October 4, 2005

By Alex Cohen
NPR's Marketplace, 10/4/05 

Ramadan begins this evening with the rice of the crescent moon. The holiest month of the year for Muslims around the world who fast during the day light hours and pray. During the month they'll also give to charities. But for many Muslims living in the United States, donating money since September 11th has become a challenge. From KQED, Alex Cohen has more:

Alex Cohen: "At Islamic relief's headquarters in Southern California employees are gearing up for Ramadan. The charitable organization provides charitable assistance all over the world. From soup kitchens in L.A. to food distribution in Mali to reconstruction in Tsunami ravaged areas in South East Asia. Staff member Arif Shaikh says Islamic relief relies heavily on donations. For Muslims, he says, charitable giving known as Zakat isn't just something that's recommended it's mandated. Each year Muslims must give approximately 2.5% of their income to charity. The blessings of giving are even greater, Shaikh says, during Ramadan".

Arif Shaikh: If you're going to spend it, then you might as well get the maximum benefit out of it.

Alex Cohen: Following the Tsunami, Islamic relief was listed by many publications as a reputable charity to give to. Since then they've seen an increase in donations.

Arif Shaikh: For example, in 2002, our income went up from about $5 million to about $7 million. Last year in 2004, we were up to about almost $14 million. So we've been growing substantially".

Alex Cohen: But many other Islamic organizations in the West aren't faring nearly as well says Edina Lekovic of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. Lekovic says that as government scrutinizes charities for any connections to terrorism individual donors have become fearful.

Edina Lekovic: The fear now from the donors is, "If I have given money in the past and that organization has been in good standing and things have since changed, will I now be scrutinized? Will they now go after me?"

Alex Cohen: Since September 11th the U.S. government has frozen the assets of dozens of Muslim aid organizations throughout the world due to alleged connections to terrorism. In response, many Muslim organizations have called upon the government to issue a white list, that is, a list of approved organizations. The U.S. Department of Treasury's Molly Millerwhy says that it would be impossible to create a list of so-called terrorism free charities.

Laila Al-Marayati heads an organization for Muslim Children called KinderUSA. She says KinderUSA has tried its best to follow federal guidelines but that sometimes those guidelines can be incredibly confusing. For example, she says that it is nearly impossible to do background checks on every individual throughout the world with whom they work.

Laila Al-Marayati: How far down the chain do you go if I am going to but the recipient organization who say, distributed breakfast in the area that I am working in? How many of their employees do I need to subject to the list? What about all the people that we are handing out blankets and food to whose names we can't get because it's in a crisis situation?"

Alex Cohen: And so Muslims have taken it upon themselves to develop their own guidelines. Earlier this year more than 20 U.S. based Muslim charities launched an umbrella organization called the "National Council of American Muslim non-profits". Karen Keyworth is currently leading the Council.

Karen Keyworth: Our goal is to create an organization that will help our non-profit organizations receive a level of transparency that is desirable.

Alex Cohen: Keyworth says that they plan to create a seal of assurance to award to Muslim charities that meet their list of standards. The National Council of American Muslim Non-Profits will begin developing those standards at its first official meeting which will be held in Washington, DC once Ramadan ends.