Leaders of the Islamic Society of North America and the Muslim Public Affairs Council are taking America’s new president at his word.
They are asking President Obama to direct the Treasury Department to work with American Muslim charities to remove the obstacles to Muslim American charitable giving that have been in place since 2005.
The two organizations joined together to send a letter today to President Obama asking him to renew efforts to eliminate those barriers.
Their letter begins:
We appreciate your comments in Cairo on the need to secure the rights of charitable
giving for Muslim Americans as they fulfill the obligations of Zakat. The Islamic
Society of North America and the Muslim Public Affairs Council worked with the
Treasury Department in March 2005 to form the National Council of American
Muslim Non‐Profits. Our aim was to work in partnership with the US government to
promote best practices of Muslim charities ‐‐ transparency, accountability to donors,
and due diligence in humanitarian efforts. Unfortunately, we did not achieve the
results we had hoped for, and Muslim Americans continue to experience barriers to
their charitable giving. We are committed to working with your administration to
resolve some of these difficulties.
To continue reading the letter and to read the MPAC press release go to the Muslim Public Affairs Council website.
Zakat is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. It obligates Muslims to give a percentage of their income to the needy on a regular basis.
What do you think? Should American Muslim charities be permited to resume their charitable work? Can the Treasury Department adequately oversee the flow of money from American Muslim donors to bona fide humanitarian causes?
