On Friday, August 15, members of the Arab American and American Muslim communities gathered at the U.S. Department of Treasury in Washington, D.C. to participate in a roundtable discussion entitled “Charitable Principals of Good Governance and Anti-Terrorist Financing Best Practices.” The day-long event was co-organized by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC).

  The meeting hosted representatives from various government agencies, including the Department of Treasury, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The discussion addressed issues and challenges surrounding U.S. charities that operate in high-risk areas, namely, the Middle East.   Held just two weeks before the month of Ramadan, a time when almsgiving is required of Muslims, the roundtable allowed participants to voice their concerns about issues that affect their respective communities.

  ADC National Executive Director, Kareem Shora, said that the gathering was an important step in establishing open dialogue with the Treasury Department.

  “This first of its kind initiative with the U.S. Treasury Department is a valuable tool that will help us continue paving the two-way highway of communication we’ve established with other federal agencies,” Shora stated.

  Andrew DeSouza, Press Officer for the Treasury Department, added, “The roundtable was a continuation of the outreach and discussions Treasury has been having with the Arab and Muslim-American communities over the past several years.  We felt that it was very constructive, and that concrete next steps will come out of this, both for Treasury and the community.”

  The meeting began with opening remarks by Patrick O’Brien, Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing for the Department of Treasury, who spoke about the issues associated with terrorist financing. Much of the day’s discussion focused on a set of charitable giving guidelines issued by Treasury in 2006. The guidelines, particularly a section entitled “Anti-Terrorism Financing Best Practices,” include components that are vague and unclear.   The ambiguity in these guidelines places a great deal of scrutiny on both charities and donors who are operating in good faith.  With no clear guidance of what the rules are, donors and charities have no way of knowing if they are acting within the boundaries of the rules.

  ADC representatives who were present asked that clear and reasonable amendments be made to the guidelines, ones that will give members of all communities an equal opportunity to participate in charitable giving. 

  “The guidelines are risk-based and take into consideration a variety of factors,” said DeSouza said in response. “We will consider refining the guidelines based on input from the charitable sector and Arab and Muslim-American groups.  Since we issued them in 2002 we’ve updated them several times in response to important feedback we got back from the charitable sector.”

  Representatives from Treasury maintained that the intention is not to deter individuals from donating, but to prevent terrorist organizations from channeling their money through U.S. charities. They stressed that their main concerns lie with charities that work and operate on behalf of foreign terrorist organizations.  They claimed that these organizations get the majority of their financing from charities, and charities operating in the Middle East are often used, whether knowingly or not, to fund terrorist organizations.

A portion of the discussion was dedicated to guidance for donors. Michael Rosen, a Policy Advisor with the Treasury Department’s Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, spoke about the steps an individual can take when donating.  He claimed that researching as thoroughly as possible will assist the donor in choosing a safe charity.

  “Donors are in a position of disadvantage because they do not necessarily have access to all of the information on a charity,” he claimed. “There are no guarantees, but taking the due diligence to research a charity will help the donor eliminate ones that may be deemed risky.”

  However, taking these measures will not guarantee that a charity will be entirely safe to contribute to.  A charity that is under the suspicion of any wrong doing is subject to investigation at any given time.

  Another area of concern to ADC was the issue of unexplained bank account closures among members of the Arab American and American Muslim communites. During Lebanon’s 2006 July War, many individuals who sent funds to the war-torn country found themselves facing the sudden closure of their personal and business bank accounts.  The banking institutions said that the closures were due to “suspicious” banking activity, and claimed to be following federal government regulations.

“ADC recommends that the term ‘suspicious activity’ be more defined to eliminate the unnecessary account closure of Arab and Muslim Americans; especially those who assist their families in times of crises overseas,” said Shora.

  The issue of bank closures was particularly pertinent to the ADC Michigan representatives who attended the event, who have been working closely with both the banking institutions and their customers to resolve this issue.  ADC Michigan Director of Policy & Community Affairs, Nadia Fadel, who participated in the discussion, said that the items on the meeting’s agenda included issues that have been directly affecting a number of individuals in Michigan for years. 

“This roundtable discussion provided a forum to focus on the issues of charitable contributions and bank closures that have plagued the Arab and Muslim community in Michigan over the past two years,” Fadel stated.  “Our constituents in Dearborn are concerned about the ramifications that many good faith donors and charities are subjected to, with reference to the unclear and ambiguous guidelines for charitable giving.”

The roundtable also included a panel on good governance principles, and a lunch provided by ADC Michigan Advisory Board Chairman, Atty. Nabih Ayad.

At the roundtable’s conclusion, the Treasury Department agreed to review the recommendations that ADC had made, and to continue to work closely together to address these and other related issues.

These issues were also discussed at the local level, during a Building Respect in Diverse Groups to Enhance Sensitivity (BRIDGES) meeting that was held in West Bloomfield earlier this week.  Rosen, who was present at the meeting, reaffirmed the Treasury Department’s pledge to work with the community to address these ongoing challenges.

  “The Department of Treasury is committed to strengthening our relationship with the Arab American community,” he stated during the meeting.  “It is our view that we have a shared value of operating a free and charitable society.”

  A main concern among local community members who were present at the meeting was that donors who wished to contribute to charities who operate in the Middle East are at a decided disadvantage.  Raids on several local charities last year left a chilling effect on both donors and charities.

To date, the Treasury Department has designated seven U.S. charities that were found to have supported a foreign terrorist organization.  Six of these were Muslim charities.  Rosen stressed that there has never been a time when an individual donor was designated by Treasury.  He claimed that the investigations were aimed at the charities themselves, and those who operated them.

  “Our department is focusing on the charities, and the individuals who are associated with their operation,” said Rosen.  “There has not yet been a case where an individual donor has been punished for contributing to a charity.”

Rosen concluded by saying that Treasury will do their part to continue to address these vital issues, in an effort to alleviate concerns and minimize confusion.

“In essence, the guidelines are there to help U.S. citizens who are contributing to a charity,” he stated.