A new report suggests that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) blocked funding for Muslim organizations that were seeking federal grants for increased security to combat hate crimes at their centers.
Under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) allocates hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds to religious organizations that require enhanced security. The agency is supposed to make decisions based on a demonstrated need for such funding, not a group’s specific religious affiliation.
Earlier this year, DHS and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”) froze all funding for those grants. After facing pressure from several groups to reopen the grants, the agencies did so — however, DHS heads reportedly reached out to FEMA to inquire about blocking grants for some Muslim organizations, baselessly claiming the groups had ties to terrorist networks.
FEMA sources speaking to CNN said those allegations were “questionable.”
Initially, FEMA told DHS officials that such an action would be discriminatory and likely illegal, CNN reported, citing multiple anonymous workers inside FEMA who spoke to them about the matter. Those FEMA workers said they were “deeply concerned” about the question, the report from CNN added.
“I think they were worried about the optics of giving money to Muslim organizations,” one of the sources told the news agency.
“Everything about it seemed wrong,” another source said. “This felt like a manufactured narrative designed to justify excluding Muslim organizations from funding. What had always been an apolitical, risk-based grant process suddenly looked politicized in a way we’d never seen before.”
The request by DHS heads to FEMA workers was made in the spring. By the end of summer, according to those sources, DHS appeared to be blocking funding to Muslim groups, as dozens had reportedly been denied funding when they otherwise would have been approved.
A DHS spokesperson has denied any wrongdoing by the department.
“DHS and FEMA do not make policy decisions on the basis of religion,” they said.
But one Muslim rights organization, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), said its funding was blocked due to unfounded accusations of connections to terrorism.
“This type of baseless information is very detrimental for civil society and for organizations that are doing good work,” ISNA executive director Basharat Saleem said in a statement to CNN.
Representatives from targeted organizations have accused DHS of acting at the behest of a pro-Israel (and anti-Islam) think tank called the Middle East Forum, which had accused many of those groups of terrorism connections and highlighted the FEMA grants specifically.
In a statement reacting to CNN’s report, Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), condemned DHS for denying security funds for Muslim groups.
“It is un-American and unconstitutional for the government to block American Muslim organizations — including mosques, community centers, and civil rights groups — from critical security funding based on their faith or baseless, politically-motivated allegations,” Mitchell said. “These actions violate the constitutional rights of all Americans and endanger vulnerable communities at a time when hate crimes against all faith communities, including Muslims, are on the rise.”
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