We tend to focus on the role in the West of Islamist groups from the Middle East such as the Muslim Brotherhood. But South Asian groups also play an important and growing role in Europe and North America. This discussion focuses on the influence of South Asia’s most prominent Islamist movement in the United States.
Wednesday, April 15, 2020 1:00-1:15p.m. EDT Online
Clifford V. Smith is MEF's liaison to decision makers and opinion leaders in Washington, D.C. He holds a B.A. from Washington State University, an M.P.P. with a focus on international relations from Pepperdine University, and a law degree from the Catholic University of America. He is a member of the Maryland Bar. An experienced political operative, he is the veteran of numerous campaigns and has held several positions in Congress, most recently communications director for U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer. His writings have been published in the Daily Caller, the American Spectator, PJ Media, and other outlets.
Sam Westrop has headed Islamist Watch since March 2017, when MEF absorbed the counter-extremism unit of Americans for Peace and Tolerance (APT). Prior to this he was research director at APT, and ran Stand for Peace, a London-based counter-extremism organization monitoring Islamists throughout the UK. Mr. Westrop is a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute. His writings have appeared at such publications as National Review, National Post, and The Hill, and he has appeared on dozens of television and radio stations, including BBC, Al Jazeera, and Newsmax.
The Middle East Forum, an activist think tank, deals with the Middle East, Islamism, U.S. foreign policy, and related topics, urging bold measures to protect Americans and their allies. Pursuing its goals via intellectual, operational, and philanthropic means, the Forum recurrently has policy ideas adopted by the U.S. government.
