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New York Times - October 14, 2005
Muslim Charities Re-emerge for Quake Victims
By Stephanie Storm
All across America, Muslim charities, many of which have shunned the spotlight since 9/11 lest they attract unwanted law enforcement attention, are now stepping up their efforts to raise money for the victims of the earthquake that crumbled the northernmost corner of Pakistan.
In many cases, they have been more successful than their mainstream charitable counterparts, many of which have said that donors are not responding to their appeals for contributions for Pakistan.
Islamic Relief, one of the largest Muslim charities in the United States, had raised almost $1 million online alone through Wednesday, or about 10 times the amount raised by Save the Children. Other organizations reported similar success.
"Donors are responding really well," said Arif Shaikh, a spokesman for Islamic Relief. "A lot of mosques have been collecting money on our behalf, and our phones have been ringing off the hooks with people wanting to make contributions."
Mohammed Alomari, deputy director of programs at Life for Relief and Development, a Michigan-based nonprofit organization founded by Iraqi Americans after the 1991 Persian Gulf war, said donations from individuals and other non-Islamic organizations have been "pretty good, considering all the other emergencies we've had this year."
After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the F.B.I. cracked down on several Muslim charities in the United States, contending that they served as financial conduits for terrorist operations. The Justice Department froze the assets of several Muslim organizations, and at least two prominent Muslim donors who contributed to those organizations were arrested.
Those actions caused great bitterness and wariness about giving among Muslims, whose leaders often note that the government has not publicly provided evidence for its suspicions…..
Charitable giving is an obligation for observant Muslims, and while Muslims can meet that obligation by giving to secular organizations, many prefer to give to Islamic groups, just as many Christians and Jews prefer to give to charities affiliated with their religions.
A spokeswoman for the Treasury Department, which has listed 41 charities abroad that it says are fund-raising fronts for terrorist organizations, said it had issued nothing new in anticipation of charitable giving for the earthquake.
The government has made no official statement on the potential for charity aimed at Pakistani earthquake victims falling into the wrong hands. But the State Department has recommended that donors give to the American Red Cross, which has little direct involvement in relief operations in the affected region, or its international counterpart, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent societies….
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/14/international/asia/14charity.html
American Muslims donations likely to exceed
US administration’s aid for quake relief
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
SAN FRANCISCO, OCT. 28, 2005: The Muslim and Pakistani community of the Sacramento, California, region raised over $100,000 in one day for the victims of earthquake in Pakistan. Another major organization of Pakistani Americans, the Association of Pakistani Physicians in North America (APPNA) recently raised 200,000 dollars in just 48 hours.
Two major Muslim organizations, Islamic Relief and Islamic Circle of North America, have pledged to collect 20 million dollars in relief aid for the earthquake victims, while about a dozen other organizations are receiving an overwhelming response with large public donations.
As the donations of money, food, medical supplies and other needed goods continue to be made by individuals and mosques around the country, the long-term contribution from the American Muslim community is expected to climb beyond the initial 50 million dollars aid package offered by the Bush administration to Pakistan.
Those who are fearful of donating money to Islamic organizations have so far donated large sums of money to the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mercy international and many American groups and if that figure is included in the total donations, then the Muslims community's pledges might exceed the government's aid package.
According to Zahid Bukhari of the Georgetown University, the potential charity power of Muslims in the United States is one billion dollars. "Not all Muslims will give the exact amount of Zakat required, some more and some less," said Bukhari, "but in the end it is a Muslim duty and we are encouraged to give." But after the September 11th attacks American Muslims and Muslim charity organizations in the US came under extreme government scrutiny and a number of leading charity organizations were closed.
Such actions spurred fear among American Muslims that the government may charge unknowing donors for "funding terrorism," according to the Council on American Islamic Relations in a research titled, "American Muslims: One Year after 9-11."
Major Muslim organizations have joined hands under the umbrella of a permanent body called the American Muslim Taskforce for Disaster Relief (AMTFDR). It sent a letter to President George W. Bush, calling for forming an ad-hoc committee to offer coordinated relief to the quake victims, according to the US Department of State's information bureau.
"AMTFDR pledge effort is a cooperative attempt by the American Muslim community to provide relief in the most efficient and most abundant manner possible for the brothers and sisters of humanity that have suffered as the result of the significant earthquake in South Asia," Ahmed Younis, director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, told a press conference while announcing the donation in Washington.
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