ACLU Releases In-depth Report on Anti-terrorism Laws and Charity

A new report by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) documents how U.S. counterterrorism laws harm American Muslim charitable giving and negatively affect nonprofit organizations' ability to carry out their work. The study found that the laws are so broad and vague that many Muslim donors fear they could either face strict government scrutiny or have legal problems due to contributions to legitimate charities. The press release [1] notes that, "terrorism finance laws expanded after 9/11 grant the Treasury Department virtually unchecked power to designate groups as terrorist organizations and lack procedural safeguards that would protect American charities against government mistake and abuse. These laws authorize executive branch officials to target charities on the basis of secret evidence and without notice, charges, opportunity to respond, or meaningful judicial review." The report titled, Blocking Faith, Freezing Charity: Chilling Muslim Charitable Giving in the "War on Terrorism Financing" [2] is based on over 100 interviews with charity officials, religious leaders, and former Treasury Department employees.

The report highlights some of the very same issues in a collaborative report from OMB Watch and Grantmakers Without Borders released in 2008, Collateral Damage: How the War on Terror Hurts Charities, Foundations, and the People They Serve. [3]

ACLU Researcher Jennifer Turner said: "Widespread intimidation of Muslim donors and the arbitrary blacklisting of charitable organizations trample on Muslims' free exercise of religion through charitable giving and tarnish America's reputation as a beacon of religious freedom."

ACLU has created a Take Action [4] page that allows visitors to sign on to a letter that will be sent to the President asking him to uphold his promise to restore religious liberty. There is also an excellent page [5] that includes video, interviews and an interactive map. Click here [6] for more information, and read Jennifer Turner's blog [7] posting.