Zuhdi Jasser
Encyclopedia
Zuhdi Jasser, also known as M. Zuhdi Jasser, and Mohamed Zuhdi Jasser, is a medical doctor specializing internal medicine and nuclear cardiology in Phoenix, AZ. Jasser is a former Lieutenant Commander
in the United States Navy
where he served as staff internist in the Office of the Attending Physician of the United States Congress
. In 2003, with a group of American Muslims Jasser founded the American Islamic Forum for Democracy
(AIFD) based in Phoenix, Arizona
.
He is a contributor to national and international media on the issue of political Islam or Islamism
and has been a frequent guest on Fox News Channel
, CNN
, CBS
, and MSNBC
. He has also contributed articles to The Arizona Republic
, The Dallas Morning News
, The New York Post, The Wall St. Journal and The Washington Times
.
He testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security hearings on The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and the Community’s
Response” on March 10, 2011. and before the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution on June 24, 2011 on HR 963 the "See Something, Say Something Act".
. His father was a cardiologist, and his mother is a pharmacist.
He attended the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, earning his B.Sc.
in 1988; then attended the Medical College of Wisconsin
on a Navy scholarship, receiving his M.D.
in 1992. He served in the Navy for 11 years, receiving the Meritorious Service Medal
and attaining the rank of Lieutenant Commander
by the time of his honorable discharge in 1999. His tours of duty included staff internist for the U.S. Congress
, medical department head aboard the USS El Paso
, and chief resident at Bethesda Naval Hospital. He moved to Arizona after his discharge from the Navy, taking over part of his father's medical practice.
In the wake of the attacks of 9/11, Jasser and a group of American Muslims formed the American Islamic Forum for Democracy
(AIFD) as "an organization that systematically looked at and engaged political Islam in all of its manifestations as the problem in order to reform our faith and stop terrorism, which was only a symptom." Jasser has emerged as an expert on the issue of political Islam. James Woolsey former head of the CIA and Seth Liebsohn, author and radio show host describe him as "the kind of man our government should listen to." Jasser utilizes his commentating, speaking engagements and media appearances "to press Muslim leaders to aggressively oppose a 'culture of separatism.'"
On March 10, 2011, Jasser appeared as a witness at the first in a series of hearings conducted by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security on "The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and the Community’s Response.” Jasser's testimony focused how the polarization of American views of the Muslim community are an obstacle to reform within the faith stating:
"I sit before you a proud, devout, American Muslim whose country is polarized on its perceptions of Muslims and the radicalization that occurs within our communities. One camp refuses to believe any Muslim could be radicalized living in blind multiculturalism, apologetics, and denial, and the other camp believes all devout Muslims and the faith of Islam are radicalized. Between these two polarities is a reasoned, pragmatic approach focused on solutions that recognizes the beauty of one of the world's great religions, while also acknowledging the existence within of a dangerous internal theo-political domestic and global ideology that must be confronted - Islamism. I hope that these hearings are the beginning of a rational national conversation about those solutions."
During his testimony, he said that American Muslim organizations had been "circling the wagons" and have too frequently cautioned Muslims against speaking to law enforcement without a lawyer present. He also said that political Islam was based on the idea that the government should be run under Islamic law, which he said violated the American concept of separation of church and state.
On June 24, 2011, Jasser appeared before the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution to testify in favor of H.R. 963 The "See Something, Say Something" Act.
Jasser's medical practice is in Phoenix, Arizona
and he resides in Scottsdale, Arizona
, with his wife and three children, who are being raised as Muslims.
, or in sharia
(Islamic jurisprudence)," but he "see[s] Islam (consistent with “Ijtihad,” the tradition of critical interpretation of Islamic scripture in the modern day) as applicable in the modern world and subject to logic and reason." After attending Phoenix-area mosques for several years, he became disappointed that politics was being discussed from the mosque pulpits and was especially concerned about sermons that criticized U.S. government policies and portrayed Muslims as victims. Jasser began criticizing American Muslim organizations including: the Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America
, the North American Imams Federation, the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America, Muslim Students' Association
, the Muslim Public Affairs Council
, the Muslim American Society
, the Islamic Circle of North America
, and the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, because he sees them as Islamist, meaning they support a mixing of Islam and politics. He has been especially critical of CAIR, a Muslim-American civil rights group, which according to Jasser, is focused on "victimology" and does not adequately condemn the goals of the terrorist groups. A CAIR official has responded, "With these people, nothing we would do would satisfy them".
