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JaneyVee

(19,877 posts)
Fri Sep 14, 2012, 11:26 AM Sep 2012

'Innocence Of Muslims' Shot On Hollywood Set, Film Permit Connected To Christian Charity

Details are being sought regarding the anti-Muslim film "The Innocence of Muslims," which has enraged radical Islamists and provoked protests across the Middle East. Four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, were killed in movie-related attacks in Libya on Tuesday and protests continued through the week.

The movie was filmed on a Hollywood set, and its permit has been linked to a Christian charity.

"The Innocence of Muslims" was partially filmed on a set built for the CBS TV show "JAG" by Paramount's TV unit, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Portions of the low-budget film were shot in Santa Clarita, Calif., on an area of the Blue Cloud Film Ranch called “Baghdad Square." This set has been used by TV and movie productions -- including "Iron Man," "Arrested Development" and "CSI" -- to recreate Middle Eastern war zones.

-SNIP-

Media for Christ, a Duarte, Calif.-based Christian nonprofit group, applied for the film permit, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported. The charity's misson statement is to "glow Jesus' light" to the world.

The rest: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/14/innocence-of-muslims-film-filmmaker-sam-bacile-permit-christian-charity_n_1883792.html?utm_hp_ref=entertainment

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'Innocence Of Muslims' Shot On Hollywood Set, Film Permit Connected To Christian Charity (Original Post) JaneyVee Sep 2012 OP
Can't wait to see who is associated with "Media for Christ" justiceischeap Sep 2012 #1
"Media for Christ" BuddhaGirl Sep 2012 #2
Not real transparent in their tax filings chill_wind Sep 2012 #3
All their websites with the exclusion of the NZ one seem to be defunct too rbixby Sep 2012 #4
Try Google caches--I'd imagine their servers are crashing ProgressiveEconomist Sep 2012 #6
Address, telephone numbers, EIN, and IRS Form 990 links ProgressiveEconomist Sep 2012 #5
Kamal Rizk, CPA, IS Audit Supervisor at NC State Auditor's Office WorseBeforeBetter Sep 2012 #8
Great find! That's a headline for NC newspapers right there. ProgressiveEconomist Sep 2012 #10
Newsobserver.com is all over state government salaries... WorseBeforeBetter Sep 2012 #13
Bet they'd be quite interested Rizk's M4C salary and hours ProgressiveEconomist Sep 2012 #15
His now-deceased brother had ties to John Hagee. WorseBeforeBetter Sep 2012 #16
They seem stuck on wrong: "killed in movie-related attacks in Libya" cthulu2016 Sep 2012 #7
More from AP/Stars & Stripes WorseBeforeBetter Sep 2012 #9
sick fuckers trying to inflame evil fascisthunter Sep 2012 #11
from the Google cached page: ohheckyeah Sep 2012 #12
Follow the money - republicans have blood on their hands... Blue Idaho Sep 2012 #14

chill_wind

(13,514 posts)
3. Not real transparent in their tax filings
Fri Sep 14, 2012, 12:46 PM
Sep 2012

according to LATimes

Neither the charity nor the men have been a focus of anti-hate groups or law enforcement officials who monitor extremists. Their status as relative unknowns contrasts with that of Steve Klein, an anti-Islamic activist who had publicly acknowledged serving as a script consultant on the movie. Klein's views have been tracked by Muslim groups and others for years. One of his platforms was a weekly show on Media for Christ's satellite network, The Way TV.

That network, which broadcasts mainly prayers, sermons and hymns to Arabic Christian viewers in the U.S., Canada and the Middle East, was the chief project of Media for Christ prior to the movie.

Nassralla founded the charity in 2005 with $30,000 of his own money. In its 2011 tax filing, which covers the period of the filming, the charity reported having eight employees and contributions of $1 million.

"Due to the large number of donors, it [is] virtually impossible to provide names of donors," that filing states.


(italics mine)

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-filmmaker-20120914,0,6397127.story

With a history of identity theft like Nakoula's, it's hard not to wonder how many of the "donors" might not even know they were donors.

