(WASHINGTON, D.C., 2/23/23) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed the announcement by Afghan-American community organizations that U.S. District Court Judge George B. Daniels denied attempts to seize $3.5 billion in frozen Afghan central bank funds to pay families impacted by the tragic 9/11 terror attacks.
In February 2022, President Joe Biden issued an executive order seizing the Afghan Central Bank funds previously frozen by the Treasury Department for the purpose of splitting the reserves between the families impacted by the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and aid for the people of Afghanistan. Afghan, Muslim and human rights advocates opposed the executive order because no Afghans were involved in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the central bank funds do not belong to the Taliban or pay for government services as they are intended to safeguard the Afghan financial system.
In response to that executive order, 33 Afghan-American and American Muslim organizations sent a letter to President Joe Biden expressing their strong disapproval of his administration’s executive order splitting $7 billion USD in frozen Afghan Central Bank funds.
Advocates believe this money rightfully belongs to the people of Afghanistan and splitting these funds would be “detrimental and extremely harmful to that country’s future stability.”
SEE: Letter to White House Seeking Return of Afghan Peoples National Reserves (cair.com)
Over the past year, CAIR has worked with Afghan American community organizations to repeatedly call on the Biden Administration, including the U.S. Treasury department, to:
1) Not split frozen Afghan Central Bank funds between the families impacted by the tragic September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks because no Afghans were involved in those attacks.
2) Return the Afghan people’s $7 billion USD in frozen Afghan Central Bank funds. This assets freeze has led to destruction of Afghanistan’s economy and contributed to the ongoing suffering, starvation, near universal poverty of Afghans in that country.
SEE: Afghan, Muslim Groups Call on President Biden to Return Afghan People’s National Reserves (2/25/22)
The Department of Treasury ongoing restrictions and economic sanctions have also impacted the ability of Afghan Americans to send bank transfers and remittances to family members and charities in response to last year’s devastating earthquake.
The seized funds could also be used by the Afghan Central Bank to help address ongoing issues of market instability, rising food costs, and increasing goods prices by better stabilizing the country’s economy and currency during a time of international market uncertainty.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]