U.S. Treasury, Muslim Charities Intensify Dialogue on Safe Giving

By Andrzej Zwaniecki

Masood Alam Khan witnessed the other side of the huge international humanitarian effort in the aftermath of the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. Among groups actively engaged in bringing relief to the victims were terrorist organizations. They used every opportunity to solicit support for their cause and recruit new members. Khan, the chairman of Islamic Help, a United Kingdom-based charity, said it was a wake-up call for him and other charity representatives who witnessed it.

Khan was speaking at an August 15 "Charity Roundtable" at the U.S. Treasury Department that brought together U.S. officials and representatives of Arab and American-Muslim organizations. As terrorist organizations continue to raise funds and try to gain legitimacy through charities and other means, the U.S. government and Arab and Muslim-American communities are stepping up efforts to facilitate charitable giving while preventing abuse by terrorists and their supporters.

Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Treasury has designated six U.S.-based Muslim charities as terrorist supporters and frozen their assets. Several such groups also have been prosecuted, but none has been convicted on terrorism-related charges. Nevertheless, the stigma from legal actions has had a chilling effect on donors and volunteers, according to U.S. Muslim representatives. Donations to Muslim charities in the United States have dropped significantly in the past seven years.

Muslim fundraisers say many Muslims who view charitable contribution as a religious duty avoid giving because they are uncertain whether their money will be used for the intended purposes or whether they can be prosecuted if their money ends up in terrorists' hands.

Muslim Advocates, a San Francisco-based advocacy group, earlier in August launched an initiative that calls for U.S.-based Muslim charities to undergo a tough vetting process conducted by a charity watchdog arm of the Better Business Bureau, a nongovernmental group that works to ensure the integrity of private businesses. The process will not make charities terrorist-proof, but the bureau's scrutiny and evaluation of charities' legal compliance, financial accountability and good governance may give donors enough confidence to send checks again, Muslim Advocates said.

The initiative "provides an avenue for American-Muslim charities and nonprofit institutions to familiarize themselves with and adhere to the highest standards of governance and accountability while reassuring donors that resources are being directed toward their intended and stated purposes," said Farhana Khera, executive director of the group, in an August 13 news release.

So far, seven organizations have volunteered for the review process. Muslim Advocates plans a nationwide campaign to encourage other Muslim charitable groups to participate.

The initiative will not address, however, another major issue with which the government and Muslim fundraisers struggle: how to carry out charitable work overseas in areas affected by terrorist activities without giving terrorists inadvertent support.

Patrick O'Brien, assistant secretary of the Treasury for terrorist financing, said social welfare and charitable efforts run by al-Qaida, Hamas, Hezbollah and similar groups are intertwined with terrorist activities in some places. This helps them gain support, recruit members and radicalize vulnerable populations.

O'Brien said Treasury's terrorist financing guidelines call on U.S. charities to take precautionary measures in such high-risk areas, particularly by vetting their local employees, partners and grantees. (See "Treasury Issues Anti-Terrorist Guidelines for Charities ( http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2006/September/20060929172737berehellek0.8130609.html ).")

But Rob Buchanan, managing director for international programs at the Council on Foundations, a Virginia-based association of grant-making groups, says the vetting process is unlikely to be effective as terrorist groups change their names, structures and features with ease.

The council recommends that U.S. charities make every effort to know a grantee, Buchanan told America.gov. He said charities, however, usually do not have the expertise or resources to conduct extensive security reviews of people and groups they deal with in target countries.

Buchanan said the guidelines have been significantly improved since they were first introduced in 2002. But his organization, which along with some Muslim charities has played a role in providing feedback on the guidelines, still has concerns about their vague language and several poorly defined key notions.

Michael Rosen, a policy adviser with the Treasury Department, defends the guidelines. He said they have been consistently refined in consultations with the charitable sector, a process Treasury vows to continue.

Another official, Chip Poncy of the Treasury's Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, said the U.S. government wants to establish a safe means of providing humanitarian aid but struggles with often-competing priorities of fighting terrorism and supporting American generosity toward foreign communities.

Officials suggested that, until an appropriate solution is found, U.S.-based charities can tap into government resources and distribution networks to leverage government counterterrorism expertise and assets. For that purpose, some U.S.-based groups, such as American Charities for Palestine, already have partnered with the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has formal anti-terrorism procedures in place. (See "U.S. Government, Private Groups Funnel Donations to Palestinians ( http://www.america.gov/st/foraid-english/2008/August/20080804175040cpataruk0.5054285.html ).")

The full text of O'Brien's remarks ( http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp1117.htm ) can be found on the Treasury Department Web site. Press releases by Muslim Advocates ( http://www.muslimadvocates.org/press_room/muslim_advocates_announces_new.html ) and American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee ( http://www.adc.org/index.php?id=3342 ) are available on the organizations' respective Web sites.

Source: U.S. Department of State