ISLAMIST WATCH, a project of the Middle East Forum, combats the ideas and institutions of lawful Islamism in the United States and throughout the West. Arguing that "radical Islam is the problem, moderate Islam is the solution," we seek to expose the Islamist organizations that currently dominate the debate, while identifying and promoting the work of moderate Muslims. Islamist Watch specifically does not deal with counterterrorism but works to establish that lawful Islamism is by and of itself a threat.

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Befogging the Enemy: U.S. Officials as Human Pretzels

By David J. Rusin | Sat, 31 Dec 2011, 3:26 PM | Permalink

The most vexing video of 2011 may be this clip of Congressman Dan Lungren questioning Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul Stockton on December 7. Though Stockton's evasiveness is in line with the government's history of not calling Islamism the enemy — recently exhibited by scrubbing FBI training materials and labeling the Fort Hood attack as "workplace violence" — his ability to twist himself into knots to avoid stating the obvious deserves special recognition:

Lungren: Secretary Stockton, are we at war with violent Islamist extremism?

Stockton: No, sir. We are at war with al-Qaeda, its affiliates —

Lungren: Okay, I understand that. My question is: is violent Islamist extremism at war with us?

Stockton: No, sir. We are being attacked by al-Qaeda and its allies.

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CAIR Targets Muslims Who Oppose Radical Islam

By David J. Rusin | Fri, 23 Dec 2011, 11:52 AM | Permalink

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) reserves some of its harshest words for Muslims who contribute to combating radicalism and terror. This was true a decade ago, when CAIR's rhetoric endangered reform-minded Muslim Khalid Durán, and it is just as true today.

Dawud Walid, executive director of CAIR-Michigan, is the latest to carry on the trend. The Investigative Project (IPT) reports that Walid, while appearing at a November 18 rally in New York to protest the NYPD's counterterrorism tactics inside the city's Islamic community, offered this unflattering portrayal of imams and other Muslims who assist law enforcement:

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Male Nurse Claims He Was Fired for Treating Muslim Women

By David J. Rusin | Wed, 30 Nov 2011, 3:43 PM | Permalink

In one of the more intriguing cases to emerge recently, male nurse John Benitez Jr. filed suit against the city of Dearborn, Michigan, for sex discrimination last week, charging that he had been terminated for tending to Muslim women at a government-run medical facility after receiving contradictory instructions about the need to adhere to gender separation:

Benitez, 63, of Madison Heights, worked at the city's taxpayer-funded health clinic. He alleges he was ordered by a female supervisor not to treat conservative Muslim women, specifically those wearing head scarves, according to the lawsuit. He was told the clinic's male Muslim clientele did not want a male treating female patients.

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Hate Crimes: Muslims No Worse Off Than Jews, Gays, or Blacks

By David J. Rusin | Fri, 25 Nov 2011, 1:02 PM | Permalink

According to newly released FBI statistics for 2010, anti-Islamic hate crimes in the U.S. rose by almost 50% last year (160 incidents, 186 offenses, and 197 victims in 2010, compared to 107 incidents, 128 offenses, and 132 victims in 2009). Those who push the "Islamophobia" narrative to muzzle critics of Islamism are touting the report as proof that Muslims face unique perils at the hands of American bigots. Yet proper context, found primarily in this table, reveals that criminal acts of hate against Muslims fall far short of an epidemic:

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