KARAMAH Takes Part in Meeting with United States Attorney General

Posted Feb 1, 2006      •Permalink      • Printer-Friendly Version Bookmark and Share

KARAMAH Takes Part in Meeting with United States Attorney General

On January 30, 2006, KARAMAH and other Muslim, Arab, Sikh and South Asian organizations met with Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez to discuss issues of primary importance to their communities.  The meeting was coordinated by the Arab American Institute (AAI) in cooperation with the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC).  KARAMAH thanks these trail-blazing organizations for their efforts.


Professor al-Hibri, President of KARAMAH, outlined the legal situation regarding charitable giving post September 11, and the high burden placed on donors to Muslim charities to avoid potential liability.  KARAMAH also pointed out that Zakat (charitable giving) is one of the five pillars of Islam, and that the current legal situation infringes on the ability of American Muslims to practice their religion, and hence on their constitutional rights.  The Attorney General was receptive to Professor al-Hibri’s comments and promised to study them with an eye to improving the situation. Other organizations raised a range of issues, such as the Patriot Act, immigrant registration, domestic surveillance, racial profiling and hate crimes.


Attendees included the National Association of Muslim Lawyers (NAML), Muslim Public Action Committee (MPAC), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the North American South Asian Bar Association (NASABA), Pakistani American Public Affairs Committee (PAK-PAC), and the Sikh American Legal Defense Fund (SALDEF).

 
KARAMAH Musim Women Lawyers for Human Rights http://www.karamah.org/

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