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al-talib.com: GOVERNMENT FOR SOME PEOPLE: Focus Page 1 o f 6
December 12, 2003 | Shawwal 18,1424r current issue
U
volume 12, issue 3
ROBBING THE POORthe attack on Muslim Charitiesby Sakeena Mirza
and Ameena QaziRaising funds is no easy task. In a post-9-11
America, itgets even harder for U.S.-based Muslim charities
tocontinue their efforts. While Ramadan, 1422 (November-December,
2001), was the most lucrative month in yearsfor American Muslim
charities, several million dollars willnever reach the hungry for
which they were intended; themoney has been frozen where it sits in
U.S. banks in thegovernment's latest attempt at cracking down on
terrorism.Closures an d AccusationsOn December 4, 2001, President
George W. Bush issued anexecutive order, using his extended powers
under the U.S.Patriot Act, to freeze all assets, close all offices,
an dconfiscate all documents an d records of the Holy
LandFoundation (HLF), the largest Muslim charity in the
UnitedStates.Along with al-Aqsa Islamic Bank an d Beit
el-MaiHoldings, HLF was named one of a number of
"SpeciallyDesignated Global Terrorists" by the Office of
ForeignAsset Control (OFAC). In a press release on the day of
theclosure, Under Secretary of the Treasury, John Taylorjustified
the closure by labeling HLF and the other charities"three
Hamas-controlled organizations that finance terror."Specifically
regarding Holy Land, he added that it"masquerades as a charity
while its primary purpose is tofund Hamas."While no specific
charges have ever been presented to HLFofficials or revealed to the
general public, shortly after theclosure the FBI released an
unofficial 49-page "memo" tothe media listing numerous allegations
against HLF. Thismemo constituted the bulk of the information
reported inthe media, but many doubt the authenticity and
reliabilityof such a memo. "Much of the information in this memowas
supplied by Israeli intelligence through interrogationsof detained
Palestinians in the West Bank an d Gaza,"explained HLF board member
Riad Abdelkarim. "It is no
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