Jasser has also engaged in interfaith activities
, serving on the Board of the Arizona Interfaith Movement; helping to found an Arizona based organization called The Children of Abraham, a Jewish-Muslim dialogue group in 2000, and a chapter of Seeds of Peace
in 2003.
Jasser has said that he and his family have helped build a number of small mosques in different cities using locally-raised funds, and at times encountering, but always overcoming local opposition. In 2010, Jasser strongly opposed the building of the Park51 project, a 13-story Islamic community center and mosque two blocks from the World Trade Center site
, which is also known as Ground Zero. He said he was concerned that the funding of the $100 million project might be coming from foreign, Islamist sources, and also said: "Ground Zero is purely about being American. It can never be about being Muslim." After President Obama
defended the constitutional right of Muslims in America to build a mosque and community center on private property, but not the wisdom of its location, Jasser criticized Obama for "engaging in passive aggressive meddling" and for telling "the more than 70 percent of Americans who oppose the mosque that they were either wrong or confused."
Jasser believes acts of Islamic terrorism are rooted in the ideology of "political Islam", or "Islamism". He has said that Islamists believe that the "Islamic state and its shar’iah law is superior to our Constitutional republic." He believes the U.S. needs a "coordinated existential strategy" to combat the ideology, and that this has been dangerously lacking, with the result that the number of home-grown terrorists is increasing. He has expressed the opinion that the 2009 Christmas Day attempted airplane bombing
, the Fort Hood shooting
and the 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt
have not prodded the United States into the appropriate action, but rather, have resulted in politically correct
denial by U.S. government authorities, and inaction by most American Muslims. He believes that even the Bush administration took inadequate measures against Islamism in America. He says the U.S. needs to provide alternatives for Muslim youth and promote reformist groups. In his television appearances, Jasser has claimed that three to five percent of U.S. Muslims are militant and 30 to 40 percent do not believe in separation of mosque and state.
and Al Qaeda, and governments such as the Saudi and Syrian dictatorships. "If they don't [...] then you have to wonder where their allegiances are," said Jasser.
, "on the current 'occupied territories'". The organization rejects terrorism and any justification for it.
and has been a frequent guest on Fox News Channel
, CNN
, CBS
, and MSNBC
. He has also contributed articles to The Arizona Republic
, The Dallas Morning News
, The New York Post, The Wall St. Journal and The Washington Times
. As well as many nationally syndicated radio programs.
film Islam v Islamists:Voices from the Muslim Center which PBS banned from the air after pressure from Muslim organizations.
He was the main narrator in the Clarion Fund
film, The Third Jihad
, which opens with Jasser stating “This is not a film about Islam. It is about the threat of radical Islam. Only a small percentage of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims are radical. This film is about them.” Third Jihad's promotional materials state "that radical Islamists driven by a religiously motivated rejection of western values cultures and religion are engaging in a multifaceted strategy to overcome the western world." The film has stirred controversy with the The New Republic stating the producer of the film has ties to the Israeli settlement movement
. Although Jasser has said he does not agree with everything in the film, he supports the overall message.
Jasser also appeared in the 2010 Newt Gingrich
film, America At Risk: The War With No Name, a production of Citizens United
.The film's promotional materials state "We are long overdue for a serious global strategy in fighting terrorism and the ideology behind it. We must have the courage to tell the truth and to act on that truth." It has been described as "anti-Obama" by The Nation.
Jasser is also featured in the Fox News Channel documentary Fox Reporting: A Question of Honor, which examined the killing of Noor Al-Maleki in Peoria, Arizona
by her father Falah Al-Maleki and his subsequent trial.
criticized Jasser's lack of credentials and his "right-wing rhetoric." On the contrary, self-described conservative Daniel Pipes
has praised Jasser as truly moderate
and whose activities shows up the falsehood of phony moderates.
committee and teaches nuclear cardiology
in Phoenix.
