Steven Emerson
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Steven Emerson (born June 6, 1954) is an American journalist, author, and pundit on national security,
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
, and
Islamic extremism Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism, or radical Islam, is used in reference to extremist beliefs and behaviors which are associated with the Islamic religion. These are controversial terms with varying definitions, ranging from academic unde ...
. Some have called Emerson an Islamophobe, who has recently been accused of spying on two different American Muslim organizations.


Education and early career

Emerson received a
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
from
Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
in 1976, and a
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in
sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
in 1977. He went to Washington, D.C., in 1977 with the intention of putting off his law school studies for a year. He worked on staff as an investigator for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee until 1982, and as an executive assistant to Democratic Senator
Frank Church Frank Forrester Church III (July 25, 1924 – April 7, 1984) was an Americans, American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Idah ...
of
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
.Emerson, Steven. ''Secret Warriors: Inside the Covert Military Operations of the Reagan Era'', G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1988.


Journalist and commentator

Emerson was a freelance writer for ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...
'', for whom he wrote a series of articles in 1982 on the influence of
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
on U.S. corporations, law firms, public-relations outfits, and educational institutions. In their pursuit of large contracts with Saudi Arabia, he argued, U.S. businesses became unofficial, unregistered lobbyists for Saudi interests. He expanded this material in 1985 in his first book, ''The American House of Saud: The Secret Petrodollar Connection''.


''U.S. News & World Report'' and CNN

From 1986 to 1989 he worked for '' U.S. News & World Report'' as a senior editor specializing in national security issues. In 1988, he published ''Secret Warriors: Inside the Covert Military Operations of the Reagan Era'', a strongly critical review of
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
-era efforts to strengthen U.S. covert capabilities. Reviewing the book, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote: "Among the grace notes of Mr. Emerson's fine book are many small, well-told stories". In 1990, he co-authored ''The Fall of Pan Am 103: Inside the Lockerbie Investigation'', which argued for the then-mainstream theory that Iran was behind the bombing of
Pan Am Flight 103 Pan Am Flight 103 was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. The transatlantic leg of the route was operated by ''Clipper Maid of the Seas'', a Boeing ...
. Reviewing the book, ''The New York Times'' wrote: "Mr. Emerson and Mr. Duffy have put together a surpassing account of the investigation to date, rich with drama and studded with the sort of anecdotal details that give the story the appearance of depth and weight." The newspaper listed it as an "editors' choice" on their Best Sellers List, and cited it as a "notable book of the year". In 1990, he joined
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
as an investigative correspondent and continued to write about terrorism. In 1991, he published ''Terrorist: The Inside Story of the Highest-Ranking Iraqi Terrorist Ever to Defect to the West'', detailing how Iraq spread and increased its terror network in the 1980s with U.S. support.


''Jihad in America''

Emerson left CNN in 1993 to work on a documentary, '' Terrorists Among Us: Jihad in America'', for the
Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...
(PBS). It aired as "a PBS special" in November 1994. In the documentary, he warned of future Islamic terrorist attacks in the United States. The
Council on American-Islamic Relations A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
(CAIR) noted that PBS denied requests by Arab and Muslim journalists to screen the program before its showing, and argued that Emerson was promoting "a wild theory about an Islamic terrorist network in America". Writing for ''The New York Times'', Walter Goodman opined that the request to change or cancel the documentary was not justified, but that the concerns about Emerson's claims of an Islamic terrorist network were justified "since 'Jihad in America' is likely to awaken viewers' unease over what some Muslim groups here may be up to." He received the 1994
George Polk Award The George Polk Awards in Journalism are a series of American journalism awards presented annually by Long Island University in New York in the United States. A writer for Idea Lab, a group blog hosted on the website of PBS, described the award ...
for "Best Television Documentary." He also received the top prize for best investigative report from the
Investigative Reporters and Editors Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. (IRE) is a nonprofit organization that focuses on improving the quality of journalism, in particular investigative journalism. Formed in 1975, it presents the IRE Awards and holds conferences and training ...
Organization (IRE).Steven Emerson's biography at speakers' bureau Web site
.
A review of the book by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
's ''
Ethan Bronner Ethan Bronner (born 1954) is a senior editor at Bloomberg News following 17 years at ''The New York Times'', most recently as deputy national editor. Biography Bronner is a graduate of Wesleyan University's College of Letters and the Columbia U ...
, says that conservatives and some Jewish organizations took Emerson seriously, but that others have dismissed him as "an obsessive crusader", and concludes that while Emerson sometimes connects unrelated dots, occasionally he can be wrong; but that as an investigator focusing on radical Islamic groups in the US, his information should be taken seriously but not just at face value.


