THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XI, Issue # 174, August 17, 2009
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
THE DARK SIDE OF ZAKAT: MUSLIM CHARITY IN CONTEXT
By Raymond Ibrahim
WESTERNIZING CONCEPTS UNIQUE TO ISLAM & THEREBY CRIPPLING AMERICANS FROM OBJECTIVELY UNDERSTANDING
SOME OF ISLAM'S MORE TROUBLESOME & DANGEROUS DOCTRINES: THE ISLAMIC CONCEPTS OF ZAKAT & JIHAD
AS PRIME EXAMPLES -- THE CRUCIAL FACTS THAT ARE OMITTED BY AMERICAN TEACHERS & POLITICIANS WHEN
DEFINING & EXPLAINING THESE CONCEPTS -- AMERICANS LEFT TO FALL BACK ON FAULTY & MISLEADING PERCEPTIONS OF
THE MINDSET OF AMERICA'S ISLAMIST ENEMY -- U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA'S LAMENT THAT U.S. RULES ON
CHARITABLE GIVING HAVE MADE IT DIFFICULT FOR AMERICAN MUSLIMS TO FULFILL ZAKAT, IN AID OF THE ISLAMIST
JIHAD THAT IS BEING WAGED AGAINST THE U.S.A. & THE WEST -- THE OBAMA PRESIDENCY & ITS DOUBTFUL COMPETENCE
& LOYALTY IN DEFENDING AMERICA & WESTERN CIVILIZATION AGAINST THE ISLAMIST ENEMY
FULL STORY:
From what American school children are being taught by their teachers to what Americans are being told by their
Presidents, concepts unique to Islam are, nowadays, almost always "Westernized." Whether the product of naivety,
arrogance or downright disingenuousness, this phenomenon has resulted in epistemic (and thus endemic) failures,
crippling Americans from objectively understanding some of Islam's more troublesome doctrines.
A typical seventh-grade textbook, for instance, teaches:
". . . jihad represents the human struggle to overcome
difficulties and do things that are pleasing to God.
Muslims strive to respond positively to personal
difficulties as well as worldly challenges. For instance,
they might work to be better people, reform society,
or correct injustice."
Strictly speaking, this is by and large true. However, by not explaining what it means to be "better people, reform
society, or correct injustice" — from a distinctly Islamic, as opposed to Western, perspective — the textbook
abandons students to fall back on their own (misleading) interpretations.
Yet, the facts remain: In Islam, killing certain "evil-doers," such as apostates or homosexuals, is a way of
"correcting injustice"; overthrowing manmade constitutional orders (such as the United States of America, Canada,
Australia, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) and replacing them with Sharia mandates,
and subjugating women and non-Muslims, are ways of "reforming society." Those enforcing all this are, in fact,
"better people" — indeed, according to the Koran, they are "the best of peoples, evolved for mankind,
enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong [3:110]," that is, ruling according to Sharia law.
So it is with the Muslim concept of zakat, a word often rendered into English as "charity." But, is that all zakat is —
mere Muslim benevolence by way of feeding and clothing the destitute of the world, as the word "charity" all too
often connotes?
U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama seems to think so — or, given his background, is at least banking that others
do — based on his recent proclamation to the Muslim world:
". . . in the United States, rules on charitable giving
have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their
religious obligation. That is why I am committed to
working with American Muslims to ensure that
they can fulfill zakat."
Thus does Obama conflate a decidedly Islamic concept, zakat, with the generic notion of charity. Is this justified? As
with all things Islamic, one must first examine the legal aspects of zakat to truly appreciate its purport. Etymologically
related to the notion of "purity," zakat — paying a portion of one's wealth to specifically designated recipients — is
a way of purifying oneself, on par with prayers (see Koran, 9:103).
The problem, however, has to do with who is eligible for this mandatory "charity." Most schools of Muslim
jurisprudence are agreed to eight possible categories of recipients — one of these being those fighting "in the path
of Allah," that is, jihadis, also known as "terrorists."
In fact, financially supporting jihadis is a recognized form of jihad — jihad al-mal; even the vast majority of militant
verses in the Koran (e.g., 9:20, 9:41, 49:15, 61:10-11) prioritize the need to fund the jihad over merely fighting in
it, as fighting with one's wealth often precedes fighting with one's self. Well-known Islamists — from international
jihadi Osama bin Laden to authoritative cleric Sheikh Qaradawi — are well aware of this and regularly exhort Muslims
to fund the jihad via zakat.
