WASHINGTON – As billions of dollars are being marshaled by governments and private charities for victims of the tsunami in Asia, concern is spreading that some of that money could be diverted to terrorist organizations.

The concern stems from the fact that the tsunami struck in nations where Muslim extremists are increasingly active. Indeed, there are numerous reports that Al Qaeda-connected charities have already set up shop on the ravaged Indonesian island of Sumatra.

No one wants to warn against sending aid, which is desperately needed for legitimate humanitarian relief, but a number of senior officials in government and finance are telling The New York Sun that it is urgent that the federal government and private institutions put safeguards in place to make sure the aid money is not diverted to terrorism.

“I do think it’s a real issue,” the New York City police commissioner, Ray Kelly, told the Sun yesterday. “People should be generous but also cautious in making sure their contributions are going to be going where they want them to go.”

In Congress, staffers preparing legislation to appropriate the American contribution to the tsunami victims are already eyeing further safeguards to make sure Al Qaeda-affiliated organizations do not get a slice of the $350 million President Bush has earmarked for the flood and earthquake relief operations in southern Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. One of the issues that came up this week at the donors conference in Jakarta regarding the more than $3 billion for the victims was which institutions would be the recipients of aid for the on-the-ground relief effort being coordinated by the United Nations.

The author of “Militant Islam in South East Asia,” Zachary Abuza, told the Sun yesterday, “They were meeting in Indonesia to decide how the money should be spent and who is best to spend it. The terrorist connections of some charities are a concern to most policy-makers,” he said. “The Americans should not give money to these groups but also try to work with known and respected charities on the ground. A lot of the international NGOs, because of the Indonesian campaign in Aceh, do not have their networks set up yet. The American money should go to those charities that are respected rather than to these Indonesian groups with dodgy histories.”

Already the Indonesian Mujahadin Council of Indonesia, a group founded by Abu Bakar Bashir, the leader of the terrorist organization responsible for the 2002 Bali resort bombings, has fanned out in the Aceh province offering what they are calling as “spiritual relief.” Mr. Bashir, who now resides in an Indonesian prison, was the leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, which is listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department for its role in terror attacks throughout Indonesia, including the Bali bombing.

Another group that has rushed to Aceh in the wake of the December 26 disaster is Laskar Mujahadin, an Indonesia-based terror group that is alleged to also have ties to Al Qaeda and is generally regarded as the paramilitary arm of Jemaah Islamiyah. According to the Associated Press, the group has already set up camp on the island of Sumatra, collecting corpses, distributing food, and spreading Islamic teachings. The AP quoted one American official in Aceh as saying they were aware of the threat but were not worried for now because of the presence of the Indonesian military. Foreign Minister Downer of Australia told the wire, “We monitored this but we have no evidence of it being a problem.” Nonetheless, the AP reported that a large international charity has already issued orders not to ride in American helicopters, fearing they may be targets.

The Saudi charity, the Medical Emergency Relief Committee, has also solicited donations in the Middle East for the crisis in the Pacific, according to Mr. Abuza. “I was under the impression that the Saudis would shut these charities down,” Mr. Abuza, who is a senior fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace, said of the charity, which he said was one of the chief conduits of cash and supplies for the Laskar Mujahadin. Mr. Abuza said that the Saudi-based charity had produced videos in recent years imploring Indonesians to jihad.

Another charity of concern in the wake of the disaster is the commission of youth against violence, or Kompac. According to Mr. Abuza, Kompac was, between 1996 and 2001, one of the main charities in Indonesia that distributed money and material from the Saudi based al-Haramain foundation, a group closed on June 2 last year by Saudi Arabia for its ties to Al Qaeda.

An assistant professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Chris Jasparro, said he did not think the Islamic organizations mounting relief efforts today would be much of a match for the immediate relief efforts of America or the United Nations. But he cautioned, “These groups tend to be patient and persistent and think in the long term. What happens when this fades from the headlines? Will they stick around and gain credibility? It will take years to rebuild these places.”