Clarion Project

Last updated
Clarion Project
Founded2006
Founder Raphael Shore
20-5845679
Location
Website clarionproject.org

The Clarion Project (formerly Clarion Fund Inc.) is an American nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. that was founded in 2006. [1] [2] The organization has been involved in the production and distribution of the films Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West , The Third Jihad: Radical Islam's Vision For America , Iranium , and Honor Diaries . These films have been criticized by some for allegedly falsifying information and described as anti-Muslim propaganda. [3] [4] The organization publishes a weekly "Extremism Roundup" newsletter. [5]

Contents

Mission and leadership

Clarion Project states its mission is to expose and reduce the threats of extremism to create a safer world for all. [6] The CEO as of 2022 is Richard Green. [7] The project's advisory board included Raheel Raza [8] president of Muslims Facing Tomorrow, Zuhdi Jasser president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) [9] and Michelle Baron. The project was founded by Raphael Shore. [10] [11] [12] [13]

Funding

The nonprofit Charity Navigator has rated the Clarion Project 4 out of 4 stars. [14]

Criticism

The Southern Poverty Law Center listed the organization as an "anti-Muslim hate group" in 2016–2019. [15] The U.S.-based Muslim advocacy group, the Council on American–Islamic Relations, stated that the Clarion Project is among 37 American organizations that promote Islamophobia in American society. [16] The organization has been described as part of the counter-jihad movement. [17] [18]

Clarion previously employed security-analyst Ryan Mauro, who according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, has asserted that there were multiple "no-go zones" for non-Muslims across the U.K. and Europe and has spoken about the supposed rising number of Muslim enclaves across the U.S., governed by "gangs of Islamic extremists" enforcing the Shariah law. [19]

In 2022 a speech by a Clarion Project co-founder was cancelled. [20]

Films

Related Research Articles

Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism.

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), officially the Middle East Media and Research Institute, is an American non-profit press monitoring and analysis organization that was co-founded by Israeli ex-intelligence officer Yigal Carmon and Israeli-American political scientist Meyrav Wurmser in 1997. It publishes and distributes free copies of media reports that have been translated into English—primarily from Arabic and Persian, but also from Urdu, Turkish, Pashto, and Russian.

Islamic terrorism refers to terrorist acts with religious motivations carried out by fundamentalist militant Islamists and Islamic extremists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert B. Spencer</span> American anti-Muslim writer and blogger

Robert Bruce Spencer is an American anti-Muslim author and blogger, and one of the key figures of the counter-jihad movement. Spencer founded and has directed the blog Jihad Watch since 2003. In 2010 he co-founded the organization Stop Islamization of America with Pamela Geller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Emerson</span> American film producer (born 1954)

Steven Emerson is an American investigative journalist, author, and pundit on national security, terrorism, and Islamic extremism. He is the founder and director of The Investigative Project on Terrorism, and received a George Polk Award for the 1994 documentary Terrorists Among Us: Jihad in America.

Jihad Watch is an American far-right Islamophobic conspiracy blog operated by Robert Spencer. A project of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, Jihad Watch is the most popular blog within the counter-jihad movement.

<i>Obsession: Radical Islams War Against the West</i> 2005 film by Raphael Shore

Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West is a 2005 documentary film about the purported threat of Islamism to Western civilization. The film shows Islamic radicals preaching hate speech and seeking to incite global jihad. It also draws parallels between World War II's Nazi movement and Islamism and the West's response to those threats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Horowitz Freedom Center</span> Non-profit organisation in the USA

The David Horowitz Freedom Center, formerly the Center for the Study of Popular Culture (CSPC), is a conservative anti-Islam foundation founded in 1988 by political activist David Horowitz and his long-time collaborator Peter Collier. It was established with funding from groups including the John M. Olin Foundation, the Bradley Foundation and the Scaife Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jihadism</span> Islamist movements for jihad

Jihadism is a neologism for militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West. It has been applied to various insurgent Islamic extremist, militant Islamist, and terrorist individuals and organizations whose ideologies are based on the Islamic notion of jihad. It has also been applied to various Islamic empires in history, such as the Umayyad Caliphate and the Ottoman Empire, who extensively campaigned against non-Muslim nations in the name of jihad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic extremism</span> Extreme or radical form of Islam

Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism or radical Islam refers a set of extremist beliefs, behaviors and ideology within Islam. These terms remain contentious, encompassing a spectrum of definitions, ranging from academic interpretations to the notion that all ideologies other than Islam have failed and are inferior. Furthermore, these terms may extend to encompass other sects of Islam that do not share such extremist views.

Raphael Shore is a Canadian-Israeli film writer, producer, and rabbi. He is the founder of OpenDor Media, a Jewish educational organization, and Clarion Project, whose stated mission is "exposing the dangers of Islamist extremism".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stop Islamization of America</span> Political advocacy organization

Stop Islamization of America (SIOA), also known as the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), is an anti-Muslim, pro-Israel American counter-jihad organization known primarily for its controversial, Islamophobic advertising campaigns. The group has been described as extremist and far-right. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) lists SIOA as an anti-Muslim hate group.