He was honored in October 2007 by Frank Gaffney
's Center for Security Policy
as a "Defender of the Home Front" for his anti-Islamist activism. In January 2008 he was presented with the 2007 Director’s Community Leadership Award by the Phoenix office of the Federal Bureau of investigation
.
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
where he served as staff internist in the Office of the Attending Physician of the United States Congress
Attending Physician of the United States Congress
The Attending Physician of the United States Congress is the physician responsible for the medical welfare of the members of the United States Congress and the nine justices of the Supreme Court of the United States.The Attending Physician is also tasked with emergency care for thousands of...
. In 2003, with a group of American Muslims Jasser founded the American Islamic Forum for Democracy
American Islamic Forum for Democracy
American Islamic Forum for Democracy is a Muslim American think tank formed in March 2003 by a small group of Muslim professionals in the Phoenix Valley of Arizona. The group's founder is M. Zuhdi Jasser, M.D...
(AIFD) based in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
.
He is a contributor to national and international media on the issue of political Islam or Islamism
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
and has been a frequent guest on Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, and MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
. He has also contributed articles to The Arizona Republic
The Arizona Republic
The Arizona Republic is a daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. It was ranked tenth in US daily newspapers by circulation in 2007.-Early years:The newspaper was founded...
, The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
, The New York Post, The Wall St. Journal and The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
.
He testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security hearings on The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and the Community’s
Response” on March 10, 2011. and before the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution on June 24, 2011 on HR 963 the "See Something, Say Something Act".
Biography
Jasser is the son of Syrians who immigrated to the United States in the 1960s, due to repression in their homeland. He was raised in the Sunni sect of Islam in Neenah, WisconsinNeenah, Wisconsin
Neenah is a city on Lake Winnebago in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. Its population was 24,507 at the 2000 census. The city is bordered by, but is politically independent of, the Town of Neenah. Neenah is the southwestern-most of the Fox Cities of Northeast Wisconsin...
. His father was a cardiologist, and his mother is a pharmacist.
He attended the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, earning his B.Sc.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in 1988; then attended the Medical College of Wisconsin
Medical College of Wisconsin
Medical College of Wisconsin is a private, freestanding medical school and graduate school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was formerly affiliated with Marquette University....
on a Navy scholarship, receiving his M.D.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
in 1992. He served in the Navy for 11 years, receiving the Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal (United States)
The Meritorious Service Medal is a military decoration presented to members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguished themselves by outstanding meritorious achievement or service to the United States subsequent to January 16, 1969...
and attaining the rank of Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
by the time of his honorable discharge in 1999. His tours of duty included staff internist for the U.S. Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, medical department head aboard the USS El Paso
USS El Paso (LKA-117)
USS El Paso is a Charleston class amphibious cargo ship named after the city of El Paso, Texas. She served as a commissioned ship for 24 years and 3 months....
, and chief resident at Bethesda Naval Hospital. He moved to Arizona after his discharge from the Navy, taking over part of his father's medical practice.
In the wake of the attacks of 9/11, Jasser and a group of American Muslims formed the American Islamic Forum for Democracy
American Islamic Forum for Democracy
American Islamic Forum for Democracy is a Muslim American think tank formed in March 2003 by a small group of Muslim professionals in the Phoenix Valley of Arizona. The group's founder is M. Zuhdi Jasser, M.D...
(AIFD) as "an organization that systematically looked at and engaged political Islam in all of its manifestations as the problem in order to reform our faith and stop terrorism, which was only a symptom." Jasser has emerged as an expert on the issue of political Islam. James Woolsey former head of the CIA and Seth Liebsohn, author and radio show host describe him as "the kind of man our government should listen to." Jasser utilizes his commentating, speaking engagements and media appearances "to press Muslim leaders to aggressively oppose a 'culture of separatism.'"
On March 10, 2011, Jasser appeared as a witness at the first in a series of hearings conducted by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security on "The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and the Community’s Response.” Jasser's testimony focused how the polarization of American views of the Muslim community are an obstacle to reform within the faith stating:
"I sit before you a proud, devout, American Muslim whose country is polarized on its perceptions of Muslims and the radicalization that occurs within our communities. One camp refuses to believe any Muslim could be radicalized living in blind multiculturalism, apologetics, and denial, and the other camp believes all devout Muslims and the faith of Islam are radicalized. Between these two polarities is a reasoned, pragmatic approach focused on solutions that recognizes the beauty of one of the world's great religions, while also acknowledging the existence within of a dangerous internal theo-political domestic and global ideology that must be confronted - Islamism. I hope that these hearings are the beginning of a rational national conversation about those solutions."