Commentary

Emerson has made false claims about Muslims in the US and Europe; in particular, some of his claims during a
Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
segment about the relationship between
British Muslims Islam is the second largest religion in the United Kingdom, with results from the 2011 Census giving the total population as 2,786,635, or 4.4% of the total UK population,Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
were subsequently rebuked by the then
British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
and led to a censure of
Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
by
Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...
for the airing of the comments which the broadcasting regulator characterized as "materially misleading" and "a serious breach for a current affairs programme". It was Emerson's 1994 documentary ''Jihad in America'' that first linked
Sami Al-Arian Sami Amin Al-Arian ( ar, سامي أمين العريان; born January 14, 1958) is a Kuwaiti-born Islamist and political activist of unverified Palestinian origin who was a computer engineering professor at University of South Florida. Durin ...
to the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine ( ar, حركة الجهاد الإسلامي في فلسطين, ''Harakat al-Jihād al-Islāmi fi Filastīn''), known in the West simply as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), is a Palestinian Islamist par ...
(PIJ). When in February 2003 the U.S. indicted Al-Arian, accusing him of being the North American leader of PIJ and financing and helping support
suicide bombing A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...
s, ''The New York Times'' noted that Emerson "has complained about Mr. Al-Arian's activities in the United States for nearly a decade." In 2006, Al-Arian pleaded guilty to conspiracy to help a " specially designated terrorist" organization, PIJ, and was sentenced to 57 months in prison, after a jury deadlocked on 9 charges (8 of which the government agreed to drop as part of the plea bargain) and acquitted him on another 8.MegLaughlin
In his plea deal, what did Sami Al-Arian admit to?
, ''
St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...
'', April 23, 2006.
Al-Arian said that he knew of the terrorist group's violent acts, though no evidence was admitted at trial showing that he was involved with violent acts. In 1995 CBS interviews, prior to any knowledge the bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building was perpetrated by
Timothy McVeigh Timothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001) was an American domestic terrorist responsible for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people, 19 of whom were children, injured more than 680 others, and destroyed one-third o ...
, Emerson said "Oklahoma City, I can tell you, is probably considered one of the largest centers of Islamic radical activity outside the Middle East", and that the bombing "was done with the intent to inflict as many casualties as possible. That is a Middle Eastern trait, and something that has been generally not carried out on this soil until we were rudely awakened to it in 1993".''Brown Alumni Magazine'', November–December 2002. He also told viewers not to believe Islamic groups' denials of their involvement. Emerson has said some critics fail to recite the rest of his statement that references the 1993 World Trade Center attack which was also carried out with a fertilizer truck bomb. Emerson indicated that he was one of many experts interviewed after the bombing who concluded there were similarities between the Oklahoma City bombing and Middle Eastern terrorism. He said the initial reporting did not "tar the entire Muslim community", that he referred only to a fanatical minority in the Islamic community. He acknowledged there were outbreaks of harassment which he referred to as unfortunate. In response to claims that all Muslims were blamed Emerson said "the charge of racism against Muslims is a canard designed to justify radical Islamic activities in this country." He supported the media's decision to report the possible link to Middle East terrorism, saying "There was no doubt" that the FBI and other law enforcement agencies suspected it. In testimony on March 19, 1996, to the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid p ...
, Emerson described the
Holy Land Foundation The Holy Land Foundation (HLF) was the largest Islamic charity in the United States. Headquartered in Richardson, Texas, and run by Palestinian-Americans, it was originally known as Occupied Land Fund. The organization's mission was to "find and ...
as "the main fund-raising arm for Hamas in the United States." In 2007, federal prosecutors brought charges against Holy Land for funding
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...
and other Islamic terrorist organizations. In 2009, the founders of Holy Land were given
life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
s for "funneling $12 million to Hamas." In January 2001 it was reported that Emerson pointed out that the U.S. had missed clues that would have allowed it to focus on al-Qaeda early on. One of the men convicted in the World Trade Center bombing,
Ahmad Ajaj Ahmed Mohammad Ajaj (also transliterated Ahmad; born 1966) is a Palestinian citizen who is convicted of participating in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He is currently serving an 84-year sentence at USP Coleman for taking part in the bom ...
, returned to the U.S. from Pakistan in 1992 with a bomb manual later seized by the U.S. An English translation of the document, entered into evidence in the World Trade Center trial, said that the manual was dated 1982, that it had been published in Amman, Jordan, and that it carried a heading on the front and succeeding pages: "The Basic Rule". But those were all errors, as Emerson pointed out. The heading said "al-Qaeda" – which translates as "The Base". In addition, the document was published in 1989, a year after al-Qaeda was founded, and the place of publication was Afghanistan, not Jordan.


