The Father Of Abdul El-Sayed Sits On The Board Of An Islamic Group With A Troubling History

The Islamic “charity” Life for Relief and Development was once embroiled in a federal investigation — and the subject of FBI and military raids — for illegally sending money to Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Abdul El-Sayed’s father sits on the board.

According to a new report from The Washington Free Beacon, Michigan academic and imam Dr. Mohammed El-Sayed currently sits on the group’s board and has been affiliated with it since at least 2020 — and at least two of the group’s current leaders were listed in a 1992 directory of U.S. Muslim Brotherhood leaders, according ot prosecutors’ records. El-Sayed’s father-in-law, Jukaku Tayeb, also previously served on the board.

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Life for Relief and Development advertises itself as “a trusted top-rated global humanitarian organization committed to helping people in crisis from natural disasters to man-made emergencies,” but as The Free Beacon noted, the group’s reputation has taken a few hits.

In 2004, after Hussein was toppled from power, the United States military raided the group’s Baghdad offices, seizing computers and files, according to reporting cited by the Free Beacon.

Separately, the group’s public relations coordinator Muthanna al-Hanooti was charged in 2008 with acting as an unregistered agent for Hussein’s government, violating sanctions, and lying to investigators, CNN reported. He later pleaded guilty to violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

In September 2006, the charity’s office was the target of an FBI raid.  As The New York Times reported at the time, the U.S. government denied that the raid was connected to terrorism — but there were members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force present at the raid.

Records seized in the investigation included “correspondence, notes, e-mails, facsimiles and other documents and records” that were connected to the Islamic African Relief Agency, according to the Free Beacon. The Treasury Department designated that group’s global network in 2004 for supporting Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda, and the Taliban. El-Sayed’s mother, Fatten Fathy Elkomy, once worked for its U.S. branch, the Islamic America Relief Agency.

In a 2007 New York Post opinion column, Detroit attorney and commentator Debbie Schlussel wrote that the charity gave millions to a group the FBI identified as Hamas’ Jordanian operation, and that law enforcement sources told her it was suspected of funding Al Qaeda insurgents in Iraq.

The investigation ultimately ended in 2015 when the group reached a six-figure settlement with the U.S. government.

“[Life for Relief and Development] appears to have violated §§ 575.210 and 575.211 of the Regulations between September 9, 2002, and March 19, 2003, when it knowingly and willfully formed a conspiracy for the purpose of transferring funds from the United States to Iraq, by and through Amman, Jordan, and appears to have made funds transfers pursuant to this conspiracy,” the government said in a report on the settlement.

“[Life for Relief and Development] appears to have willfully violated U.S. economic sanctions regulations; prior to the relevant transactions, LRD had written notice from OFAC that such transfers were prohibited and that OFAC did not authorize such transactions; LRD’s highest management levels — i.e., its President — knew of the conduct giving rise to the apparent violations and directed the funds transfers to Iraq via Jordan,” the statement continued.

The transfers, according to the settlement, took place as tensions between the United States and Iraq increased — and only stopped when U.S. military forces began bombing Iraq. The group ultimately paid the Office of Foreign Assets Control $780,000 to settle the dispute.

The United States has only officially designated certain chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations, although several legislative attempts have been made to broaden the designation. In 2025, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) issued a proclamation designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group under Texas law.

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