Antiterrorism Policies Hurt American-Muslim Charities, Report Says

Counterterrorism laws introduced after the September 11 attacks have dampened giving by American Muslims and harmed nonprofit organizations’ ability to carry out their work, according to a new report.

The study by the American Civil Liberties Union found that the laws are so broad and vague that many Muslim donors fear they could be dragged into court, or even prosecuted, for contributions they make to legitimate charities.

“Even the aid that the American Red Cross provides could be criminal under U.S. law,” said Jennifer Turner, the report’s author and a human rights researcher with the ACLU.

Ms. Turner interviewed 120 charity officials, religious leaders, and former Treasury Department employees for the study. While her report did not attempt to quantify the dip in charitable giving as a result of the antiterrorism laws, she provided several anecdotes of donors who once gave tens of thousands of dollars and now contribute significantly smaller amounts, or nothing at all, out of concern they could come under scrutiny.

Donors who have tried to obtain greater guidance on charitable giving from the Treasury Department have been rebuffed, she said.

During a recent speech in Cairo, President Obama acknowledged the challenges American Muslims face in carrying out charitable giving, a key tenet of their religious faith. Ms. Turner said the White House and Congress needed to work together to roll back the laws introduced after September 11.

Not only do the antiterrorism policies harm nonprofit groups, they are also counterproductive in fighting terrorism, said Ms. Turner.

“They are undermining America’s reputation overseas, especially in the Muslim world,” she said.

Under the laws, the Treasury Department can act alone to raid or shut down a charity, a level of authority that Ms. Turner said has resulted in unfounded investigations. The 9/11 Commission examined the closing of two charities and found “weak evidence,” based mostly on newspaper accounts, that they had done anything wrong, said Ms. Turner.

Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, Treasury has closed seven American-Muslim charities and raided six more.

The report is available on the ACLU’s Web site.