Najib Balala is the Minister of Tourism in Kenya and, by all accounts, a gregarious, ambitious public official. He was educated in a US university in Africa and he professes to be a devout Muslim.
Recently, he has come under fire for possible financial arrangements in which donations to a controversial mosque may be finding their way to Al Qaeda affiliate Al Shabaab.
The accusations come from the United Nations, which does not have a record of making terrorism accusations lightly. The UN alleges that Balala donated a significant sum of money to a mosque in Kenya which found its way to the terrorist group Al Shabaab. The UN is not alleging that Balala made the donation wittingly but Balala is on the defensive nonetheless.
He has vowed to continue making such donations “to Islam.”
This illustrates the problem that we have repeatedly raised here at SFW: under Shariah law zakat donations are designated to go to 8 destinations. The 7th destination is listed in Islamic law texts as “those fighting in the way of Allah.” This is why at least 80 Islamic charities have been implicated in terrorism financing.
Did Balala know he was funding jihad? We have no way of knowing, but the documented facts surrounding such donations indicate that it is standard operating procedure for a portion of zakat payments to go to Jihad…
Balala Accuses UN of Conspiracy, Vows to Continue Giving to Islam
http://allafrica.com/stories/201108012497.html
Balala to Raise More Funds for Controversial Mosque
http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2011/08/05/balala-to-raise-more-funds-for-controversial-mosque/
Balala Threatens to Sue Over Terror Links
http://www.kbc.co.ke/news.asp?nid=71731
Kenya Official Denies Financing Al Shabab
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Kenya-Official-Denies-Financing-Al-Shabab-126730843.html
