Eurasia Press & News
Islamist organizations such as Hamas and IS receive many donations worldwide – including from Germany. The money flows through banks, cryptocurrencies and secret networks. Law enforcement often reaches its limits.
Hamas and the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) are among the largest Islamist terrorist groups in the world. To expand their networks and plan attacks, they need money, a lot of money.
Their propaganda is a central tool: the better it is made, the more people feel addressed. That leads to more supporters, more donations and increases the likelihood of further attacks. Both terrorist organizations, meanwhile, have built a worldwide system to raise money. Donations are also flowing from Germany.
Who is behind the donations to Hamas and the Islamic State
Hamas and IS are funding themselves through a worldwide network of private supporters. According to terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler, millions of dollars come together, often through many small individual donations, including from Germany.
In doing so, they would often disguise their activities as humanitarian aid to get money. In part, according to Schindler, they even blackmail aid organizations in crisis areas. ISIS is particularly active in Germany. After attacks, he specifically spreads new messages to demonstrate strength, attract new donors and prepare further attacks.
Islamists, whether from ISIS or Hamas, operate their own propaganda channels on the platform Telegram, spread messages and actively advertise for donations. Telegram is considered ideal: channels can be set up anonymously and content spread quickly.
Exactly how much money flows from Germany to Hamas, IS or other terrorist groups is unclear.
From Paypal to Hawala: How the money gets to the organizations
How donations from Europe actually reach Islamist organizations can be seen in the example of the “Islamic State” (IS). Often, the funds are first sent by bank transfer or Paypal to middlemen in Turkey, who then forward them to Syria. A common method, according to an IS returnee, is also the cash transfer via Western Union, one of the largest international payment services. There, money can be sent or received worldwide without a bank account.
At the request of Deutschlandfunk Kultur, Western Union said it was taking its own “supervision and compliance obligations very seriously” and working closely with law enforcement authorities to combat terrorist financing activities.
The traditional Hawala system also generates money across borders – without banks. The informal transfer system is based on trust: An online intermediary informs a partner in the destination country by password or personal feature who pays out the money. Later, the intermediaries offset the amounts among themselves, often through goods or transactions. Since no official bank details or transfers are required, the system remains hardly comprehensible.
A key role in the organization and forwarding of such donations to IS often play women, according to analyst Sofia Koller. They maintain networks, engage in propaganda and coordinate fundraising. One example is the German Elif Ö., who travelled to Syria in 2015 at the age of 16 and is now considered an important donor of IS. She is said to have raised around 40,000 euros in Germany, forwarded it via Turkey and finally transferred it to Syria via Hawala.
Bitcoin, Monero and Zcash: Cryptocurrencies in Terror Finance
Crypto transactions are becoming increasingly important for terrorist organizations. “It’s a payment system that crosses boundaries. It’s inexpensive and allows money to be easily transferred between different locations,” explains Jonathan Levin of Chainalysis. He analyzed the cash flows of the Telegram channel “GazaNow”, operated by the alleged fund-raiser Mustafa A., an Austrian with Palestinian roots. With the help of QR codes, he advertised for donations in crypto wallets. According to U.S. authorities, he raised around 4.5 million US dollars, partly in favor of Hamas. Mustafa A. denies the allegations.
For investigators, cryptocurrencies also offer opportunities: instead of lengthy requests for account inspection, they can analyze crypto wallets at their desk, identify suspicious transactions and thus react faster.
But the methods of money transfer continue to develop. According to terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler, terror financiers are increasingly avoiding regulated services such as Paypal, as they have internal controls. Bitcoin is considered unsuitable because of its transparency. Instead, so-called privacy coins such as Zcash or Monero are used, which almost completely obscure transactions and wallets. The ISIS-related propaganda magazine “Voice of Khorasan” regularly contains calls for donations via Monero – including barcodes for fast transfers.
Limits of Law Enforcement
Despite international efforts, the prosecution of terrorist financing in Germany remains difficult. One reason is the legal situation and the limited responsibility of digital platforms. The EU Digital Services Act does not require providers such as Telegram, Facebook or X to actively check content for illegal activities.
Even with concrete clues, investigators in Germany quickly reach legal limits. Although paragraph 129a(5) of the Criminal Code provides for imprisonment for the support of terrorist associations – but only if it can be proven that the money has actually arrived at a terrorist organization. The Federal Ministry of Justice is therefore planning a reform: In the future, the attempt to transfer money should already be punishable.
Section 89c of the Criminal Code, which has been criminalizing terrorist financing since 2015, is also limited. Although it does not have to be proven here that the money has actually arrived – but for the fact that it was intended for a concrete serious crime, for example for murder, hostage-taking or violations of the gun law. According to Schindler, this means in practice: prosecutors would have to prove that a single euro was used directly for the purchase of a weapon or the preparation of an attack. Such a connection can hardly be established.
Between 2016 and 2020, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office initiated 156 proceedings, according to the Financial Action Task Force, but only twelve cases were indicted – a quota of around 7.7 percent. Whether there were convictions is unclear.
In order to make money flows in the non-profit sector more transparent, the federal government also introduced a grant recipient register in 2024. There, tax-advantaged organizations must provide information on the name, purpose, board and account data. According to Schindler, we now know which accounts exist, but not what happens to the money.
How Qatar and Iran support Islamist groups
In addition to private donors, states such as Qatar and Iran are also suspected of supporting Islamist terrorist organizations.
Qatar also promotes Islamist structures worldwide. Although these organizations are not militant, they represent conservative Islamism, “which contradicts the liberal-democratic basic order of Germany,” says Schindler. Such structures could create the breeding ground for later radicalization and violence.
German security agencies have been watching the development with concern for years. Already in 2016, BND and Verfassungsschutz warned against missionary non-governmental organizations from Qatar, which are closely linked to state agencies. An internal paper speaks of a “long-term strategy of influence” – for example through the financing of mosques, preachers and training institutions in Europe. A statement from the Qatari Embassy was not made.
