There has been a dramatic proliferation of Islamic charities recently. While most are legitimate, considerable evidence reveals that others have more questionable intentions, and that funds have been diverted to support terrorist groups, such as al-Qaeda. The authors examine the contention through a detailed investigation of the charities involved, their financial intermediaries, and the terrorist organizations themselves. What they discover is that money from these charities has funded conflicts across the world, from the early days in Afghanistan, to subsequent terrorist activities in Asia, Africa, Palestine and, most recently, Europe and the United States.

"Alms for Jihad, by J. Millard Burr and Robert O. Collins, is another topical but more specialized book, which provides the most comprehensive look at the web of Islamic charities that have financed conflicts all around the world" -Patrick Grady, Globe and Mail"Thetwo are well-matched to collaborate: Mr. Burr, a former USAID relief coordinator in Sudan, provides practitioner reality, while Mr. Collins, a well-published African historian, adds academic depth....Messrs. Burr and Collins's examination of Islamic banking is rich with both historical background and contemporary detail, some of which may surprise." -New York Sun, Michael Rubin"Alms for Jihad is a ground-breaking book, the first to piece together, from a vast array of sources, the secret and complex financial systems that support terror."
Reviews 6.2.06"Burr and Collins's examination of Islamic banking is rich with both historical background and contemporary detail."
New York Sun, Michael Rubin, editor of the

Synopsis:

Ground-breaking study of the complex and secret financial systems that support terror.

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About the Author

J. Millard Burr worked for many years in the Department of State and was formerly United States logistics advisor for Operation Lifeline Sudan I. He has worked closely with international charities for more than forty years.Robert O. Collins is Professor of History in the University of California, Santa Barbara. They have previously co-authored three books: Requiem for The Sudan: War, Drought, and Disaster Relief on the Nile (1995), Africa's Thirty Years' War: Chad, Libya, and the Sudan, 1963-1993 (1999), and Revolutionary Sudan: Hasan al-Turabi and the Islamist State, 1989-2000 (2003).

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Table of Contents

1. The third pillar of Islam: zakat; 2. Saudi Arabia and its Islamic charities; 3. The banks; 4. Afghanistan beginnings; 5. Islamic charities and the revolutionary Sudan; 6. Islam at war in the Balkans; 7. The Central Asian crescent and Russia; 8. From Afghanistan to Southeast Asia; 9. The Holy Land; 10. The Islamisation of Europe; 11. Islamic charities in North America.

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