Clarion Project

{{Short description|American non-profit organization}} {{about | the Clarion Project| the Clarion Foundation writing workshops| Clarion Workshop}} {{Infobox organization | name = Clarion Project | image = Clarion Project Logo.png | type = | founded = 2006 | tax_id = 20-5845679 | registration_id = | founder = Raphael Shore | location = Washington, D.C., US | coordinates = | origins = | key_people = | region_served = | product =  | focus = | method = | revenue = | endowment = | num_volunteers = | num_employees = | num_members = | subsid = | owner = | former_name = | website = [https://www.clarionproject.org/ clarionproject.org] | dissolved = | footnotes = }}

The '''Clarion Project''' (formerly '''Clarion Fund Inc.''') is an American nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. that was founded in 2006.<ref name=about>{{cite web|url=http://www.clarionproject.org/about|title=About Clarion Project|publisher=Clarion Project|access-date=2015-02-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222033350/http://www.clarionproject.org/about|archive-date=2015-02-22|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/11/01/islamic-state-women/17823977/|title=Jihadist Jane: Islamic State seeking out women|newspaper=USA Today|date=November 1, 2014|first=Mona|last=Alami|access-date=2017-08-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107145032/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/11/01/islamic-state-women/17823977/|archive-date=2017-11-07|url-status=live}}</ref> 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'' and ''Iranium''. These films have been criticized by some for allegedly falsifying information and described as anti-Muslim propaganda.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2011/01/iranium.html |title='Iranium' or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the 'Military Option' |website=PBS |access-date=2017-08-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170531123019/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2011/01/iranium.html |archive-date=2017-05-31 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2011-01-19/columns/nypd-cops-training-included-an-anti-muslim-horror-flick/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110121234302/https://www.villagevoice.com/2011-01-19/columns/nypd-cops-training-included-an-anti-muslim-horror-flick/|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 January 2011|title=NYPD Cops' Training Included an Anti-Muslim Horror Flick|page=1|location=New York|work=Village Voice|date=21 January 2011|access-date=23 February 2019}}</ref> The organization publishes a weekly "Extremism Roundup" newsletter.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-02 |title=The Extremism Roundup Archives |url=https://clarionproject.org/category/the-extremism-roundup/ |access-date=2024-03-10 |website=The Clarion Project |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Mission and leadership==

Clarion Project states its mission is to expose and reduce the threats of extremism to create a safer world for all.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Home|url=https://clarionproject.org/|access-date=2020-10-18|website=Clarion Project|language=en-US}}</ref> The CEO as of 2022 is Richard Green.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Development |first=PodBean |title=Combating Extremism with The Clarion Project's Richard Green |url=https://thegsherpodcast.podbean.com/e/combating-extremism-with-the-clarion-project-s-richard-green/ |access-date=2022-04-26 |website=thegsherpodcast.podbean.com |language=en}}</ref> The project's advisory board included Raheel Raza<ref>{{Cite web|title=Muslims Facing Tomorrow|url=https://muslimsfacingtomorrow.com/|access-date=2020-10-18|website=muslimsfacingtomorrow.com}}</ref> president of Muslims Facing Tomorrow, Zuhdi Jasser president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) <ref>{{Cite web|title=American Islamic Forum for Democracy|url=https://aifdemocracy.org/|access-date=2020-10-18|website=aifdemocracy.org|language=en-US}}</ref> and Michelle Baron. The project was founded by Raphael Shore.<ref>{{cite book|author=Bryan Saario|title=Holy Land Conversations: A Journey Through Palestine's Back Door|pages=154|year=2011|publisher=Wheatmark, Inc.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Lawrence Swaim|title=The Death of Judeo-Christianity: Religious Aggression and Systemic Evil in the Modern World|pages=144|year=2012|publisher=John Hunt Publishing}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Nathan Lean|title=The Islamophobia Industry: How the Right Manufactures Fear of Muslims|pages=127|year=2012|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Hani A. Faris|title=The Failure of the Two-State Solution: The Prospects of One State in the Israel-Palestine Conflict|pages=108|year=2013|publisher=I.B.Tauris}}</ref>

== Funding == The nonprofit Charity Navigator has rated the Clarion Project 4 out of 4 stars.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Charity Navigator - Rating for Clarion Project |url=http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=17089 |access-date=2020-10-18 |website=Charity Navigator |language=en}}</ref>

