I thank those readers who have donated to the Middle East Forum in 2017. I invite those who have not yet done so to send a tax-deductible contribution, most easily done by clicking here.
An update on Forum activities follows, with details on our research, impact on policy, activism, and courtroom initiatives.
The media comes to us for comment on all matters Middle East, with 9 of our experts interviewed 113 times in the first half of 2017 by 72 media outlets; and an additional 536 mentions of our projects and experts by 83 media outlets. We appear everywhere from the AP and The Wall Street Journal, to NBC-10 in Rochester, NY and The Times of London.
Impact on Policy
Top officials seek our counsel. We turned ideas into policy through 217 Washington meetings in the first half of 2017, involving 132 lawmakers and policymakers – senior White House officials, National Security Council members, congressional offices and committee staff, and foreign officials.
Launch of the Congressional Israel Victory Caucus on Capitol Hill - April, 2017.
Re-defining a “Palestinian refugee” – Our educational efforts led to language in the 2017 Omnibus Appropriations Bill that (i) forces the State Department publicly to analyze whether U.S. support for UNRWA is justified in light of the current definition, and whether it furthers peace in the region; and (ii) forces the State Department to declassify a report on how many individuals currently considered Palestinian “refugees” were actually displaced in 1948-49, and how many are currently supported by U.S. aid.
White House Commission on Radical Islam – We crafted a 40-page comprehensive plan (summarized in the Washington Times) for the Trump administration, defining the enemy and describing how that enemy can be defeated, while providing specifics on structure, personnel, mandate and implementation. We are now working with Congress on a bill to enable and fund the Commission.
Extreme vetting of Muslim immigrants – We produced a detailed plan to identify and weed-out Islamists, as opposed to moderate Muslims; and shared it with the White House, the National Security Council, and the House and Senate Homeland Security Committees. Our ideas are already utilized by the administration.
Defunding Islamist groups – We work to end government funding to U.S.-based Islamist groups; DHS discontinued grants to Islamist MPAC after we went public. We also work behind-the-scenes to end private donations, convincing five corporations and foundations to end this practice. Others – notably the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (which gave $331,000 to Islamist groups) – respond to our public campaigns with ad hominemattacks on us, making us the more determined.
Deterring politicians – Our research showing U.S.-based Islamist extremism – particularly, their intolerance and hatred toward women and homosexuals – led to: (i) Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) twice withdrawing from Islamist group conventions after we publicized extremist quotes of scheduled convention speakers; (ii) Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-MA) cancelling his scheduled appearance at the Islamic Center of New England hours after we briefed his staff on the organization's past links to terrorism and extremism; and (iii) the Liberal Democrat party (UK) suspending Ashuk Ahmed, who was running to become a member of the UK Parliament, after we fed the Daily Mail his past anti-Semitic and extremist comments.
Courtroom Initiatives
We’re active in the courtroom. For example:
Author Djemila Benhabib (left) defeated Islamists in court with help from the Legal Project.
Forcing Department of Homeland Security transparency – We sued the Department of Homeland Security in federal court on April 26 after it failed to respond to our Freedom of Information Act request for documents about its decision to give Countering Violent Extremism funds to Islamist groups.
Protecting the public discussion of Islam – We helped defeat the Muslim School of Montreal in Quebec Superior Court. It had brought a defamation suit against author Djemila Benhabib for saying the school gives its students “an indoctrination worthy of military camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan.” Now we’re helping to defend another Canadian author, Tom Quiggin, who was sued for defamation by three individuals he correctly tied to the Muslim Brotherhood.
A Global Organization
We’ve visited, funded staff, fellows, or allies in, published in, or helped with lawsuits in over 50 countries on every continent but Antarctica.
Two of our specialists, Jonathan Spyer and Aymenn Al-Tamimi, regularly venture into the Syrian and Iraqi combat zones to report the latest on ISIS. So far in 2017, MEF staff and fellows have also taken working trips, meeting with officials and giving talks, to Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Japan, Jordan, the Netherlands, Oman, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan.
Our Education Fund sponsors groups and individuals in 31 countries. For example, we hired a researcher in Jakarta to translate what a prominent U.S.-based cleric says in Indonesian, rather than trust what he says in English.
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Once a classic think tank, we have evolved into an action-think tank.
As I like to say, there’s no compliment as true as a back-handed one. Here’s one example of our critics carelessly overly-ascribing influence to MEF:
All of us at the Middle East Forum would be grateful for your supporting this work with a financial donation.
I look forward to keeping you informed as we continue to promote American interests and protect Western values.
Yours sincerely,
Daniel Pipes President
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Providing your support is most easily done at the Forum website by clicking here. Payment options, spelled out in detail below, include credit card, PayPal, personal check, and stock donation. Should you have questions about contributions to the Middle East Forum, please contact Matthew Bennett at [email protected] or 215-546-5406 ext. 114.
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