Politics

Tim Walz’s Administration Awarded Millions To Group That Fundraised For Organization Linked To Al-Qaeda

Vice President Kamala Harris campaigns with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, in Philadelphia, Aug. 6, 2024. (Screen Capture/CSPAN)

Under Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, Minnesota awarded millions to an American Islamic association which later fundraised for a Muslim charity that collaborated with an al-Qaeda-linked organization.

The Minnesota Department of Health committed to giving the Islamic Association of North America well over $2 million in public health-related grants between 2020 and 2026, coinciding with Walz’s term as Minnesota governor, according to state spending records first reported by the Washington Examiner. The Islamic Association of North America, following Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel, held a fundraiser for Rahma Worldwide, a Muslim charity that has collaborated on a Gaza aid program with the Islamic Heritage Revival Society of Kuwait, an organization the U.S. government sanctioned for funding al-Qaeda and which U.S. intelligence officials believed to be part of a Hamas fundraising operation.

The governor is responsible for appointing the Minnesota Department of Health’s commissioner, according to MinnPost.

“Determined to choose the worst possible partners at every turn, we now know that Walz oversaw $2.1 million of grants to yet another terror-aligned organization, with whose officials the governor seems to have close relations,” Sam Westrop, a terrorism analyst at the Middle East Forum, told the Examiner. “It’s not just a reprehensible use of Minnesota taxpayers’ money, it’s also a complete betrayal of all those moderate Muslim and Somali activists working to fight this extremism in their communities every day.”

Walz, now the presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee, is under fire for his ties to Asad Zaman, an Islamic cleric who shared a pro-Hitler video to social media, defended the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks and posted a link to a Hamas press release on his Facebook page. “The Governor and he do not have a personal relationship. Governor Walz strongly condemns Hamas terrorism,” a spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign told CNN.

Walz, however, called Zaman a “master teacher” at a 2018 event, the Examiner reported.

“I am a teacher, so when I see a master teacher, I know it,” Walz said of Zaman, according to the Examiner. “Over the time we’ve spent together, one of the things I’ve had the privilege of is seeing the things in life through the eye of a master teacher, to try and get the understanding,”

Walz’s administration also gave over $100,000 worth of grants to the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, which Zaman heads.

The Islamic Association of North America says it represents “Muslim communities on national levels and speaking on behalf of member organizations on all matters concerning Muslims,” according to its website.

At least some of the grant funds sent to the organization by Walz’s administration paid for it to help increase COVID-19 vaccination rates, per a press release. The Islamic Association of North America was part of a state-wide “COVID-19 Community Coordinators” program which sought to engage minority stakeholders to “support Minnesotans who need COVID-19 information specific to their communities, including in their languages.”

Yusuf Abdi Abdulle, the group’s director, said on Facebook that “Palestine has the right to defend itself” following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks where Hamas militants killed 1,200 people, raped women and kidnapped children.

The Islamic Association of North America, Minnesota Department of Health and Harris campaign did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.

(Featured image credit: Screen Capture/CSPAN)