Investigative Project on Terrorism

The Investigative Project on Terrorism was founded by Emerson in 1995, shortly after the release of his documentary film, '' Terrorists Among Us: Jihad in America'', which first aired in the United States in 1994 on PBS.Ziegler, Andrew
International Jihadists Infiltrating America?
, ''American Diplomacy'', January 15, 2008. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
The documentary was faulted for misrepresentation, and Robert Friedman accused Emerson of "creating mass hysteria against American Arabs." The think-tank,
Center for American Progress The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a public policy research and advocacy organization which presents a liberal viewpoint on economic and social issues. It has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The president and chief executive officer ...
(CAP), stated that the IPT was one of ten foundations constituting what it called "the Islamophobia network in America".


Reception

In 1988, Emerson was referred to by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' as "an expert on intelligence", and in 2015 as a "self-described terrorism expert". The ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
'' referred to prior to 1989 as "the nation's foremost journalistic expert on terrorism" The ''Los Angeles Times'' referred to Emerson as a terrorism expert, and as a
Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
commentator. He has also been regarded as a part of the
counter-jihad movement Counter-jihad, also spelled counterjihad and known as the counter-jihad movement, is a self-titled political current loosely consisting of authors, bloggers, think tanks, street movements and campaign organisations all linked by apocalyptic beli ...
. Richard Clarke, former head of counter-terrorism for the
United States National Security Council The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and foreign policy matters. Based in the White House, it is part of the Execu ...
, said of Emerson, "I think of Steve as the
Paul Revere Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, Sons of Liberty member, and Patriot and Founding Father. He is best known for his midnight ride to ale ...
of terrorism ... We'd always learn things rom himwe weren’t hearing from the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
or
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
, things which almost always proved to be true."
Philip Jenkins Philip Jenkins (born April 3, 1952) is a professor of history at Baylor University in the United States, and co-director for Baylor's Program on Historical Studies of Religion in the Institute for Studies of Religion. He is also the Edwin Erle Sp ...
, in his 2003 book, ''Images of terror: what we can and can't know about terrorism'' responded that certain groups criticize Emerson in order to silence and delegitimize his views. Stephen Suleyman Schwartz wrote an article defending Emerson that attempted to explain why
Islamists Islamism (also often called political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism) is a political ideology which posits that modern states and regions should be reconstituted in constitutional, economic and judicial terms, in accordance with what is c ...
dislike him. A review by Michael Wines in ''The New York Times'' of ''The Fall of Pan Am 103,'' while noting that the authors were "respected journalists" and "not to be lightly dismissed," and that they "talked to 250 people, including senior law enforcement and intelligence officials in seven nations", opined that charges of Iranian complicity were presented "without much substantiation" although Wines did go on to say that: "They build a convincing circumstantial case against Iran and its terrorist agents." Adrienne Edgar, writing in ''
The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...
'' described Emerson and Cristina del Sesto's 1991 book ''Terrorist'', as "marred by factual errors (such as mistranslations of Arabic names) and marked by "a pervasive anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian bias." Emerson and del Sesto responded: "We defy anyone to point to any passages that suggest such bias.... these characterizations of the book are wild figments of Ms. Edgar's political imagination." In their report "Fear, Inc.: The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America", the
Center for American Progress The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a public policy research and advocacy organization which presents a liberal viewpoint on economic and social issues. It has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The president and chief executive officer ...
accused Emerson of being an "misinformation expert" who, through his testimonies, exaggerates the presence of Sharia law in America and terrorism sympathizers in mosques. Emerson has been criticized for espousing
Islamophobic 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 scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...
views by Islamic studies scholars such as Juliane Hamer and Omid Safi, with German media scholar Kai Hafez, and
Carl Ernst Carl W. Ernst (born September 8, 1950, in Los Angeles, California) is the William R. Kenan, Jr., Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Islamic studies at the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was ...
naming Emerson along with
Daniel Pipes Daniel Pipes (born September 9, 1949) is an American historian, writer, and commentator. He is the president of the Middle East Forum, and publisher of its ''Middle East Quarterly'' journal. His writing focuses on American foreign policy and the ...
as the two most prominent Islamophobic voices in the US. Emerson responded to these and similar characterizations in an op-ed for Fox News, stating that criticism of Islam labeled as Islamphophia, and the labeling of "Islamic terrorism" as a racist generalization of Muslims, is "one of the biggest and most dangerous national security frauds of the past 30 years." Emerson's work was cited as an instance of poor reporting on Islam in the
Sut Jhally Sut Jhally (b. 1955) is a professor of communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, whose work focuses on cultural studies, advertising, media, and consumption. He is the producer of over 40 documentaries on media literacy topics a ...
film about Edward Said's ''
Orientalism In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...
'', specifically his claim after the
Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-government extremists, Timothy McVeigh and Terry N ...
that the municipality was a center of Muslim extremism.


