By now you know that Al Qaeda has released a new audio tape featuring a voice claiming to be that of Osama Bin Laden.
What you may not know is that one of the requests that Bin Laden makes on the tape is for Muslims to donate money through zakat to support jihad. Zakat is a form of tithing in Islam and is a key component of Shariah-Compliant Finance. Under Shariah, all Muslims, all Muslim businesses and organizations and all Muslim investment firms must donate 1/40 of their assets (2.5%) to zakat for various charitable endeavors approved by Shariah scholars. One such approved endeavor is jihad. That’s why Shariah-Compliant banks have been found to have funded terrorist groups, such as HAMAS and Egyptian Islamic Jihad (which subsequently merged into Al Qaeda).
Details on the Bin Laden audio tape from MEMRI:
Bin Laden announced: “We are on our way to open new fronts.” He further called on Muslims to donate money to support the global Jihad, stating that the Zakat (i.e. alms tax) paid by one rich Muslim trader would suffice to cover the costs of Jihad on all fronts.
