LONDON, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- This month's air terror scare in Britain is leading authorities to question if more attention should be paid to Muslim charities, The New York Times reports.
The heightened attention stems from the fact three of the suspects arrested in the Aug. 10 sweep of 24 arrests had links to two Muslim charities that alleged to be relief agencies.
Since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, on Washington and New York, U.S. officials have banned many charities that still operate in Britain.
Britain has "a lot of catching up to do," said Peter Neumann, director of the Center for Defense Studies at King's College in London.
"The approach in America is very much to prevent the worst, whereas in Britain the approach is to encourage the best," Neumann said.
One example is the Palestinians Relief and Development Fund, known as Interpal, which operates in Britain, but is banned in the United States.
"We have to prove that we are not doing anything," said Ibrahim Hewitt, Interpal's chairman. "We have to prove a negative. And this diverts resources from the real work of trying to alleviate poverty."
