Funding Faith-Based Charitable Organizations

President Bush named John J. DiIulio, Jr., a University of Pennsylvania professor, to head the new White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, which will serve as a liaison to nonprofit groups as well as identify exemplary programs that can serve as national models.

Another key figure will be Stephen Goldsmith, former mayor of Indianapolis, and currently a special adviser to the president on faith-based and not-for-profit initiatives.

Faith-based organizations have been unable to obtain government funds because only non-religious organizations were eligible. The doctrine of a separation between church and state has traditionally served as a barricade stopping charitable faith-based groups from increasing their limited resources, which have been primarily dependent on private donations. In many cases, these groups have established affiliate non-religious organizations in order to apply for federal funds to help carry out their missions.

The president's new initiative, although hailed by most charitable working religious groups, is being widely scrutinized and criticized for trying to redefine the role of government and its relationship to religious groups. Some faith-based organizations are joining the skeptics in their concerns over the potential impact of such initiatives on religion in the U.S.

A major concern is the possible corruption of faith groups by politics when money becomes involved. The argument here is that an increasing dependency of religious organizations on federal money to cover their expenses and deliver social services will permit the government to exert more influence over religion, opening the door for possible political lobbying. Ultimately, the groups might lose their independence - not only in their internal matters but, most importantly, in the messages they can send to their private support base and their service recipients.

Some proponents of a total separation between state and church would rather depend on private money than jeopardize their independence, but the majority of faith-based groups have welcomed the Bush initiative, which would enable them to reach out to larger numbers of needy individuals in their communities.

With an increasing number of Muslim immigrants and growth in both the African American and Latino Muslim populations, Islamic centers and organizations are getting involved more than ever with social work. The expanded mission of such institutions must include not only reaching out in the traditional forms of Da'wah, but also providing shelter, food, medical supplies, family counseling, domestic violence programs, treatment to drug addicts, rehabilitation programs for ex and current offenders, sex awareness programs for teenagers, and much more.

Meanwhile, our community's resources are stretched thin - between responding to the basic needs of Muslims at large and working to cure social ills. There is an increasing need for more religious centers, cultural centers, and schools to engage in meeting current needs and developing preventive measures for avoiding possible future ills. The new initiative would definitely help to fill the need for additional funding to address the numerous gaps in services being provided by Islamic organizations.

"We are definitely welcoming the initiative; we recognize ourselves, as religious groups, as an integral part of the society," said Kareem Irfan, president of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC). The Council is an umbrella organization of Islamic centers that serve metropolitan Chicago Muslims, and has for years been involved in providing services to Muslims - with an emphasis on deprived individuals and families. Limited resources have always been a challenge in carrying out its endeavors.

"So much work has been done, but so much could be done. Nevertheless, we do have our own concerns regarding the initiative," Irfan added.

Two of these concerns focus on the representation of the various faith groups within the White House Office and the selection process for the allocation of funds.

The new office is expected to recognize our growing Muslim community as a fundamental component of American society, and ensure its fair representation in the implementation of this initiative. This means that Muslim leaders should not only be consulted, but comprise a part of the work team in planning, developing and managing its programs.

As minorities in a predominantly Christian society, of course Muslims hope that the allocation of the money will not be channeled practically exclusively towards Christian charities. "We don't want to be overshadowed by the larger Christian organizations," commented Irfan.

The possibility of the government being more involved in the work of religious organizations seems less threatening to Muslim activists who believe that as long as the separation between church (symbolizing any religious institution) and state is maintained, in the end, the initiative's benefits for our community will far outweigh its disadvantages.

"It is too early to assume that there would be restrictions that could be set on the work of charitable Islamic organizations; we don't have all the information yet, but if such restrictions were to emerge, then we would lobby to defy them," said Esmail Koushanpour, member of the CIOGC.

Sabri Samirah, president of the Chicago-based United Muslim American Association, is optimistic about the opportunities that the Faith-Based Office will open up for the numerous Islamic charities that are struggling because of their financial situations, adding that organizations and groups working primarily with inner city underprivileged Muslims where social ills are typically concentrated will be the chief beneficiaries of governmental funding rather than suburban organizations.

The Bush initiative will probably serve the current civil movement within the American Muslim community whereby Islamic organizations are calling on Muslims to be more politically active so that our identity and rights within American society will be better recognized.

Despite the possible benefits of potential government funding, it should not serve as a substitute for the role that Muslim individuals should play in supporting our community's organizations and in practicing the Islamic values of promoting good and forbidding evil within our society.