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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]], [[Turkey]], 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.<ref name=Pipes>[[Daniel Pipes]], [http://www.danielpipes.org/mef.php "The MEF Mission"], ''danielpipes.org'' (personal organization website of Daniel Pipes, n.d., accessed [[February 17]], [[2007]].</ref>
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]], [[Turkey]], 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.<ref name=Pipes>[[Daniel Pipes]], [http://www.danielpipes.org/mef.php "The MEF Mission"], ''danielpipes.org'' (personal organization website of Daniel Pipes, n.d., accessed [[February 17]], [[2007]].</ref>


⚫
==Mission statement==

⚫
== Mission statement ==
The mission of the Middle East Forum is defined in "About the Middle East Forum" on the organization's website as follows:<ref name=About>[http://www.meforum.org/about.php "About the Middle East Forum"], n.d., accessed [[February 17]], [[2007]].</ref><ref name=Pipes/>
The mission of the Middle East Forum is defined in "About the Middle East Forum" on the organization's website as follows:<ref name=About>[http://www.meforum.org/about.php "About the Middle East Forum"], n.d., accessed [[February 17]], [[2007]].</ref><ref name=Pipes/>
<blockquote>The Middle East Forum, a think tank, seeks to define and promote American interests in the Middle East. It defines U.S. interests to include fighting radical Islam, whether terroristic or lawful; working for Palestinian acceptance of Israel; improving the management of U.S. democracy efforts; reducing energy dependence on the Middle East; more robustly asserting U.S. interests vis-à-vis Saudi Arabia; and countering the Iranian threat. The Forum also works to improve Middle East studies in North America.<br>
<blockquote>The Middle East Forum, a think tank, seeks to define and promote American interests in the Middle East. It defines U.S. interests to include fighting radical Islam, whether terroristic or lawful; working for Palestinian acceptance of Israel; improving the management of U.S. democracy efforts; reducing energy dependence on the Middle East; more robustly asserting U.S. interests vis-à-vis Saudi Arabia; and countering the Iranian threat. The Forum also works to improve Middle East studies in North America.<br>
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===Campus Watch===
===Campus Watch===
In 2002, the Middle East Forum initiated the [[Campus Watch]] program and identified what they believe to be five 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."<ref>Qtd. from "Mission Statement," in [http://www.campus-watch.org/about.php "About Campus Watch"], ''Campus Watch'' (''campus-watch.org''), n.d., accessed [[February 17]], [[2007]].</ref> [[Winfield Myers]] is the current director of Campus Watch (2007).<ref>[http://www.meforum.org/staff.php "Who's Who at Campus Watch"], ''Middle East Forum'' (''meforum.org''), n.d., accessed [[February 17]], [[2007]].</ref>
In 2002, the Middle East Forum initiated the [[Campus Watch]] program and identified what they believe to be five 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."<ref>Qtd. from "Mission Statement," in [http://www.campus-watch.org/about.php "About Campus Watch"], ''Campus Watch'' (''campus-watch.org''), n.d., accessed [[February 17]], [[2007]].</ref> [[Winfield Myers]] is the current director of Campus Watch (2007).<ref>[http://www.meforum.org/staff.php "Who's Who at Campus Watch"], ''Middle East Forum'' (''meforum.org''), n.d., accessed [[February 17]], [[2007]].</ref>

Initially, Campus Watch encouraged students to submit reports regarding teachers, books, and curricula, which led some professors to accuse Campus Watch of "McCarthyesque" intimidation; in protest, more than 100 other academics asked to be listed too.<ref name=Schevitz>Tanya Schevitz, [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/09/28/MN227890.DTL "Professors Want Own Names Put on Mideast Blacklist"], ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' [[September 28]], [[2002]], accessed [[February 17]],[[2007]].</ref> Subsequently, Campus Watch removed the list from its website.<ref name=Schevitz2> Tanya Schevitz, [http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/209 "'Dossiers' Dropped from Web Blacklist"], ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' [[October 3]], [[2002]], accessed [[February 17]], [[2007]].</ref><ref name=Ayloush>Hussam Ayloush, [http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/416 "Column a Slur on Muslim Community"], ''[[Orange County Register]]'' [[December 1]], [[2002]], accessed [[February 17]], [[2007]].</ref>


===Islamist Watch===
===Islamist Watch===
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According to the organization's website, Islamist Watch does not focus on [[counter terrorism]] and only indirectly concerns Islamism in traditional [[Muslim]] countries such as [[Egypt]], [[Saudi Arabia]], and [[Pakistan]], and its three main "activities" include "research, advocacy, and activism."<ref name=mefIW/>
According to the organization's website, Islamist Watch does not focus on [[counter terrorism]] and only indirectly concerns Islamism in traditional [[Muslim]] countries such as [[Egypt]], [[Saudi Arabia]], and [[Pakistan]], and its three main "activities" include "research, advocacy, and activism."<ref name=mefIW/>


