More than 500 Muslim- and Arab-run small businesses, mainly convenience stores, across the US are being quietly investigated by authorities to establish whether they have any links to foreign terrorist groups.
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In the wake of the 11 September terrorist attacks, federal officials explained that the aim is to determine whether such businesses are generating money criminally in order to fund groups such as the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Palestine that use suicide bombings to kill Israeli civilians.
Law enforcement task forces are searching for evidence of activities such as stealing and reselling baby formula or illegally redeeming huge quantities of grocery coupons, and similarities in financial practices that might suggest money is centrally directed to terrorist groups.
“It wasn’t until after 11 September that we understood the magnitude of the (terrorist) fund-raising from our own shores,” John Forbes, a former US Customs Service official, told the Washington Post: “We were always looking to catch the big rats [in terror financing] But in looking for rats, thousands of ants got by.”
The authorities insist that their investigations are merely directed by the leads they receive, but Arab and Muslim civil rights activists have accused the government of ethnic profiling. Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told the paper: “It wouldn’t surprise me that authorities are singling out Arab and Muslim businesses for scrutiny, given the presumption of guilt we’ve confronted from government since 11 September.”
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By GlobalData