Controversies


Sami al-Arian case

Emerson has played a role in criminal prosecutions. In the widely criticized Sami Al-Arian case he was a major source of information and advice to the federal prosecutors and the ''
Tampa Tribune ''The Tampa Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Tampa, Florida. Along with the competing ''Tampa Bay Times'', the ''Tampa Tribune'' was one of two major newspapers published in the Tampa Bay area. The newspaper also published a ''St. Pe ...
''. He has a close relationship to Gordon Kromberg, a federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia. The
Holy Land Foundation The Holy Land Foundation (HLF) was the largest Islamic charity in the United States. Headquartered in Richardson, Texas, and run by Palestinian-Americans, it was originally known as Occupied Land Fund. The organization's mission was to "find and ...
prosecution relied on evidence produced by Emerson's Investigative Project.


Boston Marathon Bombing

On April 17, 2013, Emerson stated on the Fox News program ''
Hannity ''Hannity'' is an American conservative television political talk program on Fox News hosted by Sean Hannity. Episodes air live at 9:00 p.m. from Monday through Thursday, while episodes that air on Fridays are pre-recorded, with a repeat ...
'' that he had been informed by an official in the
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration th ...
(ICE) that a Saudi national who was present during the
Boston Marathon bombing The Boston Marathon bombing was a domestic terrorist attack that took place during the annual Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Two terrorists, brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, planted two homemade pressure cooker bombs, w ...
was suspected of playing a role in the bombing. Emerson wondered why a suspect would be deported and not prosecuted. Emerson reasoned that United States handles Saudi nationals differently to appease Saudi Arabia and not to embarrass the country.
Homeland Security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...
Secretary Janet Napolitano, whose department supervises the ICE, dismissed Emerson's allegation during a meeting with the House Homeland Security Committee, as being incorrect. United States officials stated that the injured Saudi national was regarded as a witness and not a suspect. A Saudi official at the embassy also stated that there was no known suspect or person of interest that they were aware of. On April 19, 2013, Steve Emerson was featured in an opinion piece on Fox News and referred to the suspects,
Tamerlan Tsarnaev Tamerlan Anzorovich Tsarnaev (; October 21, 1986 – April 19, 2013)russian: link=no, Тамерла́н Анзо́рович Царна́ев ; ce, Царнаев Анзор-кIант Тамерлан ; ky, Тамерлан Анзор уул ...
and
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Dzhokhar "Jahar" Anzorovich Tsarnaev born July 22, 1993)russian: Джоха́р Анзо́рович Царна́ев, link=no ; ce, Царнаев Анзор-кIант ДжовхӀар o; ( Kyrgyz language, Kyrgyz: Жохар Анзор уу ...
,
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channels as being similar in tone to Al Qaeda videos. Many local, state and federal officials, including President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
, cautioned against jumping to conclusions while there's an ongoing investigation.


