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The Canada Revenue Agency is demanding corrective action from the Muslim Association of Canada's (MAC), in relation to alleged links to terrorist groups and other issues, or it will lose its charitable status, according to documents obtained by Le Journal de Montréal's investigation bureau.
The MAC unsuccessfully fought in court to prevent the documents, the results of a years-long audit, from being made public by the newspaper. The organization also sought in court months ago to keep court evidence, including the audit, sealed, saying their release would threaten the dignity and safety of MAC members and all Canadian Muslims. The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled against the MAC.
The MAC is in charge of four schools in Quebec and five mosques and community centres in Montreal, including a community centre in the borough of St. Laurent, which is also the location of the Al-Rawdah mosque.
The documents specifically say the CRA is concerned about the MAC's links with the Muslim Brotherhood, and that the association's resources are being used by terrorist groups. The agency was not satisfied with the MAC's claim it had no links with the Muslim Brotherhood.
The documents also revealed that the MAC allowed two organizations that support the Muslim Brotherhood to use its facilities for free and without monitoring what the groups were doing. The CRA is also alleging contact was made with the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria.
The CRA documents say that while Canada has not designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group, "even entities that are not considered terrorist in Canada can put a charity’s resources at risk of terrorist abuse if those entities are linked to violent ideologies."
As well, says the CRA, the Muslim Association of Canada "has not fully mitigated concerns that it may have maintained relationships with groups or permitted groups that have 'actual or potential links to terrorist activities or terrorist groups' to use the organization's extensive network and membership, electronic resources and geographic locations for the purpose of fundraising to advance a third-party cause."
The CRA also expressed concern in its audit that an individual named Mohammed al-Khatib, who allegedly had a link to an unidentified organization involved in financing terrorism, used MAC's list of contacts to ask for money for some groups in Jordan.
The CRA documents also focuses on Azzam Abu-Rayash, who allegedly supports the terrorist group Hamas and favours violence. Abu-Rayash is alleged to have conducted a prayer service and took part in a MAC leadership workshop. Ahmed Khalil, another speaker at a MAC facility, is alleged to have called for violent jihad.
As previously reported in 2023, the CRA alleged in in March 2021 that some directors and employees of the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) have been involved in "an apparent Hamas support network." IRFAN-Canada has been designated a terrorist entity by the Canadian government because of its support for the terrorist group Hamas, which perpetrated the attack against Israel on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were slaughtered.
At that time, the MAC countered that the CRA is biased against Muslim charities.
The CRA has also fined the MAC $1.1 million for giving gifts, rent benefits and salaries to ineligible individuals and organizations, including a Montreal-based imam, a Quebec-based security company and the Canadian Muslim Forum.
The CRA documents also claim that the MAC held non-religious activities during religious holidays.
Yaser Haddara, a former MAC official, has said the organization is challenging the CRA audit, saying the organization is being accused of guilt by assoxiation.
“Unfortunately, the issues of Islamophobia and bias that existed [in 2021] continue to exist in the final audit,” Haddara said.
The MAC unsuccessfully fought in court to prevent the documents, the results of a years-long audit, from being made public by the newspaper. The organization also sought in court months ago to keep court evidence, including the audit, sealed, saying their release would threaten the dignity and safety of MAC members and all Canadian Muslims. The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled against the MAC.
The MAC is in charge of four schools in Quebec and five mosques and community centres in Montreal, including a community centre in the borough of St. Laurent, which is also the location of the Al-Rawdah mosque.
The documents specifically say the CRA is concerned about the MAC's links with the Muslim Brotherhood, and that the association's resources are being used by terrorist groups. The agency was not satisfied with the MAC's claim it had no links with the Muslim Brotherhood.
The documents also revealed that the MAC allowed two organizations that support the Muslim Brotherhood to use its facilities for free and without monitoring what the groups were doing. The CRA is also alleging contact was made with the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria.
The CRA documents say that while Canada has not designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group, "even entities that are not considered terrorist in Canada can put a charity’s resources at risk of terrorist abuse if those entities are linked to violent ideologies."
As well, says the CRA, the Muslim Association of Canada "has not fully mitigated concerns that it may have maintained relationships with groups or permitted groups that have 'actual or potential links to terrorist activities or terrorist groups' to use the organization's extensive network and membership, electronic resources and geographic locations for the purpose of fundraising to advance a third-party cause."
The CRA also expressed concern in its audit that an individual named Mohammed al-Khatib, who allegedly had a link to an unidentified organization involved in financing terrorism, used MAC's list of contacts to ask for money for some groups in Jordan.
The CRA documents also focuses on Azzam Abu-Rayash, who allegedly supports the terrorist group Hamas and favours violence. Abu-Rayash is alleged to have conducted a prayer service and took part in a MAC leadership workshop. Ahmed Khalil, another speaker at a MAC facility, is alleged to have called for violent jihad.
As previously reported in 2023, the CRA alleged in in March 2021 that some directors and employees of the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) have been involved in "an apparent Hamas support network." IRFAN-Canada has been designated a terrorist entity by the Canadian government because of its support for the terrorist group Hamas, which perpetrated the attack against Israel on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were slaughtered.
At that time, the MAC countered that the CRA is biased against Muslim charities.
The CRA has also fined the MAC $1.1 million for giving gifts, rent benefits and salaries to ineligible individuals and organizations, including a Montreal-based imam, a Quebec-based security company and the Canadian Muslim Forum.
The CRA documents also claim that the MAC held non-religious activities during religious holidays.
Yaser Haddara, a former MAC official, has said the organization is challenging the CRA audit, saying the organization is being accused of guilt by assoxiation.
“Unfortunately, the issues of Islamophobia and bias that existed [in 2021] continue to exist in the final audit,” Haddara said.
