Canadian Muslim charity wins ‘milestone’ settlement after being falsely accused of funding terrorism

Islamic Relief Canada reached settlement in suit against Thomas Quiggin, others who admit claims ‘unfounded’

An Islamic Relief Canada volunteer is seen wearing a vest bearing charity's logo.
An Islamic Relief Canada volunteer looks out over a flood zone. Islamic Relief Canada reached an out-of-court settlement earlier this month in a lawsuit over what it says are ‘false, malicious and defamatory’ statements aimed at harming the charity. (Islamic Relief Canada)

One of Canada’s largest faith-based charities has won a settlement over a set of publications that falsely claimed it was a “front” to fund terror groups abroad.

Islamic Relief Canada reached the out-of-court settlement earlier this month in a lawsuit against Thomas Quiggin — a former military officer turned self-described researcher who last year emerged as one of the more recognizable names in the truck convoy protests — and six others who it argued made “false, malicious and defamatory” statements aimed at harming the charity.

Along with Quiggin, the $2.5-million lawsuit from December 2018 took aim at Benjamin Dichter, who later emerged as a convoy spokesperson; writer Tahir Aslam Gora and an online television channel of which Gora is CEO; writer Raheel Raza and her husband Syed Sohail Raza; as well as a Yarmouth-based man named Joseph Hazelton who interviewed Quiggin about the charity in a YouTube video that garnered over 10,000 views.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/islamic-relief-muslim-charity-canada-terror-1.6870177