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May 16, 2025 

President Donald Trump’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates has been framed by supporters as a major economic win. With reports suggesting these Gulf states plan to invest trillions of dollars into the U.S. economy through real estate, energy, and tech partnerships, the deals are being hailed as a major boost to American financial interests.

But while the business optics may appear favorable, the geopolitical and ideological implications raise serious concerns.

There is already a notable expansion of Islamic infrastructure within the United States. Thousands of mosques and Islamic centers—many funded directly or indirectly by foreign capital from the Middle East—are being built across American cities. These developments coincide with Trump’s deepening ties to the very nations that have historically funded extremist ideologies and political Islam worldwide.

Qatar remains one of the primary financial backers of the Muslim Brotherhood, a global Islamist movement with ties to political radicalism. They own Al Jazeera the largest news network in the Middle East and North Africa. They have been accused of being a mouthpiece for Hamas and Israel shut them down from broadcasting in the country.

Saudi Arabia’s decades-long export of Wahhabi doctrine has helped shape hardline Sunni ideologies across the globe. The United Arab Emirates, while more moderate in tone, maintains an authoritarian stance on religious and political freedoms and has sought to export its model of state-controlled Islam.

At the same time, Trump and his family stand to benefit personally. Ongoing or planned real estate projects in Doha, Dubai, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul, and potentially even Syria suggests significant commercial interest. Additionally, there are reports of cryptocurrency ventures tied to state-backed Gulf funds—adding a financial layer that intertwines U.S. presidential influence with foreign investment from nations with strict Islamic governance.

While these nations continue to enforce rigid religious laws and limit Christian and Jewish expression within their own borders, they are being granted increasing economic and cultural presence within the U.S.

While these Middle Eastern governments tighten their grip on Islamic purity within their own borders—imprisoning Christians, banning Bibles, and persecuting evangelicals—they are now being granted unfiltered access to American soil. Mosques are rising by the thousands. Islamic centers, often backed by foreign capital, are expanding across American cities. And the silence from the church and the government is deafening.

The irony is striking. Israel, America’s most steadfast ally in the region, appears increasingly isolated—threatened daily by Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. And yet, the very nations that fund terror against the Jewish state are now being invited into the economic and cultural heart of America under the banner of deal-making.

Critics argue this alignment risks enabling ideologies that are fundamentally at odds with American democratic and pluralistic values. They point out that these countries not only restrict freedom of worship domestically but also promote a global religious and political agenda. And now, through high-profile deals and expanding U.S.-based assets, they are gaining unprecedented access and influence on American soil.

The prophetic implications are chilling. America is aligning itself politically and financially with nations whose core ideologies are hostile to Christianity and Judeo values. And, as Scripture warns, there are consequences for those who bless or curse Israel:

“I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” — Genesis 12:3

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” — Galatians 6:7

This appears to be more than trade. It increasingly resembles an ideological advance—a soft invasion under the cover of business opportunity. What presents itself as economic progress may, in reality, be the Trojan horse of a much darker agenda: the erosion of biblical foundations and the quiet rise of a foreign ideological presence cloaked in commercial partnerships.

Trump’s legacy may indeed be built on deals. But the cost to the soul of the nation could be far greater than the billions gained—if anything is gained at all.

On May 16, 2025, the White House officially announced the appointment of two controversial figures to President Donald Trump Names Advisory Board Members to the Religious Liberty Commission: Ismail Royer and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, co-founder of Zaytuna College.

Ismail Royer, currently serving as the Director of the Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team at the Religious Freedom Institute, has a complex history. In 2003, he pleaded guilty to weapons charges related to assisting the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba and served over a decade in prison. Since his release, Royer has worked with various nonprofit organizations to promote interfaith dialogue and religious freedom.

Shaykh Hamza Yusuf is a prominent American Islamic scholar and co-founder of Zaytuna College, the first accredited Muslim liberal arts college in the United States. He has been recognized for his efforts in promoting classical Islamic learning and interfaith understanding. Yusuf has also served as an advisor to the Center for Islamic Studies at Berkeley’s Graduate Theological Union and was a member of the State Department’s Commission on Unalienable Rights during the first Trump administration.