Comments on Fox News about Birmingham and Paris

In January 2015, following terrorist attacks in Paris, Emerson stated in an interview on Fox News that the city of
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
was populated entirely by Muslims and was a " no go area" for non-Muslims. According to an estimate from the UK Census of 2011, Birmingham is estimated to have 21.8% of its population identify as Muslim, with a Christian population of 46%, and 25% claiming no religion or not giving a religion. In the same interview, he claimed that in London, "Muslim religious police 'beat' anyone who doesn't dress according to Muslim, religious Muslim attire". The errors led to four apologies within 12 hours by Fox News. The UK media regulatory authority
Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...
found Fox News to be in breach of the UK's broadcasting code on account of the comments. Ofcom described the comments as "materially misleading" and "a serious breach". In response to these comments,
British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
said that he "choked on his
porridge Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...
" when he heard them and observed that Emerson was "clearly a complete idiot". Local MP
Gisela Stuart Gisela Stuart, Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston (''née'' Gschaider; born 26 November 1955) is a British-German politician and life peer who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Edgbaston from 1997 to 2017. A former member of the La ...
described Emerson's remarks as "stupid" and that they had "no redeeming features". Emerson's remarks, which "embarrassed" Fox, extended to other countries, especially regarding supposed exclusion zones in Paris. Thousands of people ridiculed Emerson's comments on social media using the hashtag #FoxNewsFacts. Emerson issued an apology for his misinformation stating, "I have clearly made a terrible error for which I am deeply sorry. My comments about Birmingham were totally in error." He further added that he would make a donation to a charity in Birmingham and also place a newspaper ad in Birmingham. It was also reported that
Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom (e ...
welcomed his apology, describing Emerson's comments as "curious" and clearly without foundation. Sir Albert Bore, the leader of the council mocked Emerson writing "As I arrived for work at the Council House this morning I was full of awe and admiration for the many commuters who braved the 'no-go area' that is now Birmingham city centre" and described Emerson's remarks as "stupid, untrue and damaging...ridiculous".


Involvement in Spying on American Muslim Organizations

On Dec 14, 2021, CAIR's Ohio chapter fired an executive who confessed to acting as a "mole" and passing confidential information to for Steven Emerson's organization IPT. Shortly thereafter, another mole operating at a different Muslim organization came forward to CAIR and admitted to being paid $3,000 by Steven Emerson every month for recording discussions with prominent American Muslim leaders, amounting to a total of $100,000 over the course of four years.


Works


Books

* (1985),
The American House of Saud: The Secret Petrodollar Connection
', Franklin Watts, * (1988),
Secret Warriors: Inside the Covert Military Operations of the Reagan Era
', Putnam, * (1990)
The Fall of Pan Am 103: Inside the Lockerbie Investigation
', with Brian Duffy, Putnam, * (1991),
Terrorist: The Inside Story of the Highest-Ranking Iraqi Terrorist Ever to Defect to the West
', Random House; * (1995),
The worldwide Jihad movement: Militant Islam targets the West (Policy forum)
', Institute of the World Jewish Congress * (2002), '' American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us'', Free Press; 2003 paperback edition, * (2006),
Jihad Incorporated: A Guide to Militant Islam in the US"> Jihad Incorporated: A Guide to Militant Islam in the US
', Prometheus Books, * (2006),
Al-Qaeda in Europe: the new battleground of international jihad
', with Lorenzo Vidino, Prometheus Books


Chapters

* (1997)
Terrorism in the United States
', Vol. 69, # 1, "The Other Fundamentalists", Editor Frank McGuckin, H.W. Wilson Co., * (1998
''The future of terrorism: violence in the new millennium''
"Terrorism in America: The Threat of Militant Islamic Fundamentalism," Editor Harvey W. Kushner, SAGE,


Documentaries

* (1994), '' Terrorists Among Us: Jihad in America'' * (2005), '' Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West'' * (2007), '' Radical Islam: Terror in Its Own Words'' * (2013), '' Jihad in America: The Grand Deception''


References


Further reading

* Emerson, Steven
''How I made 'Jihad in America' and lived to tell about it"
February 26, 2002
Mintz, John, "The Man Who Gives Terrorism A Name"
''The Washington Post'', November 14, 2001


External links


Emerson's official website

Investigative Project on Terrorism website
*
Counter Terrorism blog
for which Emerson is a contributing expert

January 21, 2005. Retrieved January 20, 2010 *
Unmasking October Surprise ‘Debunker’

Steve Emerson: A journalist who knows how to take a leak

Steven Emerson's Crusade
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emerson, Steven 1954 births Living people American film producers American investigative journalists Brown University alumni CNN people Counterterrorism theorists George Polk Award recipients Islam-related controversies Journalists from Washington, D.C. Terrorism theorists The New Republic people American critics of Islam Counter-jihad activists