Jihadi Du Jour: Giving Down in Dearbornistan

DEARBORN, Michigan-- By the end of Ramadan last year, Najah Bazzy remembers having more than $10,000 in cash donations to distribute to the needy, and a vast auditorium ringed with tables groaning with enough free food for 400 poor families to celebrate the holiday.

This year, Bazzy formalized the good works she has been doing unofficially for a decade among the tens of thousands of Muslims who live in the Dearborn area by establishing a charity, Zaman International. But as the holiday arrived this year, charitable contributions plummeted. She said cash donations amounted to less than $4,000, and for the first time since she began her charity work she bought food to feed about 85 needy families instead of counting on gifts.

There are similar stories in Muslim communities across the country. Set off by the pervasive fear that donations to an Islamic charity could bring unwanted attention from federal agents looking into potential ties to terrorism, many people within Muslim American communities have become reluctant to donate to Islamic causes, including charities.

"The sad fact is that there are some Islamic charities involved in terrorist financing. We can't close our eyes to that," said Daniel L. Glaser, the deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes. "We have to find ways to deal with that."

Imam Qazwini, the descendant of a long line of prominent Iraqi Shiite Muslim clerics, points out that many Muslim Americans, particularly those from the Arab world, fled the region to escape repressive regimes, expecting the United States to provide both freedom and opportunity. Instead they find themselves facing similar problems.

"Many people who came from the Middle East still live with the psyche of being chased by the intelligence forces," he said in an interview. "Having these same forces acting here intensifies the sense of fear in these communities."

"It seems like the terrorists have been able to touch our foundations-our civil liberties are being compromised, our religious freedoms are being compromised."

Regarding that last quote-You know who to thank then. I'm sure that CAIR and the ACLU are looking into some religious freedom lawsuit they can file on their behalf. Wait... did I say CAIR, ACLU, and religious freedom in the same sentence. There must not be a Jew or a Christian involved.

Labels: ACLU, CAIR, Islam in America, Ramadan