To summarize, an independent auditor found the following issues with ISNA’s (Islamic Society of North America - Canada) management:
Only one in four dollars of zakat and fitra is actually being distributed to the needy - money collected from zakat and fitra was being used for administration costs of ISNA
Family members of a top official have been receiving free perks
Improper issuance of tax receipts
One of the possible consequences for violating charitable tax laws is for the government to cancel the charitable status of ISNA.
Unfortunately, many of us have shared stories about Masjid politics and the underhanded activities that we’ve seen take place there. It is so disappointing to think that even a place a worship is not immune to the political wranglings on our community members and the people purporting to be our religious community leaders may lie, steal, cheat or misrepresent themselves.
It makes me wonder, of all places to do a gunnah, isn’t there even the smallest degree of fear in their hearts, that while Allah sees us no matter where we are, there’s a sanctity in a Masjid that needs to be observed? Kam-as-kam, Allah keh ghar ko to baksh do :hinna:
Re: Allah keh waastay, Allah keh ghar ko to baksh do!
It is sad as it is true that people do do that. I have seen that happen in mosques around GTA where they wish to open a school and wahtever else when there isn't enough space for people to pray jumma. People have made it a business in other locations and are famous for asking for money during their eid khutbas and putting people on the spot right there.
At some places these maulanas do not wish to shorten their khutba by 5-10 mins to accomodate for their namazi who come there during lunch break and can have serious issues at work for staying longer than that. A lot of money is raised in these mosques and unfortunately for us, it is not spent in the best possible way.
Re: Allah keh waastay, Allah keh ghar ko to baksh do!
**we come from Indo/Pak so we know a lot of poor people personally so i'm of the favour to give zakat/sadaqa to those people rather than give it to a charitable organization who i always doubted that the misappropriate funds in a "LEGAL" way. legal in the sense that Allah allows a nominal administrative cost from the zakat or sadaqaat collected.
Re: Allah keh waastay, Allah keh ghar ko to baksh do!
Some of the people who work for ISNA are full time employees not volunteers. So they are paid for their work. In USA it is impossible for an Organization to hire illegals and pay them pennies instead of a fat check. Many activities ISNA does for the benefit of community also require tons of money.
In USA all the charities have a big administrative costs , they operate them on a business model to make sure that they attract the right kind of talent for each task to save the organization from dying.
Even raising funds to run an organization like ISNA and to keep it alive requires tons of money , it is not easy to convince people to contribute for charity, it requires lot of talent and good skills.
Re: Allah keh waastay, Allah keh ghar ko to baksh do!
^^ Yes but isn't it the aim of charities to keep administrative costs as low as possible? How does that work if the higher ups and their families are getting perks? Only 1 in 4 dollars going for zakat is terrible. The purpose of the charity facilitate the transfer of zakat money to the poor efficiently, not use up 3/4ths of it in the process.
Re: Allah keh waastay, Allah keh ghar ko to baksh do!
All those who live in US and who are criticizing ISNA , would you give some practical advice to them as to how they can keep their expenses 1 dollar and distribute 3 dollars of zakat .
Would you be willing to sacrifice your job and go work for ISNA for peanuts ? I guess not.
Re: Allah keh waastay, Allah keh ghar ko to baksh do!
^ Mirch bhai, if you read the article (and yes, at this point it’s just allegations), the auditor did not look at all of the donations received by ISNA - Canada when he commented in his report. He looked strictly at fitra and zakat. Both of which should go to the needy.
And while ISNA is the subject of the article, the comment accompanying it was that there is a lot munafiqat that takes place in masjids, which is of concern because it is a house of worship and there is a certain eh’teraam I expect.
And actually this isn’t limited to Muslims - it happens in every faith. The sad thing is, of all places people would defile a place of faith with their worldly issues :hinna:
A shocking report from ISNA Canada’s auditor on its financial affairs.
-Only 25% of Zakaat donations were passed on to the poor, the rest were used for family perks and diverted to ISNA business interests
ISNA issued fraudulent charitable tax receipts
Income from halal certification was diverted to a private bank account
ISNA funds were used to pay family members for “consulting”
ISNA fraudulently claimed to employ Farhat Hashmi in order to help her to immigrate to Canada, in violation of Federal Immigration rules.
Read more here…
Devout Muslims donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to one of Canada’s largest Islamic organizations on the promise that the cash would be used to help the poor.
But only one in four dollars donated to a special pool of money at the Islamic Society of North America Canada (ISNA Canada) actually reached the needy.
Mismanagement of more than $600,000 is among the findings in a scathing audit obtained by the Star.
A “very small portion . . . is distributed to the poor and needy and the major portion is spent on the administration of the centre,” concluded the 2010 audit of the previous four years.
Re: Allah keh waastay, Allah keh ghar ko to baksh do!
Joke aside, I did not see much of substantial anti-Ashraf content in that.
Yes his wife and daughter received 150K for the work they did over 2 years, but they did the work, right. Where does it say that its illegal to hire your own family members?
Health insurance for his 2 daughters; I seriously doubt that cause Health insurance is free in Canada. You dont need to spend $11,000 for that.
Farhat Hashmi on their payroll. Though I do not like Farhat Hashmi but all public speakers get compensated for their talks. Bush, Clinton, Juliani, Hashmi .. everyone. So what is the big hoopla there if FH got 150K from ISNA over the period of 2 years.
Students paying back loan and getting a charity receipt so they can show it as a tax write off; now that is worng but it looks like that Ashraf was only trying to help those people. There was no personal benefit in it for him.
I am sorry, but I am not impressed with the article.
Re: Allah keh waastay, Allah keh ghar ko to baksh do!
^ Um, the point is that there are charitable tax laws that one must abide by. And as far as hiring family members without accountability, well then, I guess having Zardari in power is okay too
The issue is accountability and transparency in management activities where the actions represent an actual or perceived conflict of interest. And the key point about the funds which most are failing to acknowledge is that of all of the charitable donations received, the auditor only looked at fitra and zakat, which are to be earmarked and given to the needy and NOT for the administration of ISNA. Why then were the funds diverted from its intended purpose?
But, my primary comment was about the prevalence of such activity in religious institutions without fear of Allah, ISNA was merely an example.
Re: Allah keh waastay, Allah keh ghar ko to baksh do!
Um, the point is that there are charitable tax laws that one must abide by. And as far as hiring family members without accountability, well then, I guess having Zardari in power is okay too
no where in that article it says that those family members did not do the job that they were paid for, also no where it says that he hired them without accountability. When his wife and daughter were producing the work for ISNA, other top dogs must be knowing where this work is coming from and who is doing that. So it was not a stealth operation he was running, it seems quite transparent to me.
Re: Allah keh waastay, Allah keh ghar ko to baksh do!
and here I thought the Red Cross's and Oxfam's ratio of 2:5 for admin:target was bad. I've never donated through ISNA due to my own reservations about their operations, but I regularly donate through Islamic Relief Canada and NAMF. I can only hope that these organizations aren't in the same boat.
For those who're talking about the business model orientation of these charitable organizations, I just personally think that they shouldn't be run as businesses in the first place. There are many of us including myself and some of my family members who volunteer in various capacities for these organizations without any expectation of monetary returns. Yes, you always have fixed expenses for office administration and full-time staff, but these can be minimized. Hiring family members as "consultants"... gimme a break!! diverting the organization's income generation to a personal account... shameful!! - as a Muslim, I am disappointed and ashamed of these findings.
