The
Daily Caller News Foundation issued a new report
Former President Bill Clinton collected $5.6 million in fees from
GEMS Education, a Dubai-based company that teaches Sharia Law through its
network of more than 100 schools in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, according
to a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation.
The
company’s finances strictly adhere to “Sharia Finance,” which includes giving
“zakat,” a religious tax of which one-eighth of the proceeds is dedicated to
funding Islamic jihad.
The
company also contributed millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation.
The former president served as
honorary chairman for GEMS Education from 2011 to 2014, according to federal
tax returns he filed with his wife, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee
Hillary Clinton.
His biggest paycheck from the closely-held company — which is incorporated in the Cayman Islands — was in 2014 when he pocketed $2.1 million. It is unclear if Bill received income from the Middle Eastern firm in 2015, since Hillary has not yet released her tax return for that year.
Clinton’s relationship with the Sharia-oriented education firm drew critical reviews from anti-terrorism experts.
His biggest paycheck from the closely-held company — which is incorporated in the Cayman Islands — was in 2014 when he pocketed $2.1 million. It is unclear if Bill received income from the Middle Eastern firm in 2015, since Hillary has not yet released her tax return for that year.
Clinton’s relationship with the Sharia-oriented education firm drew critical reviews from anti-terrorism experts.
“Why
would Bill Clinton be participating in programs that teach Sharia in foreign
countries where that is the specific objective of the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS
and al-Qaeda,” asked counter-terror analyst Stephen Coughlin in an interview
with TheDCNF.
GEMS is
one of the most dominant
educational programs in the Middle East, with 51 separate
schools operating in the region. Globally, the for-profit company claims
that 250,000 students are learning under its program in 170 countries.
The Dubai
firm has donated between $1 million and $5 million to the Clinton
Foundation, according to the foundation website. GEMS was an
official sponsor of the 2013 and 2014 Clinton Global Initiative. Its
Indian-born CEO Sunny Varkey attended both years.
And the
Varkey Foundation, named after the CEO, contributed $250,000 to $500,000 to the
foundation.
Varkey
publicly claimed Bill was the “honorary chairman” of his foundation. But Bill
and Hillary report in their joint federal tax returns the annual payments came
from the for-profit GEMS Education company.
The
company has raised funds through bonds and has openly broadcast its commitment
to Sharia finance. In 2013, the company issued a $200 million bond
prospectus and assured potential investors it relied on “Fatwa and Sharia”
advisers to assure it was “compliant” with Sharia finance. Read
more: Here