In December 2006, [[Paul Belien]] became director of Islamist Watch.<ref>[http://www.meforum.org/press/1070 "Paul Belien Appointed Director of Islamist Watch"], press release, ''Middle East Forum'' [[December 11]], [[2006]], accessed [[February 17]], [[2007]].</ref>
== The Legal Project ==
The Middle East Forum established the Legal Project in June, 2007, in order to protect researchers and analysts who work on the topics of terrorism, terrorist funding, and radical Islam from predatory lawsuits designed to silence their exercise of free speech.<ref>"About the Legal Project," accessed February 17, 2009</ref>

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."<ref>"About the Legal Project," accessed February 17, 2009</ref>

On October 1, 2007, Brooke Goldstein was named Legal Project director.<ref>"Brooke Goldstein appointed Legal Project director," Middle East Forum Press Release, October 1, 2007, accessed February 17, 2009 </ref>


== References ==
== References ==


{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}



==Further reading==
==Further reading==

Revision as of 03:25, 13 April 2009

The Middle East Forum (MEF) is an American conservative[1] think tank founded in 1990 by historian and columnist Daniel Pipes, who also serves as its director.[2] MEF became a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in 1994. It publishes a journal entitled Middle East Quarterly.

The MEF describes its aims as "[to] define and promote American interests in the Middle East" through research, publications, and educational outreach. The MEF defines "U.S. interests" as "fighting radical Islam, whether terroristic or lawful; working for Palestinian acceptance of Israel; improving the management of U.S. democracy efforts; reducing energy dependence on the Middle East; more robustly asserting U.S. interests vis-à-vis Saudi Arabia; and countering the Iranian threat."[3]

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, Turkey, 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]

Mission statement

The mission of the Middle East Forum is defined in "About the Middle East Forum" on the organization's website as follows:[3][4]

The Middle East Forum, a think tank, seeks to define and promote American interests in the Middle East. It defines U.S. interests to include fighting radical Islam, whether terroristic or lawful; working for Palestinian acceptance of Israel; improving the management of U.S. democracy efforts; reducing energy dependence on the Middle East; more robustly asserting U.S. interests vis-à-vis Saudi Arabia; and countering the Iranian threat. The Forum also works to improve Middle East studies in North America.

MEF sees the region, with its profusion of dictatorships, radical ideologies, existential conflicts, border disagreements, political violence, and weapons of mass destruction as a major source of problems for the United States. Accordingly, it urges active measures to protect Americans and their allies.

Toward this end, the Forum seeks to help shape the intellectual climate in which U.S. foreign policy is made by addressing key issues in a timely and accessible way for a sophisticated public.

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 Michael Rubin, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a former political advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, and a former staff advisor on Iran and Iraq in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.[5]

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 claims 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."[6]

Campus Watch

In 2002, the Middle East Forum initiated the Campus Watch program and identified what they believe to be five 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."[7] Winfield Myers is the current director of Campus Watch (2007).[8]

Initially, Campus Watch encouraged students to submit reports regarding teachers, books, and curricula, which led some professors to accuse Campus Watch of "McCarthyesque" intimidation; in protest, more than 100 other academics asked to be listed too.[9] Subsequently, Campus Watch removed the list from its website.[10][11]

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 claims 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.[12]

According to the organization's website, Islamist Watch does not focus on counter terrorism and only indirectly concerns Islamism in traditional Muslim countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, and its three main "activities" include "research, advocacy, and activism."[12]

In December 2006, Paul Belien became director of Islamist Watch.[13]

References

  1. ^ Scrutiny Increases for a Group Advocating for Muslims in U.S.
  2. ^ "Middle East Forum" listed in "Search Results" and "Resource Library" on the website of the Foreign Policy Association; cf. organization website for Middle East Forum, one of "Daniel Pipes's websites" (incl. its "Mission" statement), all accessed February 24, 2007.
  3. ^ a b "About the Middle East Forum", accessed February 17, 2007. Cite error: The named reference "About" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Daniel Pipes, "The MEF Mission", danielpipes.org (personal organization website of Daniel Pipes, n.d., accessed February 17, 2007.
  5. ^ Current issue of Middle East Quarterly 14.2 (Spring 2007), accessed February 17, 2007.
  6. ^ Middle East Quarterly. Publication website hosted by its sponsoring organization, Middle East Forum, accessed February 19, 2007.
  7. ^ Qtd. from "Mission Statement," in "About Campus Watch", Campus Watch (campus-watch.org), n.d., accessed February 17, 2007.
  8. ^ "Who's Who at Campus Watch", Middle East Forum (meforum.org), n.d., accessed February 17, 2007.
  9. ^ Tanya Schevitz, "Professors Want Own Names Put on Mideast Blacklist", San Francisco Chronicle September 28, 2002, accessed February 17,2007.
  10. ^ Tanya Schevitz, "'Dossiers' Dropped from Web Blacklist", San Francisco Chronicle October 3, 2002, accessed February 17, 2007.
  11. ^ Hussam Ayloush, "Column a Slur on Muslim Community", Orange County Register December 1, 2002, accessed February 17, 2007.
  12. ^ a b "Islamist Watch" (information page), Middle East Forum, n.d., accessed February 17, 2007.
  13. ^ "Paul Belien Appointed Director of Islamist Watch", press release, Middle East Forum December 11, 2006, accessed February 17, 2007.

Further reading

See also

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