Muslim charities negotiate a minefield

In the months following the terrorist attacks of Sep. 11, 2001, the US government launched its "global war on terror" by rounding up thousands of "Middle Eastern-looking" men and women, jailing them without charges or access to lawyers, but accusing none of them of terror-related crimes, convicting no one, and ending up deporting some for non-criminal immigration violations.

At about the same time, the government opened up a second front against charitable organizations it suspected of providing financial or other material assistance to groups the government designates as "terrorist." While the campaign applies to all domestic nonprofit organizations, the lion's share of scrutiny, suspicion, and preemptive action has fallen on groups that support Muslim causes.