CAIR-Chicago Discusses Muslim Charities with Area Community Organizations

Fadi Farhan, Director of Governmental Affairs Director for CAIR-Chicago met with leaders of several prominent community organizations spanning all of Chicagoland on Monday, February 7 to discuss, amongst other issues, the rights of Muslims to contribute to Muslim charities as part and parcel to their faith. Since 9/11, Muslims have feared that they might inadvertently contribute to a charitable organization deemed by the federal government to be connected to terrorism. This meeting was made possible by Illinois Coalition on Immigrant & Refugee Rights (ICIRR) as part of their coalition building initiative in the Southwest suburbs. The national office of CAIR has, in the past, asked the Department of Treasury for a list of acceptable Muslim charities operating in the United States and received no such list. CAIR-Chicago hopes that a list of amenable organizations might be procured and that Muslim institutions, including mosques in Chicagoland with spotless records of charitable contribution, be made public. copyright © 2005, cairchicago.org