CHARITY WITHOUT FEAR
The Council of Islamic Organizations has launched a campaign called Charity Without Fear. To learn of the most recent updates on this resolution read on.
May 12, 2005
Assalamu alaikum,
The Council congratulates you for yesterday’s extremely successful Lobby Day for the Charity Without Fear resolution. An unprecedented 70 Muslims from all over Chicago and its suburbs were the largest delegation among the 300 people from the Council’s coalition partners in the state capitol lobbying for immigrant rights, expanding access to health care and the Charity Without Fear campaign.
The Council warmly thanks the following organizations that sent representatives to lobby legislators in Springfield. The Mosque Foundation, Islamic Center of Chicago, Islamic Community Center of Illinois, Muslim Community Center, Muslim Educational Center, Islamic Foundation, Islamic Center of Naperville, Mosque of Umar, Muslim Civil Rights Center, the Organization of Islamic Speakers, Sound Vision Foundation and the Arab American Family Center sent representatives who all did a brilliant job with their legislators.
The Council thanks the representatives from the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs for joining our delegation on Wednesday and supporting the Charity Without Fear resolution. The AP US History class from Aqsa School did a fantastic job in the first civic experience of their young lives, and we would like to thank them and their teachers for lobbying in Springfield with the Council.
The Council also thanks our coalition partners, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and United Power for Action and Justice, for their tremendous work in support of the Charity Without Fear resolution.
Highlights:
We expect that the Charity Without Fear resolution will be voted upon today, and of course we will update you as news comes from Springfield. The Council again thanks everyone for all the hard work and support on Lobby Day. Although this resolution is just the first step on a long road, it was a tremendous and fruitful effort from the Muslim community. Thank you.
Ms. Muneer Aliuddin
Director of Outreach
The Charity Without Fear has many sponsors including the following:
Senators:
Charity Without Fear Resolution
WHEREAS the
WHEREAS every faith tradition has an injunction that its followers contribute
to charity to aid the poor and sick; and
WHEREAS Devout Muslims comply with
this principle by giving to charities that provide educational, medical, and
other humanitarian assistance; and
WHEREAS the civil rights and
liberties of American Muslims and the operational intent of Muslim charitable
organizations have come under attack since the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Several
charitable organizations based in
WHEREAS good-faith contributions
made to these organizations by devout Muslims have gone unused for charitable
purposes, contrary to the intentions of the contributors; and
WHEREAS American Muslim
contributors have become increasingly concerned not only that their
contributions will go unused, but that past contributions may be used against
them retroactively in criminal or immigration prosecutions if the specific
charitable organization in question is, in a future investigation, suspected of
having ties to terrorist activity that the contributor was not aware of at the
time of contribution; and
WHEREAS Congress is currently
considering the REAL ID bill (HR 1268), which, among other provisions, would
threaten immigrant contributors to charitable organizations with deportation ex
post facto of a good faith contribution to a charity that was in good standing
at the time of contribution; and
WHEREAS Americans giving charity to
Muslim charities need assurance that the charitable contributions they make in
good faith to charities in good standing will indeed go to humanitarian
purposes and will not give rise to potential retroactive criminal or
immigration prosecution;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE
SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that it is the sense of the General
Assembly of the State of Illinois that the US Department of Treasury, US
Department of Justice and US Department of Homeland Security should develop a
list of charitable organizations, including Muslim charitable organizations,
that provide international relief and are safe for Americans of all ethnic and
faith backgrounds to contribute to without fear of personal prosecution and
with assurance that their contributions will indeed be used for their intended
charitable purposes; and
The Charity Without Fear
has many sponsors including the following:
Printed from the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago website (www.ciogc.org).
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