Is Welfare-Funded Jihad Part of Radical Islam's Playbook? We Examine the Evidence

TheBlaze's Tiffany Gabbay contributed to this report.

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In Mid-February, TheBlaze published a story about Anjem Choudary, a famous British Muslim who preaches that England (and all of the world) should convert to Islam and install Shari'a Law as the law of the land. That story also featured a key bit of advice from the cleric telling Muslims that they should use welfare as a "jihad seeker's allowance."

Published reports say Choudary lives off the generosity of the British people -- collecting an estimated $40,000/year -- as he openly preaches for the destruction of their system as well as encouraging hatred and violence against Christians and Jews...all in the name of Allah.

After the reports surfaced that the family of the accused Boston Marathon bombing suspects have received upwards of $100,000 in welfare over the past decade, something clicked. Was Anjem Choudary's statement about welfare being the "jihad seekers allowance" a widely accepted theory among Muslims in America and around the world?

We looked into the controversial cleric's history and also did some extensive research into the concept of Muslims overwhelming welfare systems in democracies where they would be accepted and allowed to speak freely. It should be no shock to anyone that Mr. Choudary's plan has been in plain sight for years. In fact, in 2010, he appeared on television and openly talked about his plans. He even addressed the subject of his welfare payments.

"They give us money, but we attack their system. The prophet said: 'To who does the money belong? The wealth belongs to Allah, Take it, but don't lie and don't cheat.' I don't lie and I don't cheat. If I am given wealth, I will take it, it is allowed for me. It is halal for me Islamically."

Image: YouTube

In the video Choudary talks about many things:

• The elimination of the British Monarchy.
• Turning Buckingham Palace (and all palaces) into houses of prayer.
• Killing democracy and replacing it with Shari'a and a caliphate.

In January of this year, regular contributor to TheBlaze TV, Eric Stackelbeck recorded a stunning one-on-one profile with Choudary for CBN. The cleric was quite open about the fact that groups he has helped -- ShariaUK, ShariaAmerica, and ShariaBelgium -- are all "intellectually and ideologically linked."

The interview took place in a park in London and when Stakelbeck asked how the people playing in the park would be different under Shari'a, the cleric suggested that attire would be the most obvious, with women and men being required to cover most of their bodies.

Image: YouTube

At the 18:00 mark of the interview, Stakelbeck asked how soon the cleric could see a Muslim majority happening in England. The response might cause some to be concerned.

"Revolutions happen quickly. I don't know how fast the Shari'a will come. Perhaps in five years...Demographically speaking, you know, Islam could be the major religion of countries like England, Belgium, France and these other European nations because the rate of people are reverting to Islam, the number of children that we're having, ya know."

When talking about using welfare to fund his push to bring Shari'a Law to the world, Choudary also mentions something called "jizya." What is jizya? It is defined as a "head or poll tax that early Islamic rulers demanded from non-muslims living in their land. An online definition on Encyclopedia Brittanica says the tax (jizya) was used like protection money in countries where a Muslim majority existed. Non-believers were charged this tax in order to be allowed to practice their non-Muslim religion and that those monies were used to fund the military expenses of Islamic states like the Ottoman Empire.

Is Anjem Choudary's plan to collect welfare and milk the systems of Western democracies as he spends his days and nights preaching Islam an isolated case? No. It appears that this idea is not new and certainly not restricted to just Choudary.

Could this be a key plank in the plan for a Muslim takeover of the world? Possibly.

Consider these examples of radical Muslims who were taking welfare as they were planning or actually carrying out terror plots.

• Zacarias Moussaoui - An al Qaeda operative who was involved in the planning of 9/11.  Moussaoui was receiving welfare in London
• Ahmed Ressam - Part of Algeria's armed Islamic group who was also found guilty of plotting to blow up LAX, the airport in Los Angeles - He was getting welfare and continued to receive $500/month even after his arrest for petty theft.
• Metin Kaplan - Served four years in prison for murdering a political rival, worth millions, but claimed "social benefits" in Cologne
• Abu Qatada -  Qatada was sentenced to life in prison in Jordan for a few offenses -- including plotting to kill American tourists. He also taught Moussaqui and was getting welfare checks while living on subsidized housing in London. He lost his benefits when they discovered he had a bank account with more than $250,000.

Glenn Beck also discussed the issue in detail during his Wednesday show on TheBlaze TV:

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Beck also took time to review the mile-markers concerning Saudi national Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi, and America's trajectory towards appeasing the Saudis, and now the Muslim Brotherhood:

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Additional research and support for this story was provided by researchers at TheBlaze TV.

Follow Mike Opelka on Twitter @stuntbrain

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Related:

• Where Do Muslims Stand on Sharia Law?