More revealing of the peculiarly Islamic nature of zakat is the fact that Muslims are actually forbidden from bestowing
this "charity" onto non-Muslims (e.g., the vast majority of the people in the U.S.A. -- i.e., what Muslims call
"American infidels"). "Charitable" Muslim organizations operating on American soil are therefore no mere equivalents
to, say, the Salvation Army, a Christian charity organization whose "ministry extends to all, regardless of ages, sex,
color, or creed." In Islam, creed is a major criterion for receiving "charity" — not to mention for receiving social
equality.
From here, one can better understand Obama's lament that, "in the United States, rules on charitable giving have made
it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation," a statement that unwittingly implies that American zakat has,
in fact, been used to fund the jihad. After all, these irksome "rules" to which Obama alludes appear to be a reference to
the presumably "excessive" scrutiny American Muslim "charities" are subject to by law enforcement. Yet, this scrutiny
is itself a direct byproduct of the fact that American Muslim "charities" have, indeed, been funding the jihad, both at
home and abroad.
In light of all this, what truly remains to be seen is how, precisely, Obama plans on "working with American Muslims to
ensure that they can fulfill zakat."
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
The Islamist Fifth Column -- America's Internal Enemies:
Disloyalty, Subversion, Sedition, & Treason
Middle East -- Arabs, Arab States,
& Their Middle Eastern Neighbors
American Foreign Policy -- The Middle East
International Politics & World Disorder:
War, Peace, & Geopolitics in the Real World:
Foreign Affairs & U.S. National Security
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorism & American Homeland Security
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
Counterterrorism & U.S. National Security
U.S. National Security Strategy
Raymond Ibrahim, a historian of Islam, Islamism and the Middle East, is the Associate Director of the Middle East Forum
and the editor of The Al-Qa'ida Reader, a collection of tranlations of key texts and documents of the Islamist
movement. Ibrahim's translations of the religious texts and political propaganda comprising this collection help readers
comprehend the origins, development, history, and serious danger of the Islamist war doctrines of Usama bin Laden and
Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Founders of Al-Qa'ida and implacable enemies of the U.S.A. and the West.
The foregoing article by Raymond Ibrahim was originally published in the Pajamas Media, August 15, 2009, and
can be found on the Internet website maintained by the Middle East Forum, a foreign policy think tank which seeks to
define and promote American interests in the Middle East, defining U.S. interests to include fighting radical Islam,
working for Palestinian Arab acceptance of the State of Israel, improving the management of U.S. efforts to promote
constitutional democracy in the Middle East, reducing America's energy dependence on the Middle East, more robustly
asserting U.S. interests vis-à-vis Saudi Arabia, and countering the Iranian threat.
(Article URL: http://www.meforum.org/article/2438/zakat-muslim-charity-in-context)
Republished with Permission of the Middle East Forum
Reprinted from the Middle East Forum News
mefnews@meforum.org (MEF NEWS)
August 17, 2009
Return to Top of Page
Go to the WEBSITE INDEX
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Public Issues & Political Controversies
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
Most Recent Articles
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Volume XI, 2009
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Subject Matter Highlights
Return to POLITICAL EDUCATION Homepage
CONTACT & ACCESS INFORMATION
This is not a commercial website. The sole purpose of the website is to share with interested persons information regarding civics,
civic and social education, political science, government, politics, law, constitutional law and history, public policy, and political
philosophy and history, as well as current and recent political developments, public issues, and political controversies.
POLITICAL EDUCATION, CONSERVATIVE ANALYSIS
POLITICS, SOCIETY, & THE SOVEREIGN STATE
Website of Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr.
Government, Politics, Public Policy, Legal Issues, Constitutional Law, Government & the Economy, Cultural Values, Foreign Affairs,
International Relations, Military Defense & National Security, Geopolitics, Terrorism & Homeland Security, American National Interests,
Political Systems & Processes, Political Institutions, Political Ideologies, & Political Philosophy
INDEX FOR THE ENTIRE WEBSITE
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues
Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity