: Fear Shrinks Muslim Donations to Charity

With several high-profile Muslim charities being investigated for possible links to terrorism, American Muslims are fearful of donating to Islamic causes, lest their name is found on raided documents, or worse, their money is used for unintended, nefarious purposes. In Atlanta, the groundbreaking of the Al-Farooq Masjid is in jeopardy because only 30 percent of pledged donations have come in. Plans to build additional mosques and Islamic schools nearby have been put on hold as well. “It’s really so tough these days,” said Ziad Ramadan of Boston. “I want to help people because there are so many poor people in the world, [but] I don’t want any part of my money to go to killing people.” Estimates for the overall decrease in fundraising are as high as fifty percent, but this is contrast to higher takes by overseas Muslim charities, whose donors (mostly in the Gulf) are not in danger of being watched by FBI agents.

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.