ProgressiveEconomist

(5,818 posts)
6. Try Google caches--I'd imagine their servers are crashing
Fri Sep 14, 2012, 08:29 PM
Sep 2012

periodically from thousands of requests.

For example, the homepage has a google cache dated today, at http://www.google.com/search?q=cache%3Amediaforchrist.org%2F&hl=en&ct=clnk .

ProgressiveEconomist

(5,818 posts)
5. Address, telephone numbers, EIN, and IRS Form 990 links
Fri Sep 14, 2012, 08:19 PM
Sep 2012

The 2011 Form 990 (PDF URL below) reveals the following information:

Media for Christ
1040 Hamilton Rd
Duarte CA 91010
(661)233-8787
EIN 20-3012642

President/Board Chair: Joseph N Abdelmasih
Board Member: Rania W Mossad
Vice President: Kamal Rizk, CPA. 1649 Stannard Trail, Raleigh, NC 27612. (919)787-9947

The 501(c)(3)'s Gross receipts for 2011 were $1,016,785.

"Gifts, grants, contributions, and memebership fees" soared from under $200,000 a year for 2009 and prior years to $633,516 in 2010 and $1,016,366 in 2011.

"Forms 1023 (or 1024 if applicable), 990, and 990-T ... available for public inspection" "by request" and on Media for Christ's wn website".

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

From a search at http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/990finder/ :

"ORGANIZATION_NAME Media for Christ,
STATE CA
EIN 20-3012642

YEAR TOTAL_ASSETS FORM PAGES URL
2011 $67,166 990 30
http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990s/990search/990.php?ein=203012642&yr=201112&rt=990&t9=A

2010 $88,362 990 30
http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990s/990search/990.php?ein=203012642&yr=201012&rt=990&t9=A

2009 $102,209 990EZ 6
http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990s/990search/990.php?ein=203012642&yr=200912&rt=990EZ&t9=A

2009 $102,209 990ER 4
http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990s/990search/990.php?ein=203012642&yr=200912&rt=990ER&t9=A

2008 $36,563 990R 3

2008 $36,563 990 25

2007 $0 990R 3

2007 $57,427 990 21

2006 $53,529 990 21

2005 $53,176 990 18

2006 Foundation Center

Notice: The IRS has announced processing errors on electronically filed Forms 990 for filing years 2007-2009. Learn more¯
Your query: ( Organization Name: media for christ , State: "CA" , Zip: 91010 , EIN: None Chosen , Fiscal Year: None Chosen )
10 documents matched. 10 documents displayed."

WorseBeforeBetter

(11,441 posts)
8. Kamal Rizk, CPA, IS Audit Supervisor at NC State Auditor's Office
Fri Sep 14, 2012, 09:15 PM
Sep 2012
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kamal-rizk/15/a51/2b7

Awesome, a state employee. (If this is all true, I can't keep up...)

Wake County property tax records match the name and address above. Fascinating.

WorseBeforeBetter

(11,441 posts)
13. Newsobserver.com is all over state government salaries...
Fri Sep 14, 2012, 10:51 PM
Sep 2012

and Mr. Rizk, Auditor, appears to be pulling in $71,856 annually. Wonder if they'll mention that he dabbles in film-making...

http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/02/14/989482/state-government-salaries.html?appSession=038320603721854

ProgressiveEconomist

(5,818 posts)
15. Bet they'd be quite interested Rizk's M4C salary and hours
Fri Sep 14, 2012, 11:52 PM
Sep 2012

according to the 2011 Form 990, at http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990s/990search/990.php?ein=203012642&yr=201112&rt=990&t9=A .

Is it legal for such a state official to moonlight at Media For Christ and perhaps at other organizations? And for how many total hours a week is he being paid? More than 168?

WorseBeforeBetter

(11,441 posts)
16. His now-deceased brother had ties to John Hagee.
Sat Sep 15, 2012, 04:59 PM
Sep 2012

I'm debating whether to e-mail the N&O. I'm finding all of this fascinating, perhaps because I live so damn close to Rizk.

