ACLU condemns U.S. crackdown on Muslim charities

An article in the Los Angeles Times by Duke Helfand discusses the difficulties Muslim Americans face in charitable giving by highlighting a recent report from the ACLU. An excerpt:

The federal government's crackdown on suspected terrorism financing since the Sept. 11 attacks has violated the rights of American Muslim charities and deterred Muslims from charitable giving, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a report Tuesday.

An expansion of laws and policies since 2001 has given the U.S. Treasury Department in particular virtually unchecked authority to designate charities as terrorist organizations and freeze assets without adequate safeguards to protect against mistakes or abuse, the study concluded.