A report published by the independent commission to investigate the 9/11 attacks has raised "substantial civil liberty concerns" regarding the government's shutdown in December 2001 of two Chicago-area Islamic charities. Since then, the government has neither proven either group was guilty of any terrorism-related crimes, nor convicted anyone involved. Authorities closed the Global Relief Foundation (GRF) of Bridgeview and Benevolence International Foundation (BIF) of Palos Hills before any official finding that they were aiding terrorist organizations. Both had been under FBI scrutiny for years because of apparent ties to terrorist organizations. The report found that the concerns were "not baseless," but goes to say, "Despite these troubling links, the investigation of BIF and GRF revealed little compelling evidence that either of these charities actually provided financial support to al Quaeda -- at least after al Quaeda was designated a foreign terrorist organization in 1999. Indeed, despite unprecedented access to the U.S. and foreign records of these organizations, one of the world's most experienced and best terrorist prosecutors has not been able to make any criminal case against GRF and resolved the investigation of BIF without a conviction for support of terrorism." The finding calls into question the government's claims to success in fighting terrorism and highlights the issue of the continued abuses of civil liberties towards Muslim charities in the name of 9/11. The FBI raids on the foreign, then the Illinois offices of both charities, were authorized under the post 9/11 Patriot Act, and required the approval of only one Treasury Department official. The charities assets were frozen for about 10 months before the Treasury Department officially deemed them supporters of terrorism. As a result, both charities closed their doors permanently -- leaving over a million dollars suspended indefinitely. The director of Benevolence International pled guilty to diverting money to Islamic fighters in Bosnia and Chechnya but prosecutors later dropped charges that he aided terrorists. A co-founder of Global Relief was deported after an immigration judge deemed him a security risk. The report concludes that these cases demonstrate the government's dramatic shift from pre-9/11 investigating and monitoring terrorist financing to actively disrupting suspect entities through freezing their assets. It also found many suspects are denied due process and organizations have been closed without formal evidence that they actually funded al Qaeda or other terrorist groups. The question becomes what is the threshold of information for the government to take disruptive action against suspect charities. For more background see OMB Watch's September 2003 report The USA Patriot Act and its Impact on Nonprofit Organizations.