Job Announcement: Reporters and Researchers Sought by Focus on Western Islamism

Focus on Western Islamism, a project of the Middle East Forum, is looking for freelance reporters and researchers in multiple Western countries to work remotely, reporting on Islamist extremism and terrorism

Job Description:

FWI reporters and researchers investigate and write about local Islamist networks and their finances, and serve as FWI’s local “bureau chief,” assisting FWI’s editors with the coordination of local research and writing.

Location

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Publish news pieces about Islamist events, writings and activities.
• Pursue open-source investigations into unexplored areas of radical activity, such as Islamist financing; influence over schools, media, courts and politics; engagement with local and national government; complicity with hostile foreign regimes, inter alia.
• Contribute to a proprietary database on Islamist activities.
• Track big data, such as governmental funding databases.
• Identify moderate Muslim allies and partners with which to work.
• Hire and oversee additional local journalists and investigators.

Candidate Qualifications:

Required

• Experience as a reporter, researcher or editor.
• Agreement with FWI’s outlook that “radical Islam is the problem; moderate Islam is the solution.”
• Knowledge of open-source research tools and techniques,

Optional, but helpful

• Proficiency in Arabic, Turkish, Persian, or Urdu.
• Experience parsing and analyzing large datasets.
• Legal work experience, including familiarity with drafting freedom of information requests.

Compensation:

• Based on output, averaging between $300 and $450 for each published article or researched dataset.

To Apply:

Prepare an application that includes:

• Cover letter
• Curriculum vitae.
• Two writing samples.

To submit the application:

• Bundle the entire application as a single document, preferably in Adobe Acrobat (Word is also acceptable).
• Title it with your name in reverse order, without spacing, as in “ChurchillWinston.”
• Send the application to Samuel Westrop, at westrop@meforum.org

About Focus on Western Islamism:

Focus on Western Islamism (FWI) - established by the Middle East Forum in February 2022 - educates its readers about the threat posed by Islamism (and the efforts to counter it) in Western democracies. FWI covers stories that other outlets will not, provides a template for coverage for other journalists to follow, serves as a hub for counter-Islamist research and analysis, and seeks to give voice to anti-Islamist Muslims.

About the Middle East Forum:

The Middle East Forum, an activist think tank founded in 1994 by Daniel Pipes, promotes American interests in the Middle East and protects Western values from Middle Eastern threats. It does so in three ways:

• Intellectual, by providing information, context, and policy advice through publications, media appearances, lectures, and private consultations.
• Operational, by getting things done in Washington, on campus, in courts of law, and beyond.
• Philanthropic, by distributing funds to allied groups and individuals working to promote our goals.