These appointments have stirred concern across multiple sectors. According to an official release by the White House on May 16, 2025, Ismail Royer and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf were formally named as members of the new Advisory Board of Lay Leaders (Source: whitehouse.gov). Meanwhile, coverage by the Times of India highlighted Royer’s past involvement with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) training camps in Pakistan, citing his 2003 conviction and later advocacy work as part of the context surrounding his selection (Source: Times of India).

It is important to reflect that what is being called the 'Religious Liberty Commission' could, in practice, become a vehicle for spiritual compromise — a platform that ushers in not liberty, but bondage. If not guarded carefully, it risks enabling the very destruction of the Judeo-Christian values upon which America was founded. In the name of inclusion, we may be witnessing the erosion of truth.

I remember clearly our dark spiritual drought in Europe during the 1990s, especially in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where I lived for 33 years. I was only 30 years old. During that time, ecumenism swept across Europe. The only nourishment we had came from American preachers via TBN. But then came the spread of mosques, the dilution of doctrine, and the persecution of those who dared to preach the gospel to Muslims.

I was among them. As a theology graduate, I taught classes at Albeda College in world religions—until the subject was renamed 'levensbeschouwing' (view on life), and I was forced to teach all religions equally. It was no longer about truth, but about appeasement. The terror of radical Islam began to grow from within, dressed in polished suits, well-funded, and socially accepted. The mayor became a Muslim. Society shifted.

We evangelicals fought for an evangelical school and eventually won — but by then, the church was weakened. We were losing youth to Islam, drawn not by faith but by the money, glamour, and influence of Gulf oil oligarchs and UAE propaganda. We saw Dutch, German, and Scandinavian young men and women — beautiful, bright, and full of promise — converting to Islam, seduced by its structure, discipline, and false promises of belonging and purpose.

We European leaders and the Church fell into the trap — not being watchful, and thinking it was a good and amazing thing to reach the Muslims for Christ. But in our zeal, we compromised, and we failed. We underestimated the spiritual battle and overestimated our influence. May America not fail the same way.

And among the prominent names on this commission is Pastor Jentezen Franklin — a man whose voice once echoed across Europe, bringing hope and clarity through the TBN broadcasts during some of our darkest spiritual years. Many of us were strengthened by his boldness and love for the Word.

We, as European leaders, once believed that we could influence from within — that our presence would bring light. But instead, many were slowly drawn into compromise.

I speak to my fellow pastors in Europe from that generation — they understand. But in America, they are not listening. 

We are witnessing a convergence: a compromised America elevating controversial voices, even as Israel fights for its prophetic survival.

I have seen this unfold in Europe and the UK — the rise of so-called 'ecumenism,' which often dilutes the gospel under the guise of unity. It is now one of the strongest ideological pillars influencing the White House. This is not true spiritual reconciliation; it is a counterfeit unity that weakens the Church’s prophetic voice.

However, we must not forget the values upon which America was founded — values that defend biblical truth and uphold the Judeo-Christian principles that shaped the very fabric of this nation. These are values that honor God, uphold truth, and recognize the covenant God made with Israel. The erosion of these foundations places not just America, but the world, at spiritual risk.

“Gideon’s Chariots” Has Begun

Simultaneously, Israeli forces have launched a major offensive operation in Gaza and northern sectors—known as Operation Gideon’s Chariots. This operation has mobilized tens of thousands of reservists across the nation. These are not just soldiers—they are sons, fathers, and daughters being summoned for a time such as this.

The name is no accident. Gideon, in Scripture, led a small remnant against overwhelming odds—not with human strength, but by the command of the Lord. These modern chariots are not merely tanks and aircraft—they are prophetic instruments of divine purpose.

The war on the ground is intensifying. The war in the spirit is far deeper.

Written by
Tania Curado - Koenig