The stories that stick with us: How an act of charity led to a powerful story idea

As reporters, we're used to seeing news angles most everywhere we look.

Ideas often can present themselves in our daily interactions, on the commute to work and in conversations with family members, friends and colleagues.

Never did a story hit home more than the one I wrote and published on Nov. 11, 2003, with the headline: "Fears about charities force Muslims to change how they give."

The idea stemmed from a simple act of writing a check to an Islamic charity during Ramadan - the holiest month of the Islamic calendar.

For Muslims, giving "zakat," or charity, is obligatory and equal in significance to praying five times a day. They must give 2½% of their wealth to the needy and impoverished. And similar to other religious traditions, Muslims ritually increase their generosity during holy periods to maximize the rewards.

But in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, many Muslims across the Chicago region and nation felt a greater sense of scrutiny of their everyday lives and actions, particularly involving financial support for Islamic organizations.

Before then, I never gave a second thought to donating funds for a cause, such as providing humanitarian aid to disaster-stricken or war-torn regions of the Muslim world, supporting widows, orphans and the destitute.

Sept. 11 changed that for many Muslims.

Government agencies scrutinized once-reputable global Islamic charities, including donor contributions and recipients. Three nationally renowned charities with Chicago-area offices were closed by the federal government. Their assets were seized on suspicion the groups might be involved with funding terrorism.

At the time, many Muslims feared giving money to Islamic charities would lead to being put on a government watchlist. It forced members of the community to re-evaluate giving practices.

That thought briefly occurred to me, as well, before I wrote my check to Islamic Relief USA.

Then, I pitched the story idea to my editor.

The story was well received, and I still have email messages from readers thanking us for objectively covering the challenges faced by Muslims at a time when many media organizations were sensationalizing the Sept. 11 tragedy.

• Assistant Weekend Editor Madhu Krishnamurthy started working at the Daily Herald in 2000.