Challenge of running a Muslim charity in the U.S.

Anwar Khan is short on details but strong in his belief that the aid his worldwide Muslim charity has donated to help rebuild Lebanon will not end up in the hands of Hezbollah.

The money--$2 million collected nationwide since the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict began, including about $200,000 from Chicago-area Muslims--is funneled through legitimate organizations, he said, including the Lebanese Red Cross.

In some cases, a representative of Khan's Islamic Relief, based in Buena Park, Calif., is on location. "That's our job, to monitor that," Khan said at a recent fundraiser. "We have to make sure relief supplies aren't given to any political organization."

But while Khan's intent appears sincere--and Islamic Relief has never run into problems with U.S. authorities, according to a spokeswoman for the Treasury Department--making sure donations don't come into contact with Hezbollah volunteers may be harder in practice, aid workers said.

The Shiite organization has ministers in government, members of parliament, mayors in small towns and a network of thousands of volunteers who have been ferrying aid supplies to devastated areas since a cease-fire took effect earlier this month. Yet contact with Hezbollah, which the U.S. government considers a terrorist organization, could put a charity at risk of being shut down.

[Excerpt of an article by Deborah Horan, The Chicago Tribune]