Steven Emerson

Steven Emerson
Steven Emerson is considered one of the leading authorities on Islamic extremist networks, financing and operations. He serves as the Executive Director of The Investigative Project on Terrorism, a non-profit organization that serves one of the world's largest storehouses of archival data and intelligence on Islamic and Middle Eastern terrorist groups. Emerson and his staff frequently provide briefings to U.S. government and law enforcement agencies, members of Congress and congressional committees, and print and electronic media on terrorist financing and operational networks of Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and the rest of the worldwide Islamic militant spectrum. Since 9-11, Emerson has been interviewed frequently on all the major television networks and in the national and international print media. The website of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, which was started in September 2007, is now considered one of the top counter-terrorism websites in the world and can be accessed at www.investigativeproject.org. Emerson launched The Investigative Project on Terrorism in 1995, following the November 1994 broadcast of his documentary film, "Jihad in America," on public television. The film exposed clandestine operations of militant Islamic terrorist groups on American soil. For the film, Emerson received numerous awards including the George Polk Award for best television documentary, one of the most prestigious awards in journalism. He also received the top prize from the Investigative Reporters and Editors Organization (IRE) for best investigative report in both print and television for the documentary. The award from IRE was the fourth he had received from that group. The documentary, which was featured on 60 Minutes, has become standard viewing for federal law enforcement and intelligence organizations. Emerson is recognized as one of the first terrorism experts to have testified and warned about the threat of Islamic militant networks operating in the United States and their connections worldwide. In a pioneering congressional testimony delivered in 1998, he specifically warned about the threat of Osama Bin Laden's network. Nearly every one of the terrorist suspects and groups first identified in his 1994 film have been indicted, convicted, or deported since 9-11. Emerson is the author or co-author of six books on terrorism and national security, including: "Jihad Incorporated: A Guide to Militant Islam in the U.S." (Prometheus, 2006) "American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us" (The Free Press, 2002) "Terrorist: The Inside Story of the Highest-Ranking Iraqi Terrorist Ever to Defect to the West" (Villard Books /Random House, 1991) "The Fall of Pan Am 103: Inside the Lockerbie Investigation" (Putnam's Sons, 1990) "Secret Warriors: Inside the Covert Military Operations of the Reagan Era" (Putnam's Sons, 1988) "The American House of Saud: The Secret Petrodollar Connection" (Franklin Watts, 1985) Prior to starting the Investigative Project on Terrorism, Emerson worked as a correspondent for CNN and previously as a senior editor at US News and World Report. His first job in Washington DC in 1977 was as a staff researcher for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has a BA and MA from Brown University and once ran a marathon in 2 hours, 59 minutes, a feat he was never able to repeat again.

ARTICLES BY: Steven Emerson

June 4, 2013 12:15 am

The Backlash That Wasn’t

In the wake of any Islamist terrorist attack, two reactions from Islamist community leaders are sure to follow. They will condemn the attack, but deny it...

May 22, 2013 5:05 pm

Jihadists Behead UK Soldier in Shocking Daylight Attack

A British soldier is dead, and two suspected terrorists were shot in a shocking daylight attack outside London Wednesday. Some accounts say the soldier was shot, while...

May 17, 2013 8:21 am

Article Alleges Hamas Money Laundering

Hamas has several business fronts operating in Saudi Arabia and Sudan which launder money for the terrorist group, the Arab News claimed in a report...

May 10, 2013 1:08 pm

Fresh Palestinian Wishes for Israel’s Annihilation

In January, reporter Richard Behar called out the media for ignoring newly uncovered recordings showing Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Morsi referring to...

May 1, 2013 12:39 pm

Muted Response to Hamas Jihad Program for School Kids

An article in London's Telegraph is refocusing attention on a school program run by Hamas in Gaza that trains children how to use weapons and...

May 1, 2013 12:38 pm

Saudi Journalist Calls Hezbollah a “Tool of the Mullahs”

Hezbollah has always proclaimed to be the vanguard of the "resistance" against Israel, while claiming to advance Lebanese national interests as its priority. But...

April 22, 2013 2:07 am

Bombing Suspects Lauded Jihad

While police in and around Boston hunt for 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the suspected Boston Marathon bombers, information gathered from various social media...

April 15, 2013 1:09 am

Jihadist Magazines Recruit Young Terrorists

Jihad recruitment has evolved into using a mainstream format, it is now cool. Print and online magazines provide practical detailed instruction on how...

March 29, 2013 7:49 am

Bahrain Labels Hezbollah Terrorists, EU Dawdles

As we noted earlier this week, Hizballah's alliance with dictator Bashar al-Assad in Syria's bloody civil war has left the Shia organization politically ...

March 25, 2013 10:42 am

The PA Continues to Advocate for Israel’s Destruction

Calls for liberating "Palestine" have been reverberating among the various Palestinian political factions for decades. Hamas actively pursues Israel's destruction, but how does the Palestinian Authority...

March 22, 2013 2:19 am

Special Travel Benefit for Saudis a “Slap in the Face”

Saudi Arabia, the nation which produced 15 of the 19 hijackers in the 9/11 attacks, is about to become one of a handful of ...

March 14, 2013 12:54 am

Illinois Police: Terror Ties Cost Imam Chaplain Post

Court papers filed in an Illinois federal civil lawsuit make it clear that a Hamas-supporting imam would have been a state police-sanctioned chaplain...

March 8, 2013 6:19 am

Book Review: From The Company of Shadows

Members of CAIR at an annual dinner in Houston. From The Company of Shadows by author Kevin Shipp offers a fascinating insider's view of the...

February 27, 2013 1:56 am

CAIR’s Walid: Silent on Jihad, Sows Fear of Law Enforcement

FBI agents are devils lurking online to entrap young Muslims in bogus terrorist plots, a leading Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) official told...