==Criticism== The Southern Poverty Law Center listed the organization as an "anti-Muslim hate group" in 2016–2019.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Anti-Muslim|url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/anti-muslim|access-date=2020-10-18|website=Southern Poverty Law Center|language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|author=Katherine Burgess|title=Muslims name 37 groups that fuel Islamophobia|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/muslims-name-37-groups-that-fuel-islamophobia/2013/09/19/5d529c24-2166-11e3-ad1a-1a919f2ed890_story.html|date=19 September 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2016-06-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820145617/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/muslims-name-37-groups-that-fuel-islamophobia/2013/09/19/5d529c24-2166-11e3-ad1a-1a919f2ed890_story.html|archive-date=2016-08-20|url-status=live}}</ref> The organization has been described as part of the counter-jihad movement.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/26297006|title=Denying the Link between Islamist Ideology and Jihadist Terrorism "Political Correctness" and the Undermining of Counterterrorism|journal=Perspectives on Terrorism|publisher=Terrorism Research Institute|date=October 2013|volume=7|issue=5|first=Jeffrey M.|last=Bale|page=37|jstor=26297006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/files/192414854/Aked_Jones_Miller_Counterjihad_report_2019.pdf|last1=Aked|first1=H.|last2=Jones|first2=M.|last3=Miller|first3=D.|year=2019|title=Islamophobia in Europe: How governments are enabling the far-right 'counter-jihad' movement|series=Public Interest Investigations|publisher=University of Bristol|page=49|isbn=9780957027497|hdl=1983/cd525157-683a-493b-b27f-9a5ffbca312c|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2015/09/03/extremists-address-anti-muslim-act-america-conference-next-week|title=Extremists to Address Anti-Muslim Act! for America Conference Next Week|date=3 September 2015|access-date=2016-06-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527124303/https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2015/09/03/extremists-address-anti-muslim-act-america-conference-next-week|archive-date=2016-05-27|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022 a speech by a Clarion Project co-founder was cancelled.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shapiro |first=Dmitriy |date=2022-03-30 |title=Canceled speaker at JCC in Omaha, whose topic was radicalization, makes case known |url=https://www.jns.org/canceled-speaker-at-jcc-in-omaha-whose-topic-was-radicalization-makes-case-known/ |access-date=2022-04-26 |website=JNS.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Films == * ''Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West (2005)'' * ''The Third Jihad: Radical Islam's Vision For America'' (2008) * ''Iranium (2011) - about Iran's nuclear weapons program'' * ''Honor Diaries (2013) - about violence against women''<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-08-13 |title=Censored Womens Film Festival |url=https://worldfilmfair.com/screening/censored-womens-film-festival |access-date=2022-07-03 |website=World Film Fair |language=en |archive-date=2022-07-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703125546/https://worldfilmfair.com/screening/censored-womens-film-festival |url-status=dead }}</ref> * ''Faithkeepers'' (2017) - about Christians in the Middle East<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shaul |first=Tema |title=Faithkeepers: Be Your Brothers' Keeper |url=https://faithkeepers.clarionproject.org/ |access-date=2022-06-08 |website=Faithkeepers |language=en-US}}</ref> * ''Kids: Chasing Paradise'' (2019) - about child soldiers<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://kidsthemovie.com/ |access-date=2022-06-08 |website=Kids: Chasing Paradise |language=en-US}}</ref> * ''Covert Cash'' (2020) - about foreign funding of US colleges<ref>{{Cite web |title=WATCH NOW! LP Executive Director featured in film exposing foreign influence on U.S. education system |url=https://www.thelawfareproject.org/releases/2020/9/13/covert-cash |access-date=2022-06-08 |website=The Lawfare Project |date=13 September 2020 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=October 31, 2023 |title=‘Covert Cash:’ A startling revelation of how foreign funding promotes extremism and radicalism on American campuses |url=https://www.jns.org/wire/covert-cash-a-startling-revelation-of-how-foreign-funding-promotes-extremism-and-radicalism-on-american-campuses/}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links== * [http://www.clarionproject.org/ Clarion Project web site]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarion Project}} Category:Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C. Category:2006 establishments in Washington, D.C. Category:Counter-extremism organizations Category:Counter-jihad Category:American organizations established in 2006