The Quran Corrects the Bible? Then Explain Joseph’s Dirhams! In Quran 12:20, we read about Joseph being sold: “And they sold him for a reduced price-a few dirhams-and they were, concerning him, of those content with little.” There’s a serious historical problem here. Joseph is traditionally placed around the 18th–17th century BC, roughly 3,700 years ago. But the dirham derives from the Greek drachma, a coinage associated with a much later period. Coinage itself did not emerge until around the 7th century BC, roughly a thousand years after Joseph’s traditional lifetime. The dirham became a familiar currency in the Middle East centuries later, particularly under Persian and later Islamic monetary systems. Different time. Different geography. Wrong currency. Now compare that with the Bible, written long before the Quran. Genesis 37:28 says: “They sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver.” Notice the difference. The Bible describes Joseph being sold for silver measured by weight, consistent with ancient Near Eastern commercial practices before the invention of coins. The Quran, however, introduces dirhams, a monetary term associated with a much later historical period. Muslims claim the Quran came to correct the Bible. Yet here we have a story in which the Bible preserves an ancient form of payment, while the Quran uses the name of a currency from centuries later. How does a supposedly perfect revelation get the currency wrong when the much older biblical account gets the historical setting right?

CONVERTS FROM ISLAM TO CHRISTIANITY: THE TABOO NOBODY WANTS TO TALK ABOUT They exist in virtually every Muslim-majority country. They are former Muslims who became Christians. Some live openly. Many live in secrecy. Some hide their faith from their families. Others fear the government. Some trust only a tiny circle because being discovered could cost them their family, freedom, livelihood, or worse. They exist in Saudi Arabia, even in Mecca. I have personally interviewed Saudi converts and withheld some interviews because, even with their faces blurred, broadcasting them could have endangered their lives. In Algeria, there are thousands, particularly among the Kabyle. In Morocco, they can be found across the major cities, often meeting quietly in house churches. They exist in Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Iran, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Iraqi Kurdistan, Gaza, Bethlehem, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and across the Muslim world. Their circumstances differ, but they share something remarkable: they rejected Islam and chose to follow Christ despite the price. I have seen this firsthand. Over the years, I have baptized hundreds. I have interviewed countless converts and shared their testimonies. I have received thousands of messages from people telling me that my programs helped them question what they had been taught about Islam. Some became Christians. Others became atheists, agnostics, or simply nonreligious. The Internet changed everything. For centuries, Islamic societies could control which questions were asked and which criticisms ordinary Muslims encountered. Social media shattered that monopoly. A young Muslim today can examine Islam, Muhammad, the Quran, Christianity, atheism, and competing historical claims with a phone in his hand. The information barrier is collapsing. The fear barrier is cracking. Muslim organizations and governments spend millions promoting Islam and influencing Western audiences. Meanwhile, inside Muslim-majority societies, people are using the same Internet to question Islam and, in some cases, leave it. What makes this moment significant is not simply apostasy. Apostasy has always existed. What is new is the ability of former Muslims to find one another, speak publicly, broadcast their stories, and reach millions across borders. The Internet may prove to be one of the greatest challenges Islam has ever faced. And we are only at the beginning.

Welcome to the European Welfare ATM A true story: A cousin on my mom’s side made it to Belgium and got his papers through marriage. Once he understood how the system worked, he learned how to exploit it. Later, he arranged papers for his mother, my aunt. She now receives social benefits from Belgium, around €1000 a month from what I was told. It’s called “GRAPA” (now it’s 1600 euros/month). The condition is simple: she has to actually live in Belgium and prove that she lives independently there. Except she doesn’t. My aunt is not poor. She receives her husband’s retirement income, owns real estate, and has other sources of income, of course all in Morocco. She also went Mecca performed hajj (8000 euros trip), Yet she claimed Belgian welfare and allegedly created a fake housing arrangement. Another Moroccan provided a fake lease for an apartment he owns so she could claim it as her Belgian residence. In reality, she spends most of her time in Morocco, living comfortably while collecting roughly €1000 or more a month from Belgium. That alone is comparable to a very high monthly salary in Morocco. And here comes the unbelievable part: usually, before authorities come to verify whether she actually lives at the address, they send her a letter announcing the inspection. Yes, you read that correctly. They warn her before checking whether she is cheating. So her son buys her a cheap ticket to Brussels. She flies in, goes to her supposed apartment, waits for the official, opens the door and plays the role of a Belgian resident. Box checked. Residency “verified.” Then she gets back on a plane and returns to Morocco while the benefits keep coming. Funny, but true. She also gets her medical checkups done while in Belgium at government expense. But “government money” is not some magical pile of cash. It is the money of hardworking Belgian taxpayers. And my aunt is not an isolated case. I have heard many stories of Moroccans collecting European social benefits while owning property, investing in businesses, or spending much of their lives back in Morocco. Some have turned exploiting the welfare system into an art. Immigrants teach other immigrants the tricks. Which benefits can you claim? What do you tell the authorities? How do you arrange an address? What do you hide? Which loopholes work? Knowledge gets passed around. What makes my aunt’s case especially outrageous is that she never contributed a penny to the Belgian welfare system. She never worked there. She never spent decades paying Belgian taxes. Yet she learned how to collect from a system financed by people who did. European welfare systems were built for high-trust societies. They assumed that most people would tell the truth, obey the rules, and feel ashamed of stealing from their neighbors through fraud. Import people from societies where that level of institutional trust does not necessarily exist, combine it with generous benefits and weak enforcement, and then act surprised when some people exploit every loophole they can find. Meanwhile, the Belgian who worked for 30 or 40 years cannot easily hide his house, salary, bank accounts, or daily life. He lives inside the system. The government can see him. My aunt lives thousands of miles away, keeps much of her financial life in Morocco, flies into Belgium when necessary, passes the inspection, collects the benefits, gets medical care, and flies back. Who pays for this circus? The Belgian taxpayer.