image courtesy of www.debbieschlussel.com
The article below appeared today in the Wall Street Journal’s online edition.
The Journal continues to be soft on the Jihadists. The article downplays the
role of Muslim charities in the funding of terrorism.
The whole tone of the article suggests that the Treasury Department’s actions
are over the top and have unnecessarily stifled Muslim charities. There is no
balancing report about the activities of the 27 charities that Treasury has
identified as tied to terrorism.
Muslim Charities Ally With Business Bureau To Submit to Audits
By TAMARA AUDI
August 13, 2008 2:00 p.m.
Donations to Muslim charities in the U.S. began to dry up after Sept. 11, 2001,
as the Treasury Department alleged a number of them were financing terrorism.
Now, a coalition of Muslim charities is enlisting an unusual ally, the Better
Business Bureau, to help them earn a seal of approval that they hope will
improve relations with federal officials and give donors the confidence to open
up their wallets again.
Under the agreement, announced Wednesday, seven Muslim charities have agreed to
submit to an auditing process designed by the Better Business Bureau that vets
charitable activities for transparency and financially accountability. The
effort was led by Muslim Advocates, a San Francisco-based advocacy group, which
is planning a national push to encourage more U.S.-based Muslim charities to
participate.
The plan is intended to address the fears of anxious donors who worried about
becoming inadvertently tangled in terrorism financing investigations. In the
years since 2001, the Treasury Department designated scores of charities as
providing funding to terrorist groups, alleging that donations wound up in the
hands of organizations such as Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon and al Qaeda. The
Treasury Department froze the assets of seven U.S.-based charities — six of
them Muslim. In some cases the leaders of those charities were prosecuted in
U.S. courts, though so far none have been convicted on terrorism charges. Still,
the stigma from those cases spread to other U.S.-based Muslim charities.
‘Chilling Effect’
“American Muslim charitable organizations have been under intense scrutiny since
2001 and even lawful organizations have been feeling the intense scrutiny as
well, even if they themselves have not been under investigation,” said Farhana
Khera, president and executive director of Muslim Advocates. “It’s created a
chilling effect that has affected donors and volunteers.”
to continue reading go to this link….http://tinyurl.com/5749qj