Raleigh man dies in Cayman Islands

Samir F. Rizk, 71, was found just before 2 p.m., floating near the Sand Bar, a shallow area popular with tourists who swim with stingrays that gather there. His brother, Kamal Rizk of Raleigh, said his brother's former pastor told him Samir Rizk had been snorkeling that day. "He said, 'Nobody knows what happened, but they found his body floating on the water,' " Kamal Rizk, 60, said Wednesday.

....

Rizk, the son of a furniture shop owner in Cairo, Egypt, was the oldest of five children, according to his brother. He moved to Raleigh in the late 1960s shortly after earning a degree in agricultural sciences from the University of Cairo. Soon, his siblings also moved to Raleigh, followed by their parents in the late 1980s.

....

Kamal Rizk described his brother as a devout Christian who attended a Jews for Jesus worship service on weekdays and a regular church service on Sundays. He was also an active supporter of Israel and traveled to Washington each July to work with a group led by evangelist John Hagee to lobby Congress for support of Israel.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/12/08/1697038/area-man-dies-in-cayman-islands.html#storylink=cpy

Part of me wants to knock on Rizk's door and ask whether it was worth it...

cthulu2016

(10,960 posts)
7. They seem stuck on wrong: "killed in movie-related attacks in Libya"
Fri Sep 14, 2012, 08:33 PM
Sep 2012

I understand it taking a day to switch to the new story, by two days is really pushing it.

I do not know of any current reporting on the Benghazi killings that still thinks it was movie related.

I understand that a lot of DUers are emotionally invested in the erroneous story, but is the Huffington Post?

WorseBeforeBetter

(11,441 posts)
9. More from AP/Stars & Stripes
Fri Sep 14, 2012, 10:01 PM
Sep 2012

Sep 14, 8:38 PM EDT

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD
Associated Press

Anger for Islam ties players behind prophet film

Media for Christ, a nonprofit that raised more than $1 million last year "to glow Jesus' light" to the world, was listed as the production company for the film. Steve Klein, a California insurance salesman and Vietnam War veteran who has spent years protesting at mosques and espousing hatred of radical Muslims, acted as the film's promoter.

And Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, who authorities say has used multiple names and was convicted of bank fraud, says he managed logistics for the film.

Federal authorities have identified Nakoula as the key figure behind the film. A federal law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Thursday that authorities had connected Nakoula to a man using the pseudonym of Sam Bacile who claimed earlier to be writer and director of the film.

....

Klein has a long history of anti-Muslim activities. He founded Courageous Christians United, which conducts protests outside abortion clinics, Mormon temples and mosques. He also started Concerned Citizens for the First Amendment, which preaches against Muslims and publishes volumes of anti-Muslim propaganda that Klein distributes. The Southern Poverty Law Center says they have been tracking Klein for several years and have labeled two of the organizations he is affiliated with as hate groups.

http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stories/U/US_EGYPT_FILMMAKER_CHRISTIAN_CHARITY?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-09-14-20-38-07


 

fascisthunter

(29,381 posts)
11. sick fuckers trying to inflame evil
Fri Sep 14, 2012, 10:26 PM
Sep 2012

in the name of god because they are cowards who need to use something sacred to hide behind, just like pedophiles who become priests.

ohheckyeah

(9,314 posts)
12. from the Google cached page:
Fri Sep 14, 2012, 10:32 PM
Sep 2012

Ministries

SermonIndex.net
Harvest TV - Greg Laurie
Grace To You
Desiring God - John Piper
HeartCry Missionary
Illbehonest.com
Times Square Church
Godweb.info
Revive Our Hearts
The way of the Master
Joni and Friends

Blue Idaho

(5,049 posts)
14. Follow the money - republicans have blood on their hands...
Fri Sep 14, 2012, 10:58 PM
Sep 2012

Koch Bros, Sheldon Adelson, Karl Rove and ultimately Romney are bankrolling murderers.

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