Turkish charity using ‘ISIL-adopted insignia’ shuts down

An Istanbul-based association has been shut down after being accused of using ISIL symbols and sending jihadists to Syria

An Istanbul-based Islamic charity organization that created controversy by using an insignia adopted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has shut down after allegations that it was recruiting militants for the fight in Syria.

“Right now, we are not engaged in any work or activity. HİSADER [Haznedar Islamic Research, Sustenance and Helping Association] has been closed down and stopped its activity,” association head Volkan Sağlam said, stressing that the decision was made by the association by “free will.”

HİSADER had long campaigned to raise funds for charity work in Syria. Last month, a daily Habertürk report highlighted that the association’s logo featured an “ISIL-adopted insignia.” The charity was also accused of sending young men to the ranks of radical Islamist fighters in Syria, such as ISIL.

Sağlam rejected the claims as “ignorance” on June 17, stressing that “the stamp of the Prophet Muhammad” has been a popular insignia among Islamic groups, long before ISIL.

As reactions mounted, Sağlam announced July 31 that they decided to shut down HİSADER. “With God’s help, we successfully confronted the baseless claims and the attempts to point us as a target. God bless all the Muslims who put an effort in this way. We see that reports and provocations continue. For us, any problem that a Muslim may experience is more important than 10 HİSADERs,” he said.