Middle East Forum

Middle East Forum
Abbreviation MEF
Motto Promoting American Interests
Formation 1990
Type Foreign Policy Think Tank
Location
President
 Daniel Pipes
Revenue (2014)
$4,126,021[1]
Expenses (2014) $3,640,349[1]
Website meforum.org

The Middle East Forum (MEF) is an American conservative[2] think tank founded in 1990 by Daniel Pipes, who serves as its president.[3] MEF became an independent non-profit organization in 1994. It publishes a journal, the Middle East Quarterly.

Based on a belief that the United States has vital interests in the region of the Middle East, according to the organization, they advocate strong ties with Israel and other democracies as they emerge; work for human rights throughout the region; seek a stable supply and a low price of oil; and promote the peaceful settlement of regional and international disputes.[4]

The Middle East Forum, a 501(c)3, has established the Legal Project to protect researchers and analysts who work on the topics of Islam and related topics from lawsuits designed to silence their exercise of free speech and to discuss key issues of public concern.[5] The Legal Project aided Geert Wilders' legal defense when he faced a criminal indictment for his views in 2009.[6]

Publications and projects

Middle East Quarterly

The Middle East Quarterly (MEQ) is a quarterly journal devoted to Middle Eastern affairs. It was founded in 1994 by Daniel Pipes and the current editor is Efraim Karsh, Research Professor and former Director of Middle East and Mediterranean Studies at King's College London.[7]

According to Middle East Quarterly's website, "policy-makers, opinion-makers, academics, and journalists" consult MEQ "for in-depth analysis of the rapidly-changing landscape of the world's most volatile region." The journal also seeks to publish "groundbreaking studies, exclusive interviews, insightful commentary, and hard-hitting reviews that tackle the entire range of contemporary concerns – from politics to economics to culture, across a region that stretches from Morocco to Afghanistan."[8]

Campus Watch

In 2002, the Middle East Forum initiated the Campus Watch program and identified what it finds to be the five major problems in the teaching of Middle Eastern studies at American universities: "analytical failures, the mixing of politics with scholarship, intolerance of alternative views, apologetics, and the abuse of power over students."[9] Winfield Myers is the current director of Campus Watch (2007).[10]

Initially, Campus Watch published a list of problematic instructors, which led some professors to accuse Campus Watch of "McCarthyesque" intimidation; in protest, more than 100 other academics asked to be listed too.[11] Subsequently, Campus Watch removed the list from its website.[12][13]

Islamist Watch

On April 21, 2006, the Middle East Forum launched Islamist Watch, a project that Islamist Watch states it "combat[s] the ideas and institutions of nonviolent, radical Islam in the United States and other Western countries. It exposes the far-reaching goals of Islamists, works to reduce their power, and seeks to strengthen moderate Muslims." Islamist Watch seeks to educate the government, media, religious institutions, the academy, and the business world about lawful Islamism. It focuses on the political, educational, cultural, and legal activities of Islamists in the United States and, to a lesser degree, in other historically non-Muslim countries, especially Western Europe, Canada, and Australia.[14]

According to the organization's website, Islamist Watch does not focus on counter terrorism and only indirectly concerns Islamism in Muslim-majority countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, and its three main "activities" include "research, advocacy, and activism."[14]

In 2012, Marc Fink became the director of Islamist Watch.

The Middle East Forum established the Legal Project in June, 2007, to protect researchers, analysts, and activists who work on radical Islam and related topics from predatory lawsuits designed to silence their exercise of free speech.[15]

According to the Legal Project's website, it acts in four ways to counteract Islamist threats to free speech, "Fundraising for an Escrow account to supplement the court costs and litigation fees for victims of Islamist lawfare (all funds raised go directly to lawfare victims); Arranging for pro bono and reduced rate counsel for victims of Islamist lawfare; Maintaining an international network of attorneys dedicated to working pro bono in the defense of free speech; and, Raising awareness about the issue. Efforts include briefings by legal experts on how to avoid libelous statements, and consultations with libel lawyers before publishing on certain topics."[15]

Middle East Intelligence Bulletin

The Middle East Intelligence Bulletin was jointly published by the United States Committee for a Free Lebanon and the Middle East Forum. It was, from 1999-2004, a free monthly publication, that provided analysis of political and strategic developments in Lebanon, Syria & the Middle East.[16]

The staff included:[16]

Editor
  • Gary C. Gambill
Publishers
Editorial Board
London Correspondent
  • Mahan Abedin

References

  1. 1 2 "Middle East Forum" (PDF). Foundation Center. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  2. ↑ Scrutiny Increases for a Group Advocating for Muslims in U.S.
  3. ↑ "Middle East Forum" listed in "Search Results" and "Resource Library" on the website of the Foreign Policy Association; cf. organization website for Meforum.org, Middle East Forum, one of DanielPipes.org", "Daniel Pipes's websites" (incl. its "Mission" statement), all accessed February 24, 2007.
  4. ↑ Daniel Pipes, "The MEF Mission", danielpipes.org (personal organization website of Daniel Pipes), n.d., accessed February 17, 2007.
  5. ↑ Meforum.org
  6. ↑ CanadaFreePress.com
  7. ↑ Biography of Efraim Karsh; Middle East Forum
  8. ↑ Middle East Quarterly. Publication website hosted by its sponsoring organization, Middle East Forum, accessed February 19, 2007.
  9. ↑ Qtd. from "Mission Statement," in "About Campus Watch", Campus Watch (campus-watch.org), n.d., accessed February 17, 2007.
  10. ↑ "Who's Who at Campus Watch", Middle East Forum (meforum.org), n.d., accessed February 17, 2007.
  11. ↑ Tanya Schevitz, "Professors Want Own Names Put on Mideast Blacklist", San Francisco Chronicle September 28, 2002, accessed February 17, 2007.
  12. ↑ Tanya Schevitz, "'Dossiers' Dropped from Web Blacklist", San Francisco Chronicle October 3, 2002, accessed February 17, 2007.
  13. ↑ Hussam Ayloush, "Column a Slur on Muslim Community", Orange County Register December 1, 2002, accessed February 17, 2007.
  14. 1 2 "Islamist Watch" (information page), Middle East Forum, n.d., accessed February 17, 2007.
  15. 1 2 Gambill, Gary C. "Middle East Intelligence Bulletin (MEIB)". United States Committee for a Free Lebanon and the Middle East Forum. Retrieved October 19, 2017.

Further reading

  • Rubin, Barry, and Judith Colp. Hating America: A History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-19-516773-2.
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