A national Muslim civil-rights organization that lost its tax exemption in an Internal Revenue Service sweep of groups that had not filed proper paperwork has regained its nonprofit standing, says The Tennessean.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, known as CAIR, was among 275,000 organizations nationwide stripped of their nonprofit status in June 2011 under a new law requiring revocation for groups that had not filed Form 990 returns for three years running.

The organization received a letter from the IRS last month reaffirming its tax exemption. The ruling came in time for CAIR to raise money during the holy month of Ramadan, which began July 19, a period during which many Muslims engage in charitable giving.

CAIR has been active in multiple religious controversies in central Tennessee in recent years, opposing a state anti-Shariah bill and calling for investigations into vandalism at mosque sites. Some conservative critics allege that CAIR has ties to extremist groups.