Related Resources • More Islamic Charities Raided During Ramadan • Islamic Charity Shut Down • September 11: Response from Muslim Community

From Other Guides • Terror Excuse for Rights Abuse (Civil Liberties) • The Terrorism Investigations (Crime)

Elsewhere on the Web • Council on American-Islamic Relations

Despite President George W. Bush's repeated vows in support of American Muslims, and his reminders that the faith of Islam is not to blame for the September 11 attacks, Islamic institutions and individuals are increasingly being targeted in law enforcement actions.

On Wednesday, March 20, 2002, a coalition of government agencies raided the homes and offices of some of the most respected, and respectable, Islamic leaders and institutions in the country.  Fourteen warrants were served in Georgia and Virginia; materials were seized but no one was arrested.  The affidavits filed in support of the warrants are under court seal.

Among the victims of the latest law enforcement action:

• The Graduate School of Islamic Social Sciences (the first school in the country approved by the Pentagon to train Muslim chaplains - most of the military's Muslim chaplains have studied there)
  
• The Fiqh Council of North America (a body of North American Islamic scholars who give legal rulings and consult with Islamic organizations - respected members include Dr. Jamal Badawi and Dr. Muzammil Siddiqui)
  
• The International Institute of Islamic Thought (an intellectual organization that publishes scholarly works and supports research projects)
  
• The Muslim World League (U.S. office of an international non-governmental organization, with headquarters in Mecca, Saudi Arabia)
  
• The International Islamic Relief Organization (U.S. branch of a Saudi relief organization established in 1978, with over a hundred offices worldwide)

Wednesday's actions follow previous government raids that shut down the three largest Islamic charitable organizations in the U.S., amidst allegations of terrorist funding.  These allegations have not been proven in any court of law - indeed the "evidence" is being kept secret by the government, and is not being disclosed even to defense attorneys.  Millions of dollars in charitable contributions remain frozen by the government, with no plans to either release the money or prove that it was derived from or intended for terrorist purposes.

In addition, civil rights groups continue to call upon the government to disclose information regarding hundreds of individuals who remain in U.S. custody, who have not been found to have any links to terrorism.  Most of these people have lingered in jail for nearly six months, because the government refuses to deport them or charge them with any serious crime.

Also Wednesday, Attorney General Ashcroft disclosed that an additional 3,000 "foreign individuals" (read: young Muslim men on student or business visas) will be sought for questioning, in addition to the 5,000 men who were previously targeted.  After many weeks, and thousands of hours of law enforcement time, the previous sweep resulted in the arrest of fewer than 20 individuals, all for citations that had nothing at all to do with terrorism.

American Muslim leaders and organizations call upon the government to cease harassment of Islamic individuals and institutions, to presume that people are innocent until proven guilty, and to provide evidence for the allegations of wrongdoing that are the basis for these continuing raids.