The Counter-Islamist Grid Seeks Volunteer Researchers, Writers, and Activists

The Counter-Islamist Grid (CIG) works to monitor, expose, and thwart non-violent Islamism at the local level in North American. Arguing that “radical Islam is the problem, reform Islam is the solution,” we work to expose the Islamist organizations that too often dominate Muslim communities.

Our work has three parts. We gather information about Islamist clerics, activists, charities, and community groups. We use this data to write hard-hitting articles. We organize to convince the public and politicians.

We hope that you, our readers and supporters, will join our efforts as volunteer researchers, writers, and activists to defeat radical Islam in America.

  1. Researchers

CIG researchers track Islamist activities through online searches, social media monitoring and attending events in person.

Researchers either pursue local monitoring - becoming experts on the Islamist groups, individuals, and activities in their local area - or they track specific networks of Islamists that operate across the United States (and sometimes internationally as well), such as Jamaat-e-Islami.

We’ll teach you how to research Islamist activity in your area, how to uncover new information using open-source research techniques, and how to record your findings.

  1. Writers

CIG is looking for writers to publish information about local Islamism in newspapers and blogs across the country.

Articles should be original, carefully fact-checked, well-sourced, and be primarily focused on the activities of nonviolent Islamists. You can read some of the many dozens of existing published CIG articles by clicking here.

When we accept an article, we help get it published, then promote it on our own website and via social media.

  1. Activists

All this research and writing would mean little if we did then not act on our findings. CIG informs the public, media, and government about Islamist networks.

For example, CIG activists crashed a lobbying event by American Muslims for Palestine – a radical Islamist group tied to the terrorist organization Hamas. Read about our efforts here.

You can lead your own activist initiative or assist us with an existing effort. Do you want to educate lawmakers, organize a protest outside an Islamist event, or initiate a letter-writing campaign?

We will teach you how to lobby lawmakers, focusing on local and state government, and train you on grassroots organizing strategies.

The amount of time dedicated to these tasks is entirely flexible. We are grateful to any volunteer. A few hours a week can be of immense help to our mission.

If you are interested in getting involved with the CIG network, email CIG Director Benjamin Baird at baird@meforum.org. Send us samples of your work and an explanation of your interests.

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PHILADELPHIA – August 20, 2024 – A member of Maryland’s “Commission on Hate Crimes Response and Prevention” is out of a job. Ayman Nassar, the second Islamist commissioner to get tossed from the hate crimes board within three months, resigned on August 19 amid public outrage over his role in terror-linked organizations and his history of anti-American, antisemitic, and homophobic hate speech.

Nassar has accused Israel of harvesting the organs of living Palestinians and shared posts referring to Gaza as a “Holocaust.” He is chairman of the Aafia Foundation, a “terrorist support group” that seeks to free “Lady Al Qaeda” Aafia Siddiqui and other convicted terrorists from prison.
PHILADELPHIA – July 31, 2024 – Hours after Israel assassinated two leading figures of designated terrorist organizations, Middle East Forum (MEF) experts took to major media outlets to explain what the killings mean for Israel and the region.

Israeli forces killed Hezbollah leader Fouad Shukur in Beirut on Tuesday, while Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh died Wednesday from an Israeli strike in Tehran. Both men caused the deaths of innocent civilians as well as Israeli and American soldiers.

Writing today for the Wall Street Journal, MEF president Daniel Pipes argued that since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks, Israel has unfortunately followed “two opposite policies” simultaneously: “destroy the organization and make a deal with it.”