HR0438 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0438 LRB094 12355 CSA 46437 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The United States is a nation of immigrants from around the world, with a wide diversity of cultures and faiths; and

WHEREAS, Every faith tradition has a basic tenet that its followers contribute to charity to aid the poor and sick; and

WHEREAS, One of the five pillars of Islam is the principle of Zakat, commanding Muslims to give to charity; and

WHEREAS, Muslims also follow the principle of Sadaqa, which asks that they give voluntarily to charity; and

WHEREAS, Devout Muslims comply with this principle by giving to charities that provide educational, medical, and other humanitarian assistance; and

WHEREAS, The civil rights and liberties of American Muslims and the operational intent of Muslim charitable organizations have come under intense governmental scrutiny since the 9-11 terrorist attacks; several charitable organizations based in Illinois have been targeted for investigation and prosecution based on alleged ties to terrorist activity; during the course of these investigations and prosecutions, the federal government has frozen the assets of these organizations, which total in the millions of dollars; and

WHEREAS, Good-faith and legitimate contributions made to these organizations by devout Muslims have gone unused for charitable purposes, contrary to the intentions of the contributors; and

WHEREAS, American Muslim contributors have become increasingly concerned not only that their contributions will go unused, but that past contributions may be used against them retroactively in criminal or immigration prosecutions if the specific charitable organization in question is, in a future investigation, suspected of having ties to terrorist activity that the contributor was not aware of at the time of contribution; and

WHEREAS, Congress is currently considering the REAL ID bill (HR 1268) which, among other provisions, would threaten immigrant contributors to charitable organizations with deportation ex post facto of a good faith contribution to a charity that was in good standing at the time of contribution; and

WHEREAS, Americans giving charity to Muslim charities need assurance that the charitable contributions they make in good faith to charities in good standing will indeed go to humanitarian purposes and will not give rise to potential retroactive criminal or immigration prosecution; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the U.S. Department of Treasury, U.S. Department of Justice, and U.S. Department of Homeland Security to develop a list of charitable organizations, including Muslim charitable organizations, that provide international relief and are safe for Americans of all ethnic and faith backgrounds to contribute to without fear of personal prosecution and with assurance that their contributions will indeed be used for their intended charitable purposes; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the U.S. Department of Treasury, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and every member of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.