'Economic Jihad': Mauritanian Tribes Donate Millions To Hamas

In the last few months the Hamas movement has raised millions of dollars in Mauritania,[1] for vaguely-worded purposes such as "helping Palestine" or "helping the people of the Gaza Strip." The funds are transferred directly to Hamas' representative in the country, Muhammad Subhi Abu Saqer, which allows the movement to use them as it pleases, including for the needs of its military wing. The donations are provided in response to calls from Hamas leaders for Muslims around the world to wage "economic jihad" by raising funds to purchase arms for the movement's jihad fighters,[2] and also in response to calls by extremist clerics who support Hamas and other terror organizations, such as Mauritanian sheikh Muhammad Al-Dido, vice president of the Doha-based International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), which is supported and funded by Qatar and consistently promotes an extremist discourse of hatred and incitement to jihad as well as encouragement of the armed struggle against Israel. It should be noted that Hamas's activity in Mauritania did not start with the current Gaza war; the country has for years been a convenient arena for the movement's activity. Hamas delegations led by Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior member of the movement's branch abroad who holds a Mauritanian passport, visited the country on numerous occasions to meet with senior figures and attend mass events. In 2021 the head of the Hamas political bureau, Isma'il Haniya, visited Mauritania himself along with several other senior Hamas officials, including Moussa Abu Marzouq, Khalil Al-Haya, Izzat Al-Rishq, Taher Al-Nounou and Sami Abu Zuhri.[3]

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri displays his Mauritanian passport (Image:   https://www.youtube.com/@user-tr8pr1kb9b, April 20, 2024)

This report reviews Hamas' fundraising efforts in Mauritania since the start of the Gaza war.

Mauritanian Organizations And Tribes Donate Millions To Hamas, Handing The Funds Directly To The Movement's Local Representative

The calls to wage "economic jihad" for Hamas have been met with an overwhelmingly positive response in Mauritania, with various tribes apparently vying with each other to provide the most aid.[4] Some of the fundraising events have been attended by the Hamas delegations that frequently visit the country, in which Sami Abu Zuhri is a prominent member. One such event, held in the capital Nouakchott in November 2023 and attended by Abu Zuhri and by Muhammad Subhi Abu Saqer, Hamas' representative in Mauritania,  yielded "tens of millions of ouguiyas" in donations for Hamas, and featured a recorded address by extremist Mauritanian sheikh Muhammad Al-Dido, vice president of the Qatar-backed IUMS.[5] Another such event featured a recorded speech by the head of Hamas abroad, Khaled Mash'al, in which he thanked the participants for their support.[6] 

Mass rally in support of Hamas in Mauritania, held in November 2023 (Image: T.me/hamasps, November 16, 2023)

Fundraising campaigns titled "Tightening the Belt for Palestine" have been launched in Mauritania,[7] and are promoted by the Hamas officials who, as stated, frequently visit the country. For example,  on February 2, 2024, a Hamas delegation headed by official Bassem Na'im met with the President of the National Assembly, Mohamed Ould Meguet, along with Hamas representative in Mauritania Abu Saqer, and on March 16, 2024, Abu Saqer met with the representatives of professional unions in the country and exhorted them "to redouble their efforts to assist Palestine."[8] In April, a delegation headed by Abu Zuhri met with politicians, clerics, tribal elders, businesspeople, and union activists to discuss matters of fundraising for Hamas.[9] These efforts have been fruitful, as evident from the following examples:

Mass fundraising event in Mauritania: Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri auctions off his jacket for UM30 million (~$750,000) (Images: Twitter.com/mou3tassima, November 14, 2023)

In December 2023 the Mauritanian Idabelhassan tribe donated UM100 million (~$2.5 million) to Hamas in an impressive ceremony in which the tribal elders handed Abu Saqer a large check representing this sum. The recipient named on the check was "Dr. Muhammad Subhi Abu Saqer, representative of the Palestinian resistance" (i.e., Hamas).[10]

The Idabelhassan tribe presents Hamas representative in Mauritania with a donation of UM100 million (Image: Twitter.com/Ibrahim_m_2018, December 30, 2023)

Many other events of this sort have been documented on social media over the last few months. For example, in February 2024, the Leghlal tribe presented " Abu Saqer, the representative of the resistance," with UM220 million (~$5.6 million).[11]

The Leghlal tribe presents Hamas representative in Mauritania with a donation of UM220 million (Image: Facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553427135307, February 9, 2024)

In March, the Tenwajiw tribe donated UM300 million (~$7.6 million) to "the Gaza mujahideen and the Palestinian people."[12]

The Tenwajiw tribe donates UM300 million to "the Gaza mujahideen and the Palestinian people" (Image: Alquds.co.uk, March 28, 2024)

In April the Awlad Abyiri tribe presented Muhammad Subhi Abu Saqer with UM500 million (~$12.7 million).[13]

The Awlad Abyiri tribe presents Hamas with a donation of UM500 million (Twitter.com/q8azm, April 2, 2024)

