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The Middle East Forum at 30:

Shaping the Next Three Decades

Policy Conference in Washington, D.C.

May 13-15, 2024

Islamism - Not Gone but Forgotten

In contrast to 9/11, which spurred a huge American debate over Islam, jihad, and related concepts, arguments over the Hamas massacre on Oct. 7, as well as recent Hezbollah, Houthi, and Iranian aggressions, are nearly void of Islam.

What caused this change in the discourse surrounding Islamism? How is the Islamist threat evolving? What is MEF doing, given the general lack of interest and the enormity of the threat?

In the years since 9/11, public discourse around Islamism has significantly diminished, even as Islamist groups continue to pose a serious threat. This panel will explore the reasons behind this shift in attention and discuss the evolving nature of the Islamist threat. Panelists will share insights from their research and experiences countering Islamist extremism in politics, media, academia, and religious communities.

The discussion will be led by Ben Baird, Director of MEF Action; Ryan Mauro, an investigative researcher at the Capital Research Center; Sam Westrop, Director of the Middle East Forum's Islamist Watch; and Dexter Van Zile, managing editor of Focus on Western Islamism. Together, they will examine the current state of Islamism and the work being done by the Middle East Forum to address this critical issue in the face of public apathy and the scale of the threat.

Ben Baird, Direct of MEF Action, researches Islamist activity in Washington DC and state capitals across the country, organizes to counter these efforts, and educates the public, the media, and politicians on the threat posed by Islamist involvement in politics. He is a decorated U.S. Army infantry veteran and frequent contributor to the Investigative Project on Terrorism, The Daily Caller, and other prominent media outlets.

Ryan Mauro is an investigative researcher at the Capital Research Center with a focus on extremist groups and foreign influence operations. He is a counter-extremism and international security analyst with a history of involvement in intelligence, counterterrorism, human rights, academia, activism, law enforcement training and engagement with policymakers. He has made over 2,000 media appearances in outlets from the left, right and center. Mauro is the creator and former Director of the Clarion Intelligence Network, a group that tracks extremist activity throughout the world. His previous work at CIN and ongoing intelligence-gathering focuses on Islamist extremists, Alt-Left extremists like anarchists, and Alt-Right extremists like white supremacists. Mauro is an adjunct professor at Regent University teaching courses on the Middle East and counterterrorism on the graduate and undergraduate levels. He was also an adjunct professor at Liberty University for over a decade. From 2021-2023, he assembled and led the Afghan Liberty Project, a volunteer group that provided hundreds of Afghans who served alongside U.S. forces, human rights activists and persecuted Christians with humanitarian assistance. The group also collaborated with other organizations to help evacuate Afghans who faced a particularly significant threat from the return of the Taliban. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Intelligence Studies, a Master’s degree in Political Science, and a Graduate Certificate in Middle East Studies, all from American Military University.

Sam Westrop, Director of the Forum’s Islamist Watch, has headed IW since March 2017, when MEF absorbed the counter-extremism unit of Americans for Peace and Tolerance (APT), where he was the research director. Before that, he ran Stand for Peace, a London-based counter-extremism organization monitoring Islamists throughout the UK.

Dexter Van Zile is managing editor of the Middle East Forum publication Focus on Western Islamism. Prior to his current position, Van Zile worked at the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis for 16 years, where he played a major role in countering misinformation broadcast into Christian churches by Palestinian Christians and refuting antisemitic propaganda broadcast by white nationalists and their allies in the U.S. His articles have appeared in the Jerusalem Post, the Boston Globe, Jewish Political Studies Review, the Algemeiner and the Jewish News Syndicate. He has authored numerous academic studies and book chapters about Christian anti-Zionism.

More speakers will be announced next week.

Special thanks to our host committee

Pat and Richard Irving, Committee Chairs

Talia and Ron Carner

Mr. Michael P. Levy, Chair of NextGen Outreach

Judith Friedman and Stuart Rosen

Dr. and Mrs. George Violin

For inquiries, please email Events@meforum.org or call 215-546-5406 ext. 113

Please register by May 8, 2024,

hotel rooms are limited

Conference location and hotel information will be provided upon registration