Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization

Critics have alleged that the Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization may be a fundraising front for Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist faction Hezbollah, mostly through its association with the Lebanese Al-Mabarrat Association and its founder. Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, founder of the Lebanese Al-Mabarrat Assoication, has been designated a specially designated terrorist by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). ^{4  5} Fadlallah has been accused of being a spiritual leader for Hezbollah and the person responsible for the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing that killed over 200 U.S. Marines, both of which he denied. ⁶

In addition to terrorism allegations against Fadlallah, federal agents raided the Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization’s office in Dearborn, Michigan, in 2007 alongside another allegedly Hezbollah-linked charity, raising further concerns about its operations. ⁷

Activities

As of May 2026, the Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization claimed to raise funds for 15 schools and nine orphanages in Lebanon, which are the projects of its parent group, the Lebanese-based Al-Mabarrat Association. ^{2  8} The U.S. chapter of the group hosts an annual fundraising dinner in Dearborn, Michigan, funds from which it says are used to support these projects and other local Islamic organizations and initiatives. ⁹

The Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization also associated with other Dearborn, Michigan, Islamic organizations—including the Turfah Foundation and Great Revelations Academy. As of May 2026, the Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization and Turfah Foundation had issued a combined $1.3 million to Great Revelations Academy, an Islamic school in Dearborn founded by Al-Mabarrat. Al-Mabarrat also provided the school with its curriculum. One of the school’s founders claimed the curriculum aimed at teaching “Arab American children Arabic and the insights of the late Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah,” the founder of the Lebanese Al-Mabarrat Association. ^{10  11  12}

Alleged Connections to Terrorism

According to critics of the Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization, the group allegedly has maintained connections to the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah. The Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization is the American chapter of the broader Lebanese-based Al-Mabarrat Association, which was itself founded by Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah. ¹³ A 1987 Central Intelligence Agency memo referred to Fadlallah as Hezbollah’s “spiritual guide” and “most revered Shia cleric in Lebanon.” ¹⁴ In 1995, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Fadlallah a Specially Designated Terrorist. ¹⁵ As of May 2026, the Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization’s Instagram page displayed several posts honoring the legacy of Fadlallah. ¹⁶

In a 2006 blog post from the right-of-center Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT), Steven Emerson argued that because of Fadlallah’s connection to the broader Al-Mabarrat network, the United States chapter had a direct link to a “Fadlallah controlled organization.” ¹³ According to a 2002 op-ed in the New York Times, Fadlallah also issued the fatwa, or religious ruling, authorizing the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed 241 American servicemembers. ^{17  13}

The U.S. government has also historically acted against those who have donated to the Al-Mabarrat Association in Lebanon. In 2003, then-U.S. ambassador to Lebanon Vincent Battle blocked Lebanon’s then-Finance Minister Fouad Siniora from entering the United States because of a donation he had made to the Al-Mabarrat Association. Despite the U.S. government’s recognition of the Lebanese parent group’s proximity to Hezbollah, the American chapter Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization continued to operate as of May 2026 in Dearborn, Michigan. ^{18  2}

Federal Raid

On July 24, 2007, federal agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and U.S. Secret Service raided the Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization’s office in Dearborn, Michigan. Federal agents executed a simultaneous raid at the Dearborn office of the Goodwill Charitable Organization, an Islamic charity group associated with the Lebanese-based, Hezbollah-affiliated Martyrs Foundation. The U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the Goodwill Charitable Organization a terrorist financing organization for providing financial support to Hezbollah both directly and through the Martyrs Foundation. Following the raid, the government shut down and froze the assets of the Goodwill Charitable Organization. ^{7  19  20}

Critics of the raids cited that the Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization was not designated a terrorist entity before or after the federal raid. Agents removed boxes of files from the organization, but did not issue any arrests or indictments against the group or its employees. Before the raid, FBI agents held a meeting with several local Muslim, Christian, and Jewish religious leaders. Still, local Muslim communities argued the investigation was politically motivated. Dearborn Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi argued the investigation would lack legitimacy unless a legal decision came “from [the] Justice Department.” The details of the investigation were sealed and remained private as of May 2026. ^{7  21  19}

Al-Mabarrat Association

The Al-Mabarrat Association (also styled Al-Mabarrat Charitable Association) is a Lebanese charity organization founded in 1978 by Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah. As of May 2026, the group states that it builds and operates schools and orphanages for displaced youth in Lebanon. ^{3  4} As of May 2026, it claimed to have served 22,000 students and 5,000 orphans across more than 40 schools, vocational centers, special education institutions, and orphanages. ^{22  23}

Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, founder of the Al-Mabarrat Association, was considered a leading Shia cleric in Lebanon and was allegedly a “spiritual guide” to Hezbollah. ¹⁴  Fadlallah denied any leadership role in Hezbollah, but worked closely with other radical Islamic clerics throughout his career, including Sheikh Ragheb Harb and Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr. The United States blamed Fadlallah for the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing which killed 241 U.S. marines and 56 French paratroopers, despite his denial of involvement in the attack. ⁶ In 1995, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Fadlallah a Specially Designated Terrorist. ¹⁵

Fadlallah survived several assassination attempts, including bombing attacks against him in 1985 and 2006. During the 1985 attempt, a car bomb exploded at a building near Fadlallah’s house, killing more than 80 people and wounding 200. Fadlallah died in 2010 from natural causes. ^{6  24}

Leadership

As of its December 2024 tax filings, Hassan Sobh was listed as the president and principal officer at Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization. ²⁵

Todd Turfe, Imad Chammout, Imad Hourani, and Hicham Abdo were all listed as board trustees of the organization on the group’s 2024  tax return. ²⁵

Financials

In 2024, the Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization reported $1,251,332 in total revenue, $586,386 in total expenses, and $4,007,787 in total assets. ²⁵ In 2023, the organization reported $1,181,976 in total revenue, $685,919 in total expenses, and $3,394,108 in total assets. ²⁶

In 2024, the Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization received a $51,000 grant from Donor Advised Charitable Giving. ²⁷

From 2013 to 2024, the Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization received $97,500 in grants from the Baidoun Foundation. ^{28  29  30}