The Holy Land Foundation was the largest Muslim charity in the United States. Founded in 1989 in Culver City, Calif. near Los Angeles and based in Richardson, Texas, the foundation provided relief to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and occupied Palestine. It also aided other countries including Bosnia, Albania, Chechnya, Turkey and the United States, where its officials were involved in helping victims of Texas tornadoes and the Oklahoma City Bombing. They also provided continuous volunteering and services in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. By 2001, it’s annual budget reached about $14 million.

The U.S. government shut down the foundation in December 2001 and in July 2004 a federal grand jury released a 42-count indictment that accused the organization of providing money to entities linked to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Holy Land Foundation deny any ties to Hamas and insist that feeding Palestinian women and children is not only legal, but a moral duty that no government has the right to interfere with.

Who is HLF? The Holy Land Five