U.S. Muslim Charities Complain of ‘Witch Hunt’.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Muslim charities and organizations in the United States say they are the target of a government “witch hunt” since Sept. 11 which is intimidating donors and hampering their work.

Required by their faith to pay “zakat,” or alms for the needy, Muslims say the ripple effects of the government’s hunt for terrorist funds are hurting their community at its core and making them feel like suspects.

They say the official designation of three U.S. Muslim charities as suspected sponsors of terrorism, coupled with what they consider rising anti-Muslim discrimination since the 2001 attacks by Islamic militants, has put them in the firing line simply because of their religious affiliation.

Charities also complain about high levels of secrecy surrounding the designations, and say excessive scrutiny and hefty costs to meet strict new U.S. regulations mean a smaller percentage of donations is now really reaching those in need.

“I feel like we are suspect, having done nothing wrong,” said Laila al-Marayati, board member of charity KinderUSA. “People just assume that by definition if you’re Muslim, you’re going to have something to do with terrorism … We’re under the assumption that we’re under surveillance all the time.”

Ms al-Marayati seems to think that despite dozens of US Islamic charities having been discovered funneling money to Al Qaeda, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hizballah, and practically every Islamic terror group in the world, she should be able to carry on exactly the same as always. But like many Muslim leaders, she’s learned the language of victimhood very well.

And by the way, if you Google KinderUSA, you will discover a very slick, pro-Palestinian charity that purports to help children in “the camps,” among other things.

With all these Muslim charities helping Palestinian children, why are things like this going on?

UPDATE: Note that this Reuters release is the first time I’ve seen them refer to the September 11 monsters as “militants” … probably because they didn’t want to appear “insensitive” to the Muslims in the article by calling the hijackers what they really were: Islamic terrorists. For years, Muslim professional victim groups have been lobbying news organizations to make this phrase off limits.

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