Dozens of Muslim groups blocked from receiving federal security grants: Report

Muslim organisations and houses of worship have been left vulnerable to hate crimes and attacks after two government agencies alleged the groups have ties to terrorism and are ineligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) grants, CNN reported on Friday.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are the two agencies behind the decision, according to CNN, with DOGE spearheading the efforts to block funding from dozens of groups.

Five Fema sources mentioned in the report say the allegations are questionable because of the “unusual circumstances” that led to their funding being cut off.

Some sources believe there is insufficient evidence to support the “terrorism or terrorist activities”.

One source told CNN that it “felt like a manufactured narrative designed to justify excluding Muslim organizations from funding”, and the “apolitical, risk-based grant process suddenly looked politicized in a way we’d never seen before”.

Fema grants traditionally help state, local, tribal, and nonprofit organisations to prevent, protect against, prepare for and respond to hate-based crimes or attacks, and include upgrades such as security guards and surveillance cameras.

Organisations are normally subjected to rigorous vetting by Fema, which is overseen by DHS.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) on Friday called on the DHS to lift the funding freeze.

Cair national deputy director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said in a statement sent to Middle East Eye that “It is un-American and unconstitutional for the government to block American Muslim organizations…from critical security funding based on their faith or baseless, politically-motivated allegations.

“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."

He said DHS should “immediately reverse course, restore grant eligibility to Muslim organisations and renounce any reliance on the claims of the ‘Israel First’ hate group founded by racist Daniel Pipes", inferring that the decision was based on information provided by the pro-Israel think tank Middle East Forum (MEF), founded by Pipes in 1994.

He also called on members of Congress, civil rights advocates and interfaith partners to demand transparency, accountability and equal protection under the law for all Americans, regardless of faith.

Spending review

In 2024, Congress offered an additional $400m in funds to help Muslim and Jewish groups because of the rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia during Israel’s war on Gaza.

Earlier this year, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem apparently ordered Fema to pause the security grants while DHS and DOGE conducted a spending review.

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Sources told CNN that DHS senior officials consulted with the leadership at Fema on how Muslim groups could be disqualified from receiving the funds in April.

Funding to all faith groups was paused while conversations were ongoing. The CNN report mentions the Islamic Society of North America as one of the groups that had its grant suspended in the summer.

Eventually, some of the funding was released, and while more than 500 Jewish organisations received funding, scores of Muslim organisations were disqualified.

DHS told CNN that it had never considered imposing a blanket ban on Muslim organisations receiving security grants and such claims were “ludicrous and deeply unserious”.

“DHS and FEMA do not make policy decisions on the basis of religion,” a DHS spokesperson told CNN.

Funding cuts

In August, MEE reported that DHS was reviewing security grants to Muslim organisations and places of worship after they had been accused by MEF of having ties to "radical" groups.

Prior to that, DHS had cut an estimated $8m across 49 projects for alleged affiliations to terrorist activities, according to a DHS document obtained by Fox News.

An MEF report did not substantiate the allegations it makes against mosques, Muslim community centres and groups such as the Islamic Society of Baltimore, the Islamic Center of San Diego, the Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Virginia, and Cair.

The Southern Poverty Law Centre describes MEF as "an anti-Muslim think tank" and its president, Pipes, as someone who has promoted rabidly "anti-Muslim views" for decades.