Charities: Balance Scrutiny With Sense

Re “Islamic American Nonprofits Face Increased Scrutiny in U.S.,” Nov. 4: I suppose we do have to look at whether some of the money donated is clearly tied to Al Qaeda, but we also need to keep a sense of balance. All major religions, including Islam, make charitable giving a pillar of spiritual life and sponsor legitimate charities. Equally often, little is known about where donations go that are honestly intended by the givers for charity or sometimes even for political action.

Omar Shahin of the Tucson Islamic Center has a point when he says that back during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the U.S., at the very least, turned a blind eye when money was sent to support the moujahedeen. I suppose now the government will come knocking at my door because back in the late ‘80s I sent $100 to the African National Congress. It wasn’t even pretending to be a charity; many considered them terrorists. Now they are South Africa’s democratically elected government, and we have diplomatic relations with them.

Georgiana F. Coughlan

Gardena