this organization is the destruction of the state of Israel,"
Schily said.
Mahmoud Amr, 45, chairman of Al-Aqsa, founded in 1991, denied the
organization was funneling money to Hamas.

"That accusation is false," Amr said in a telephone interview. "We have
supported neither Hamas nor any other organization. We help needy people." An
investigation into the affair is ongoing, the ministry said. No one has been
arrested.

Schily said Al-Aqsa was the first organization to be banned since Germany
toughened its anti-terror legislation following the September 11 attacks in
the US. Under a new law passed after the attacks, the government can lift the
country's strict legislation protecting religious organizations if they are
deemed to promote extremism or ideals that could be linked to terrorism.

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