The Middle East Forum has established a Legal Project to protect researchers and analysts who work on the topics of terrorism, terrorist funding, and radical Islam.

The Legal Project is looking for qualified students and adults to work part-time and from home, during a non-paid internship at the Middle East Forum, beginning immediately. For more information and to apply, please contact Brooke Goldstein at goldstein@meforum.org. If applying, kindly include one paragraph about yourself as well as your most recent resume and contact information. School credit is available for students.

Background

Researchers and analysts have been repeatedly targeted in legal actions, including these lawsuits:

Khalid bin Mahfouz vs. Rachel Ehrenfeld: Ehrenfeld wrote that Bin Mahfouz had financial links to Al-Qaeda and Hamas. He sued her in January 2004 in a plaintiff-friendly British court. He won by default, and was awarded £30,000 and an apology.
Iqbal Unus vs. Rita Katz: His house searched in the course of a U.S. government operation, code-named Green Quest, Unus in March 2004 sued Katz, a non-governmental counterterrorist expert, on the grounds that she was responsible for the raid. Unus lost and had to Katz' pay court costs.
Council on American-Islamic Relations vs. Andrew Whitehead of Anti-CAIR. CAIR claimed in March 2004 that Whitehead's statements on his website were false, libelous, and "impute the commission of a criminal offense," all of which caused injury to CAIR's "standing and reputation." Two years later, CAIR withdrew the lawsuit.
Islamic Society of Boston vs. 17 critics, including the David Project and Steven Emerson. ISB initiated the lawsuit in May 2005, accusing them of defamation and of conspiring to violate the ISB's civil rights through "a concerted, well-coordinated effort to deprive the Plaintiffs … of their basic rights of free association and the free exercise of religion." Two years later, it withdrew the lawsuit.

Such lawsuits are often predatory, filed without a serious expectation of winning, but undertaken as a means to bankrupt, distract, intimidate, and demoralize defendants. Plaintiffs seek less to prevail in the courtroom than to wear down researchers and analysts. Even when the latter win cases, they pay heavily in time, money, and spirit. As counterterrorism specialist Steven Emerson comments, "Legal action has become a mainstay of radical Islamist organizations seeking to intimidate and silence their critics." Islamists clearly hope, Douglas Farah notes, that researchers will "get tired of the cost and the hassle [of lawsuits] and simply shut up."

The Threat

We therefore must expect that Islamists will engage in future legal efforts along these lines. Indeed, the Islamic Society of North America and the Muslim Public Affairs Council have publicly stated that they are considering filing defamation lawsuits against critics.

More specifically, the Council on American-Islamic Relations announced in October 2005 the ambitious fundraising goal of raising $1 million in one month, in part to "defend against defamatory attacks on Muslims and Islam." Shortly after, one of its staffers, Rabiah Ahmed, stated that lawsuits are increasingly an "instrument" for it to use. "The Muslim community realizes that it has to respond to these allegations and to these attacks, otherwise, the people who are promoting these defamatory remarks will win in the court of public opinion." CAIR chairman Parvez Ahmed has stated that "People who make statements connecting CAIR to terrorism should understand the legal consequences of their attempted slander and defamation. The First Amendment does not protect defamation." (However, Federal prosecutors have since made this same connection.)

The Larger Picture

The Islamist movement has two wings, one violent and one lawful, which operate apart but often reinforce each other. This was on display in August 2006, when the Heathrow airport plot to blow up airliners over the Atlantic Ocean provided an opening for Britain's Islamist establishment to press for changes in Middle East policy.

A similar one-two punch works to stifle the free discussion of Muhammad, the Koran, Islam, and Muslims. Eruptions against The Satanic Verses, the Danish cartoons, and Pope Benedict, which caused hundreds of deaths, effectively complement lawsuits such as the ISB's. Emerson correctly notes (in reply to the Muslim Public Affairs Council threatening a lawsuit against him for making "false statements") that "Legal action has become a mainstay of radical Islamist organizations seeking to intimidate and silence their critics."

The Legal Project

The Forum will initially establish a network of donors, pro-bono lawyers, researchers, and analysts to participate in this effort.

An Advisory Board will be formed that, among other functions, will review and approve applications for assistance from researchers and analysts. The Legal Project will deploy a variety of tactics, including.

Briefings by legal experts on how to avoid libelous statements.
Consultations with libel lawyers before publishing on certain topics.
Assistance to researchers and analysts who have been unjustly sued.
Assistance to researchers and analysts to defend themselves against defamation.

Contact Us

We invite prospective donors, lawyers, and researchers and analysts to contact Brooke Goldstein at goldstein@meforum.org for further details.

Announcements

Muslim Weekly Apologizes to Daniel Pipes

The UK publication, the Muslim Weekly, has recently published an unprecedented apology to Dr. Pipes. Please see the official press release.

The Legal Project works to protect anti-Islamist writers and activists so that they can continue their work pointing out the dangers of radical Islam. As this recent news implies, the Project's work must at times go on the offensive to be effective.

The Legal Project Announces its support for the "Libel Terrorism Protection Act"

The legislation introduced by Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Queens) and Senate Deputy Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Long Island) proposes a much-needed First Amendment protection for our country's valuable counter-terrorism authors, researchers and publishers.

Libel terrorism is being waged in the form of frivolous and malicious lawsuits designed to intimidate, silence and bankrupt anyone who speaks out against terrorism, Islamism or its sources of financing. Forum shopping and foreign lawsuits are creating a chilling effect within this country on the exercise of free speech about matters of grave public concern. If enacted the Libel Terrorism Protection Act, proposed in the info-media capital of the U.S., has the potential to protect counter-terrorism authors from meritless libel lawsuits filed by libel terrorists who hide in foreign jurisdictions. Thus, it is paramount that the Libel Terrorism Protection Act be signed into law as soon as possible.

Please consider writing both Assemblyman Lancman and Senator Skelos expressing your support of this important and timely legislation which addresses a real and present problem.

Assemblyman Lancman's email address: rlancman@nyad25.org

Senator Skelos's email address: dunham@senate.state.ny.us

Events

Libel Tourism Conference (April 10th 2008)

Publications

Mark Steyn is Not Alone, The American Spectator, Jan. 15, 2008

Relevant News

Muslim Nations: Defame Islam, Get Sued?
by Rukmini Callimach

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The Muslim world has created a battle plan to defend its religion from political cartoonists and bigots. oncerned about what they see as a rise in the defamation of Islam, leaders of the world's Muslim nations are considering taking legal action against those that slight their religion or its sacred symbols. It was a key issue during a two-day summit that ended Friday in this western Africa capital. Read the full text here