<i>The Third Jihad: Radical Islams Vision For America</i> 2008 American film

The Third Jihad: Radical Islam's Vision For America is a 2008 documentary style film directed by Wayne Kopping of South Africa and Erik Werth. It was produced by Werth and Raphael Shore, a Canadian-Israeli, with financing from the Clarion Project, an organization described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-Muslim group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raheel Raza</span> Canadian journalist and activist

Raheel Raza is a Pakistani-Canadian journalist, author, public speaker, media consultant, anti-racism activist, and interfaith discussion leader. She is among the most prominent Muslim supporters of Israel. She lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Investigative Project on Terrorism</span>

The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) is a non-profit research group founded by Steven Emerson in 1995. IPT has been called a prominent part of the "Islamophobia network" within the United States and a "leading source of anti-Muslim racism" and noted for its record of selective reporting and poor scholarship.

Christian Action Network or CAN is a Christian activist organization founded by Martin Mawyer in 1990. The organization states that its "primary goals are to protect America’s religious and moral heritage through educational efforts."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foundation for Defense of Democracies</span> Think tank and policy institute

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit think tank and a registered lobbying organization based in Washington, D.C., United States.

Honor Diaries is a 2013 documentary film produced by the Clarion Project, whose films have been criticized by some for allegedly falsifying information and described as anti-Muslim propaganda. Honor Diaries explores violence against women in honor-based societies, with particular focus on female genital mutilation (FGM), violence against women and honor killings and forced marriage, and lack of access to education.

Bill Warner is the pen name of Bill French, a former physics professor and anti-Islam writer. He founded the Center for the Study of Political Islam International, which is based in the Czech Republic. The Southern Poverty Law Center in 2011 described him as one of a core group of ten anti-Islam hardliners in the United States. He has also been regarded as a part of the counter-jihad movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clare M. Lopez</span> Former CIA officer

Clare M. Lopez is an American former CIA officer and Vice President for Research and Analysis at the Center for Security Policy. She has been described as an anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist.

References

  1. "About Clarion Project". Clarion Project. Archived from the original on 2015-02-22. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  2. Alami, Mona (November 1, 2014). "Jihadist Jane: Islamic State seeking out women". USA Today . Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
  3. "'Iranium' or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the 'Military Option'". PBS . Archived from the original on 2017-05-31. Retrieved 2017-08-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. "NYPD Cops' Training Included an Anti-Muslim Horror Flick". Village Voice. New York. 21 January 2011. p. 1. Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  5. "The Extremism Roundup Archives". The Clarion Project. 2022-12-02. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  6. "Home". Clarion Project. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  7. Development, PodBean. "Combating Extremism with The Clarion Project's Richard Green". thegsherpodcast.podbean.com. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  8. "Muslims Facing Tomorrow". muslimsfacingtomorrow.com. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  9. "American Islamic Forum for Democracy". aifdemocracy.org. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  10. Bryan Saario (2011). Holy Land Conversations: A Journey Through Palestine's Back Door. Wheatmark, Inc. p. 154.
  11. Lawrence Swaim (2012). The Death of Judeo-Christianity: Religious Aggression and Systemic Evil in the Modern World. John Hunt Publishing. p. 144.
  12. Nathan Lean (2012). The Islamophobia Industry: How the Right Manufactures Fear of Muslims. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 127.
  13. Hani A. Faris (2013). The Failure of the Two-State Solution: The Prospects of One State in the Israel-Palestine Conflict. I.B.Tauris. p. 108.
  14. "Charity Navigator - Rating for Clarion Project". Charity Navigator. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  15. "Anti-Muslim". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  16. Katherine Burgess (19 September 2013). "Muslims name 37 groups that fuel Islamophobia". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on 2016-08-20. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  17. Bale, Jeffrey M. (October 2013). "Denying the Link between Islamist Ideology and Jihadist Terrorism "Political Correctness" and the Undermining of Counterterrorism". Perspectives on Terrorism. Terrorism Research Institute. 7 (5): 37. JSTOR   26297006.
  18. Aked, Hilary; Jones, Melissa; Miller, David (2019). "Islamophobia in Europe: How governments are enabling the far-right 'counter-jihad' movement" (PDF). Public Interest Investigations: 49.
  19. "Extremists to Address Anti-Muslim Act! for America Conference Next Week". 3 September 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-05-27. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  20. Shapiro, Dmitriy (2022-03-30). "Canceled speaker at JCC in Omaha, whose topic was radicalization, makes case known". JNS.org. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  21. "Censored Womens Film Festival". World Film Fair. 2018-08-13. Archived from the original on 2022-07-03. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  22. Shaul, Tema. "Faithkeepers: Be Your Brothers' Keeper". Faithkeepers. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  23. "Home". Kids: Chasing Paradise. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  24. "WATCH NOW! LP Executive Director featured in film exposing foreign influence on U.S. education system". The Lawfare Project. 13 September 2020. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  25. "'Covert Cash:' A startling revelation of how foreign funding promotes extremism and radicalism on American campuses". October 31, 2023.