Also in April, an association in Nouakchott presented Abu Saqer with the deed to an expensive plot of land, spanning more than eight acres, in order to sell it and raise funds "for the people of Gaza."[14]

A Mauritanian association donates a large plot of land to Hamas (Image: Facebook.com/ALMOUNTADA.MR, April 17, 2024)

In May, an association named Al-Alawiyyoun transferred UM155 million to "Muhammad Subhi Abu Saqer, Hamas representative in Mauritania."[15] 

The Tagunant tribe also presented " Muhammad Subhi Abu Saqer, Hamas' representative in Mauritania" with a donation, of UM600 million (~$15.3 million).[16]

The Tagunant tribe's contribution (Image: Twitter.com/ahmedou0086, May 17, 2024)

Doha-Based Mauritanian Sheikh Calls For Donations To Hamas

Hamas's fundraising efforts were assisted by extremist clerics, most prominently by Mauritanian sheikh Muhammad Al-Dido, who resides in Doha and serves as vice president of the Qatar-backed IUMS. Al-Dido is known for his support for Hamas and his ties with the movement's leaders. In 2021, for example, he met with the Hamas leadership during its visit to Mauritania.[17]

Sheikh Al-Dido with Hamas leaders Isma'il Haniya, Moussa Abu Marzouq, Khalil Al-Haya, and Maher Obeid. The caption beneath the photo reads: "Hamas official: 'The Mauritanians are practical partners [of ours], not just supporters'" (Image:  Facebook.com/alakhbar.info, June 24, 2021)

On December 16, 2023, Al-Dido delivered a lecture in Doha about the cultural heritage of Mauritania's city of Chinguetti.[18] A video of the event that was circulated on social media shows a boy carrying a toy gun and dressed up as Abu Obeida, the spokesman for the Hamas military wing, approaching Al-Dido, who picks him up and presents him to the cheering audience.[19]

Sheikh Al-Dido with a boy dressed up as Abu Obeida, the spokesman of Hamas military wing (Image: Twitter.com/AJA_Palestine, December 16, 2023)

Al-Dido was the first signatory to a document issued on November 6, 2023, calling to extend military and financial aid to Hamas in its war against Israel. The document, titled "Al-Aqsa Calling," said: "…The resistance in the Gaza Strip is repelling aggression against Al-Aqsa and against all of our people in Palestine. This is holy jihad, the pinnacle of Islam… There is a consensus that whenever a Muslim country is being attacked by an enemy, all the people of that country must fight… [and] the entire Muslim public must mobilize to confront the enemy, to the best of its ability and by every possible means."[20]  

Al-Dido's name heads the list of signatories to the "Al-Aqsa Calling" document (Image: Facebook.com/palscholars, November 6, 2023)

Sheikh Al-Dido: Economic Jihad Takes Precedence Over Fighting, Because Fighting Requires Funding

The raising of funds for Hamas evoked criticism in Mauritania, from people who claimed that extending financial assistance to Hamas and Gaza is not the job of the Mauritanian tribes but rather of the Mauritanian state, that there was no way to verify that the funds would reach their destination and be used for the intended goals, that Mauritanians should first of all assist their own poor, and that Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood elements in the country were using the Mauritanian citizens and eliciting funds for "partisan" purposes.[21]

Responding to this criticism, Al-Dido said that donating funds to Gaza currently takes precedence over donating funds to Mauritania's poor, and assured the audience that the money definitely reaches Gaza – via Egypt or directly through the Hamas Jihad Fighters Office in Mauritania.

Repeating the point made in the "Al-Aqsa Calling" document, he said that "there is a consensus that any Muslim country attacked by an enemy must defend itself and its people. It is the duty [of its people] to fight, and it is the duty of the rest [of the Muslims] to reach out and help them…" He went on to say that "jihad by means of money takes precedence over jihad by [sacrificing] one's soul, because a person cannot sacrifice his soul unless he possesses money that enables him to wage jihad and to [acquire] weapons and food… Those who oppose this on the grounds that such small payments [cannot make an impact], or that we are poor and cannot give anything, are opposing Allah [himself], who made this law."

Rejecting the claim that Mauritania's poor take precedence, Al-Dido said: "The claim that the people of Gaza do not require assistance is an outright lie and slander, for the people of Gaza are in need of basic subsistence. As for the objection that we have poor relatives and neighbors [here in Mauritania], and that they deserve our charity [more than the Gazans do], it is unfounded because need cannot compete with dire need. The Gazans are in dire need and the others are [just] in need…" Al-Dido added that "the claim that the aid does not reach [Gaza] is untrue. The aid that is transferred [from Mauritania] through official channels goes to Egypt, to Al-Arish, or to Rafah… and the same is true of [the aid] that goes directly to the [Hamas] Jihad Fighters Office here in Nouakchott… [i.e. to Hamas in Mauritania, headed by Muhammad Subhi Abu Saqer]…"[22]