Alms for the Poor? Or Funding for the Jihad?

One of the Five Pillars of Islam is Zakat, which is the giving of 2.5% of one's wealth to support various Islamic causes, such as helping the poor, releasing people from debt, or for the propagation of Islam.

A recent report from Judicial Watch, indicates that a great deal of the money given to Islamic charities in the United States, actually makes its way to various groups funding and supporting terrorism (Click here: Judicial Watch).

"According to the report’s introduction:  `While the U.S. government finally has taken action against some of the groups identified by Judicial Watch, others are still functioning.  The federal government is aware of their presence and the danger they pose to our national security.  The question is:  Why are they still in operation?'  (Following the attacks of 9/11, Judicial Watch filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service against non-profit organizations, `reportedly being used as money laundering front organizations for radical Islamic terrorists.')  Among the highlights from the Muslim front organization report:

• The Islamic Society of North America enforces Wahhabi [extreme Islamism] theology in the country’s 1,200 official recognized mosques and has allegedly helped turn the federal prison system into a fertile recruiting ground for al Qaeda.  In 2005, the organization received a White House invitation to send a representative to participate in the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Representatives’ White House Leadership Conference.

• According to Hamza Yusuf, a board member of the Council for American Islamic Relations, `[America] is facing a terrible fate, and the reason for that is because the country stands condemned.'  Yet, the Department of Homeland Security recently published an online press release from the organization expressing its approval of the Transportation and Safety Administration’s `sensitivity training' program about Islamic traditions.

• The North American Islamic Trust, which operates out of Illinois, owns between 50 and 80 percent of North American mosques.  Authorities say the organization is used as a funnel for Saudi and other gulf money to spread an anti-American brand of Islamic fundamentalism in American mosques from southern California to South Carolina.

• In 2005, the Islamic Council for North America, based in New York, was under investigation for its connection to a violent Pakistani terrorist group with al Qaeda links.

`This report carefully documents connections between so-called Muslim charities in the U.S. and the terrorists who murder innocents,' said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.  `The federal government should no longer coddle terrorist front groups in the name of political correctness.  Any organization that funds terror should be shut down immediately.'”

To read the Judical Watch report,Click here:  http://www.judicialwatch.org/archive/2007/SR_muslimorg.pdf

I'm glad someone keeps watch on this kind of stuff! 

Who Said That?

Who Said That?

"Matthew says, that the angel that was sitting upon the stone on the outside of the sepulchre told the two Marys that Christ was risen, and that the women went away quickly. Mark says, that the women, upon seeing the stone rolled away, and wondering at it, went into the sepulchre, and that it was the angel that was sitting within on the right side, that told them so. Luke says, it was the two angels that were standing up; and John says, it was Jesus Christ himself that told it to Mary Magdalene; and that she did not go into the sepulchre, but only stooped down and looked in.

Now, if the writers of these four books had gone into a court of justice to prove an alibi, (for it is of the nature of an alibi that is here attempted to be proved, namely, the absence of a dead body by supernatural means,) and had they given their evidence in the same contradictory manner as it is here given, they would have been in danger of having their ears cropt for perjury, and would have justly deserved it. Yet this is the evidence, and these are the books, that have been imposed upon the world as being given by divine inspiration, and as the unchangeable word of God. "

You know the drill!  Leave your guess in the comments section below! No google searches, please! 

Update on Monday, April 16, 2007 at 10:51AM by Kim Riddlebarger

These words come from Thomas Paine, well-known deist and buddy to many of the founding fathers.  The quote comes from Paine's best-selling book, Age of Reason (Part 2, sec. 15).

Any good commentary on the gospels, quickly and easily refutes these so-called "contradictions," many of which were dealt with as far back as Augustine. 

Conference Photos

                                                                                              Photo # 1 -- Ken Jones (from the White Horse Inn), chatting with Dr. Dennis Johnson of Westminster Seminary California.

Photo # 2 -- Dr. Kim Riddlebarger

Photo # 3 -- Dr. Kim Riddlebarger again (hey, it's my blog)

Photo # 4 -- Wideshot of packed-out sanctuary.  Who says amillers don't go to prophecy conferences?

Photo # 5 -- Dr. Steve Baugh from Westminster Seminary California.

Photo # 6 -- Dr. Greg Beale, author of a stellar commentary on The Book of Revelation (Eerdmans)

Photo # 7 -- Drs. Beale and Johnson spar over the mic during the Q & A.

(BTW--thanks to Mike Dees for the photos!)   

Wow! What a Conference!

Our "Making Sense of The Book of Revelation" conference was completely sold out and a smashing success!  We spent the whole day feasting upon the great themes found in the Book of Revelation with one stellar lecture after another!

It was great to finally meet so many of you (fellow bloggers) and regular commenters!  If you were there, please leave your feedback in the comments section! 

To listen to the conference Q & A, Click here: Christ Reformed Info - MP3's and Real Audio (of Academy Lectures)

CD's of the conference lectures can be ordered here: Click here: Christ Reformed Info - Conference: "Making Sense of Revelation"