How many cold-calling solicitors for non-profit groups reach households where residents may be literally on their death beds, or who have been served with divorce papers or just learned of a loved one killed in a car accident or Iraq? In such cases, the callers must politely tiptoe out of the situation. We have all taken cheery calls to help some cause when we just got a huge bill in the mail and feel in no mood to give away money we dont have.Supporting charities falls far low on the charts in times of sickness, grief and financial hard times.Those charged with helping in church fund-raising campaign delicately work around families and individuals known to be dealing with crises, most often medical. They arent made to sit through pitches nor are given the usual deadlines to turn in their pledges. They join, in a sense, the names of people on the margins and may be lightly nudged to help once things improve or recovery seems on its way. No surprise that a sizable part of the population cannot, does not and will not contribute to charities.Imagine the chaos of doing running charities in tumultuous and war-torn parts of the world. Like how is Iraqs United Way doing right now?A trial has started in Dallas, Texas, with Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development on trial for alleged support of terrorism. It is Americas largest Muslim charity, according to a Tuesday story in the New York Times. One of the five pillars of Islam is Zakah, or alms-giving. To be in full practice with Islam, Muslims are expected to give a portion of their income to relieve the suffering of the poor. The holy month of Ramadan is especially a time to meet that obligation. Then theres the Zakah on basic wealth, with at least a 2.5 percent levy on valuables and savings.In the complicated Holy Land Foundation case, the U.S. government asserts it is an integral part of Hamas, the powerful political force in the Middle East that won political control in Lebanon and has long been in the middle of the fight for Palestinians. The prosecution maintains that the main officers of the Holy Land foundation started the organization to generate charitable donations from the United States that ultimately helped Hamas thrive, Times reporter Neil MacFarquhar writes. The defense counters that government has hatched a conspiracy story. Its being compared to the funds that Catholics in Northern Ireland said were bound for poor Irish, but, instead, reached the Irish Republican Army. The case is being closely watched by a large number of charitable organizations, as well as Muslim-Americans, McFarquhar said, because its outcome might well help determine the line separating legitimate giving from the financing of banned organizations. Put yourself in the shoes of American Muslims with deep family ties to the Middle East. The tumult and chaos there have created untold need and suffering. Their nature instincts are to direct their charitable funds to their homelands. Imagine the challenges of funneling their giving through stable, safe and effective charities struggling to function amid the turmoil. The logistics are staggering.The article notes that in Great Britain those charities that are suspected may continue to deliver services to poor people. In the U.S., they dont cut slack. If any aspect of a charitys organization is engaged in terrorist support, then the charitable organization is a problem, said Chip Poncy, strategic policy director for the terrorism finance office of the U.S. Treasury.A 42-count indictment was filed against the Holy Land foundation and seven senior officials in 2004. When it was announced, then U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft made it a centerpiece of the USA Patriots Act work. There is no distinction between those who carry out terrorist attacks and those who knowingly finance terrorist attacks.Based in Richardson, Texas, the Holy Land foundation received $57 million in donations, gifts and grants from 1992 to 2001, the indictment alleges. They say $36 million of it went straight to people or groups related to Hamas. Even after President Clinton declared, in 1995, that Hamas was a terrorist group, it got $12.4 million from the foundation, the prosecutors say. Said an official with the Council of American-Islamic Relations in Washington, D.C.: "It has put a chill on First Amendment rights of Muslims in this country. It’s caused Muslims to question, Will donors be criminalized?"

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