Here in Australia our tax dollars do pretty much the same thing, Foreign aid dollars are funding the rebuilding of infrastructure and other Historical or iconic buildings.

We also have the same often misleading news snippets designed to outrage the general public. usually  politically  motivated.

Mosque Makeovers With Your Tax Dollars is a pretty strong statement and obviously there is some truth to this however if you replay the video and listen to what the news report actually says.

It first states that a 1300 year old egyptian mosque was Almost destroyed by contaminated sewer water,It and other churches and mosques were saved from destruction by US taxpayers.

It then states the money was spent on rebuilding the Cairo sewage system which means that indirectly the mosque is benefited by those tax dollars.

But then the report goes on (now they have got your attention) to say other countries are also getting "mosque upgrades" and internet etc.

But thats about the end of the facts, as they show a few websites with Arabic writing implying  that Look Look they have internet and we are paying for it!!!

"To the average person this could very well be an insult to them" and "we are really giving them access to get together against America"

But you be safe in the knowlage as the news guy said "We will stay on top of it though and "we will let you know"

This appears to be scaremongering, however it's not really that well done.

Foreign aid is always an easy target as it taps into peoples fears of the unknown, especially in this modern era where terror is the new red under the bed.

Thats not to say that there is no validity to the report,However many countries, including the United States spend "tax Dollars"  to help developing countries and 9 times out of 10 the money is spent on boring stuff like schools,medical facilities,vaccine funding and infrastructure a as in the case of Egypt, an upgrade to the sewage system.

I am happy to see my tax dollar go to support the things we take for granted, After all in Australia only 0.29% of GDP (gross domestic product) is spent in foreign aid which is not a lot.

In the US however a generous 0.19% of GDP is spent on foreign aid less than one quarter of one percent.

The American people on the other hand save the day by giving on average 2.3% of GDP  in foreign charitable donations every year.(the UN reccomend 0.07% of GDP)

Oh, by the way church and state separation is a necessary thing, In basic terms one is run on emotion and the other on fact.(that is Dependant on your own personal point of view as the same could be said for both sides of the argument)

The state has no business running the church as the church has no business running the state.

Well most people don't know where their tax payers dollars are going...so in that sense, this video was an eye-opener.

Having said that, generally speaking, no one will dispute that spending US foreign aid tax monies on fixing contaminated water systems and rebuilding infrastructure, etc. is a good thing. Most would have no problem with that.

But spending US tax monies on refurbishing Mosques in Egypt and Cyprus and giving computers and Internet service to Imams is going too far. Why? For what you said above, we live in an age of terror and for reasons claimed by the woman in the video. 

I agree with the commentator......it is time to review all taxpayer funded federal programs and refurbishing mosques is a place to cut.

"The state has no business running the church as the church has no business running the state."

Piers:

I actually agree with you but who said anything about running the church or running the state?  All I'm saying is the whole "separation of church and state" today is not how it started out in the beginning in our country.  Let's just say it evolved over time shall we?  

I am one of those you speak of who give to foreign charitable donations when I support children in poor third world countries thru Compassion and World Vision.   I don't have a problem with helping others when it comes to basic necessities of life like water, food and medicine but when it comes to building mosques and internet capabilities then I do have a problem with that. 

I see what the state is doing here in this country to religious Christian organizations as year by year they are making it very difficult for churches when it comes to their contributions never mind trying to outright help them by supporting them in any way, shape or form.  My husband is a CPA and a Pastor and has been watching what the government has been doing to the churches via their rulings from an economic standpoint and it's not good.  It's been subtle and slow but like the separation of church and state it's been evolving and just like separation of church and state it's not a good thing in my opinion. 

The state has been ever so slightly pushing down the doors of the churches.  It's only a matter of time....

I agree with Lula on the fact that most, me included, have really no idea where most of our tax dollars are going and this was an eye opener for me as well. 

Yes, exactly.

It used to be that the task of caring for the needy and the poor was left exclusively to the community and religious organizations, but in modern times the government (State) using taxpayer monies, through entitlement, welfare and USAID programs,  has taken over that job. 

Now, this is where I separate the Church from the State.

As a Catholic, I gladly and freely give my pew money to the Church  knowing it will best use ito serve the needy and poor people locally as well as all over the world. 

As far as the State is concerned, we are talking about US taxpayer monies..and so you can bet your bottom dollar it's conditional. I pay my taxes expecting the State to use that tax money abiding by the Constitution. As I said before, using taxpayer monies to help the needy and the poor in other countries is one thing, but renovating mosques and supplying Imam's with computers and Internet service is quite another.

I didn't see associating terror with foreign aid as the main point of the news report at all. Rather, thepoint was that my tax dollars are being used overseas to renovate mosques in Egypt and Cyprus and to pay for Imam's internet and computers. This happens at a time when the US government has spent/is spending way too much. We need to cut our budget bigtime. What should we cut......maybe USAID going to refurbishing mosques overseas? 

Lula posts:

I've already said in #3 that sending USA foreign aid for drinking water, infrastructure, etc. is a good thing. There is a difference between cutting USAID completely and cutting only those monies going toward refurbishing overseas mosques.

The bottom line for me as a US taxpayer is that we must do better with oversight as to where the taxpayer USAID monies are going overseas.

I think it can be better used than on refurbishing mosques and paying for Imam's computers and internet service.

yes.  I called World Vision today and they said they are asking everyone they speak to if they would like to make a one-time donation for the Japan Earthqake aftermath.  If people wish to give like that (and they will) that's fine.  But to take my money via the government, and put it towards building religious institutions that I vehemently think is working against my own, is so not right.