How does Shariah define “charity” or “Zakat”?
There are 8 categories of Zakat (Arabic for charity) according to Shariah, all of which are meant to build allegiance to Islam worldwide. While four of these categories help the poor, the others support Jihad. The 7th category of Zakat is defined in the Reliance of the Traveler, the Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law (Umdat Al-Salik), p. 272, as follows: “those fighting for Allah, meaning people engaged In Islamic military operations for whom no salary has been allotted in the army, or volunteers for Jihad without remuneration. They are given enough to suffice them for the operation, even if affluent: of weapons, mounts, clothing, and expenses.” This explains why the U.S. Government has classified 27 Islamic charities as terror organizations, with the Holy Land Foundation in Dallas, Texas the most recently convicted of financing terror-jihad (2008). These charities have innocuous-sounding names like Union of Good, and Benevolence International Foundation, and Care International.
