FBI links Chicago-area Islamic ‘charity’ to nuclear terrorism and Al Qaeda

An Illinois-based Islamic charity is accused of sponsoring terrorist agents who sought chemical and nuclear weapons material for Osama bin Laden, and who plotted to assassinate Pope John Paul II, according to the FBI.

The Benevolence International Foundation, based near Chicago, is accused of aiding terrorist organizations and sheltering terrorist individuals, including an al Qaeda member currently on trial for conspiring to murder Americans.

The federal government froze Benevolence accounts last December in a bid to shut off terrorist financing. In March, the feds raided facilities associated with Palestinian terrorists in Georgia and Virginia.

The case shows that the FBI and other agencies are benefiting more from collecting intelligence abroad in the crackdown on terrorist support groups. This week’s bust comes despite politically-connected Islamic groups’ protests that the raids are “insensitive” to Muslim Americans.

Federal investigators – who for years didn’t take action against suspected Islamic terrorist support groups for fear of being bashed as racist – are being vindicated for their recent work.