Algeria: No cooperation in the War on Terror

Algeria: 'Alms' could be funding al-Qaeda claims US

Algeria tells them to go sh*& in their hat and what do the US Diplowads do in return? They pay the jizya in the form of "interest free loans" to Algeria's poorest citizens "to start small scale businesses"

No doubt something like BOMBS 'R US.

Feh.

US diplomats fears alms for the poor given by the Muslim faithful during the holy month of Ramadan, could be being used to finance the activities of al-Qaeda in North Africa, pan-Arab daily al-Quds al-Arabi reports.

A US government delegation in recent days has conveyed these concerns during a meeting with Algeria's religious affairs minister, Bouabdullah Ghulamallah, the paper says. But Ghalamallah reportedly gave the delegation a frosty reception, saying that it is down to Muslims to decide who they give their 'Zakat' (Arabic for alms) to - not his ministry. 'Zakat' is one of the pillars of Islam, i.e. a religious obligation for Muslims.

Ghalamallah also turned down a request by the US delegation for a 'technical' task-force to audit 'Zakat' funds handled by the religious affairs ministry, al-Quds al-Arabi quoted a ministry official as saying.

The only agreement reportedly reached between Ghalamallah and the US delegation was to create a fund to provide interest-free loans to Algeria's poorest families. The loans will help the families set up small-scale business activities aimed at economic self-sufficiency.

It is estimated that several million dollars worth of 'Zakat' are collected in Algeria each year during Ramadan (which runs from mid-September to mid-October). Much of this money ends up in a religious affairs ministry current account, which channels it to projects aimed at helping the poor.