British Muslims are organising a boycott of Barclays Bank after it closed the accounts of an Islamic charity that operates in some of the world’s terror hot spots. Barclays has given the Bradford and Bolton-based Ummah Welfare Trust just 30 days to move millions of pounds, but the bank has refused to explain why. The charity says it raises funds for orphanages and other humanitarian aid projects in war torn countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine, Kashmir, Kosovo, Chechnya, Sudan, Iran and Iraq. However, the Sunday Express has discovered that as part of its work, it also channels funds to controversial Palestinian charity Interpal, which is the subject of a current Charity Commission investigation over alleged improper links to Palestinian “terror” organisation Hamas, and whose own accounts were closed last month by Lloyds TSB. In a further finding, the charity also openly advertises its close associations to the Al-Salah Society—also known as the Al-Salah Islamic Association—an organisation blacklisted last year by the US Treasury for being a charitable “front” for Hamas’s “terrorist agenda”. American pressure is believed to be behind Barclays’s move, but the lack of any explanation from the bank has caused many in Britain’s Muslim communities to believe the decision is part of a wide-ranging “Zionist” attack by the City on Islam. Supporters of the trust are now urging Muslims throughout Britain to trigger a wave of account closures in protest. Ted Jeory reports.
