Source: Pakistan Link
http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=61b693299822917fdf435a060643ee0a
On November 5, 2003 the Pakistan Link reported that "with the recent commencement of the holy month Ramadan, Muslim Americans are more concerned than ever about where their zakat money, their yearly donation to the poor, is going. Last year as part of anti-terror investigations, the United States government had frozen the assets of three American Muslim charities that totaled $8 million... The Muslim Public Affairs Council sponsored a forum to discuss the issue of Muslim charities with concerned parties. Many representatives of highly influential aid organizations, government agencies, and Muslim groups participated in the forum... In the post 9/11 era, a fundamental problem is that even those who do follow donation guidelines to the letter do not receive any assurances that their donations will go to the intended parties in a fair amount of time, Ladale K. George, an attorney and advisor to American Muslim groups, pointed out. George suggested that the government should provide more reasonable and modest guidelines to rectify this problem."