Story by Niraj Warikoo on the raids of two Muslim charities in Dearborn. Click here to read story.
Detroit Free Press
Muslims upset by FBI raid of charity
It's not on terror list; Dingell gave $100
July 26, 2007
BY NIRAJ WARIKOO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
For $500 a year, you could sponsor a needy orphan in Lebanon through the Dearborn office of the Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization.
And many metro Detroiters did -- through fund-raisers in mosques and boxes at Dearborn restaurants that read "Orphan's happiness depends on your donation."
Even some politicians gave money, including U.S. Rep. John Dingell, a Dearborn Democrat. His chief of staff said Wednesday that the congressman cut a check of about $100 to the group during a Ramadan dinner in October 2004.
And so the raid of Al-Mabarrat has unnerved many in metro Detroit's Muslim communities, some of whom met Wednesday to discuss how to deal with it.
Al-Mabarrat and another Shi'ite Muslim group, Goodwill Charitable Organization, were raided by the FBI and other federal agencies Tuesday, the same day the U.S. Treasury Department declared Goodwill Charitable to be a front for Hizballah and froze its assets.
But the Treasury Department did not name Al-Mabarrat as a terrorist group, leaving many Muslims confused about the government's actions. Al-Mabarrat is still allowed to operate, though agents hauled away its documents and computers, making it difficult to function, Muslim leaders said.
"This is a clean, lawful group with the utmost integrity," said Tarek Baydoun of Dearborn, who has helped raise money for it. "They're not going to find anything."
Al-Mabarrat officials have decided not to comment on the case for now because they're afraid of saying the wrong thing, said Dawud Walid, head of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Walid said the group would like to have its computers and documents back.
"If they're not being closed, they should be allowed to operate at full capacity," Walid said.
Al-Mabarrat's plight is similar to what happened to another Muslim charity, Life for Relief and Development. Its Southfield headquarters was raided in September, but the group was not placed on any terrorism list.
The raid "made it much harder for us to raise money," said Ihsan Alkhatib, an attorney with the charity. "It required us to do more work."
He and other Muslims said raids hamper their ability to donate, as Islamic law requires.
"The religion is being singled out," said Akil Fahd, 37, of Detroit. "We're fearful."
The FBI did not comment on what was behind the Al-Mabarrat raid. But the government alleged in previous cases that the charity had ties to terrorism.
Last year, federal prosecutors said that Talal Chahine, owner of the La Shish restaurants, met with Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, a cleric in Lebanon who heads Al-Mabarrat, and gave money to his group. Chahine was never charged with any terrorism crimes but was accused of tax fraud. He is believed to be in Lebanon.
The U.S. government claims that Fadlallah is the spiritual leader of Hizballah and designates him as a terrorist.
Metro Detroit Muslims say he's not connected to Hizballah and has no ties to terrorism.
Dingell donated to Al-Mabarrat during a fund-raiser at the Islamic Institute of Knowledge in Dearborn, said Michael Robbins, Dingell's chief of staff.
"The case of Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization is in the hands of federal authorities," Robbins said in an e-mail. "His contribution in 2004 was to help the organization with its stated purpose of helping orphans and poor children. ... He ... will work to ensure fairness and justice in the investigation."
Contact NIRAJ WARIKOO at nwarikoo@freepress.com.
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