During his testimony, he said that American Muslim organizations had been "circling the wagons" and have too frequently cautioned Muslims against speaking to law enforcement without a lawyer present. He also said that political Islam was based on the idea that the government should be run under Islamic law, which he said violated the American concept of separation of church and state.
On June 24, 2011, Jasser appeared before the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution to testify in favor of H.R. 963 The "See Something, Say Something" Act.
Jasser's medical practice is in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
and he resides in Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
, with his wife and three children, who are being raised as Muslims.
Views on Islam
Jasser describes himself as a devout Muslim who believes that "America in fact provides the best atmosphere for Muslims to practice our faith.". He does not claim to be "a formal expert in Koranic ArabicClassical Arabic
Classical Arabic , also known as Qur'anic or Koranic Arabic, is the form of the Arabic language used in literary texts from Umayyad and Abbasid times . It is based on the Medieval dialects of Arab tribes...
, or in sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
(Islamic jurisprudence)," but he "see[s] Islam (consistent with “Ijtihad,” the tradition of critical interpretation of Islamic scripture in the modern day) as applicable in the modern world and subject to logic and reason." After attending Phoenix-area mosques for several years, he became disappointed that politics was being discussed from the mosque pulpits and was especially concerned about sermons that criticized U.S. government policies and portrayed Muslims as victims. Jasser began criticizing American Muslim organizations including: the Council on American-Islamic Relations
Council on American-Islamic Relations
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is America's largest Muslim civil liberties advocacy organization that deals with civil advocacy and promotes human rights...
(CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America
Islamic Society of North America
The Islamic Society of North America , based in Plainfield, Indiana, USA, is a Muslim umbrella group. It has been described in the media as the largest Muslim organization in North America.-History:...
, the North American Imams Federation, the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America, Muslim Students' Association
Muslim Students' Association
The Muslim Students Association, or Muslim Student Union, of the U.S. and Canada, also known as MSA National, is a religious organization dedicated to establishing and maintaining Islamic societies on college campuses in Canada and the United States. It serves to provide coordination and support...
, the Muslim Public Affairs Council
Muslim Public Affairs Council
The Muslim Public Affairs Council is a national American Muslim advocacy and public policy organization headquartered in Los Angeles and with offices in Washington D.C...
, the Muslim American Society
Muslim American Society
The Muslim American Society is a nonprofit organization founded in 1993 that describes itself as an Islamic revival and reform movement....
, the Islamic Circle of North America
Islamic Circle of North America
Islamic Circle of North America , formally chartered in 1971 but active since 1968, is an Islamic North American grassroots umbrella organization....
, and the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, because he sees them as Islamist, meaning they support a mixing of Islam and politics. He has been especially critical of CAIR, a Muslim-American civil rights group, which according to Jasser, is focused on "victimology" and does not adequately condemn the goals of the terrorist groups. A CAIR official has responded, "With these people, nothing we would do would satisfy them".
Jasser has also engaged in interfaith activities
Interfaith dialog
The term interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels...
, serving on the Board of the Arizona Interfaith Movement; helping to found an Arizona based organization called The Children of Abraham, a Jewish-Muslim dialogue group in 2000, and a chapter of Seeds of Peace
Seeds of Peace
Seeds of Peace is a peacebuilding youth organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1993. As its main program, the organization brings youth from areas of conflict to its international camp in Maine. It also provides regional programming to support Seeds of Peace graduates, known as...
in 2003.
Jasser has said that he and his family have helped build a number of small mosques in different cities using locally-raised funds, and at times encountering, but always overcoming local opposition. In 2010, Jasser strongly opposed the building of the Park51 project, a 13-story Islamic community center and mosque two blocks from the World Trade Center site
World Trade Center site
The World Trade Center site , also known as "Ground Zero" after the September 11 attacks, sits on in Lower Manhattan in New York City...
, which is also known as Ground Zero. He said he was concerned that the funding of the $100 million project might be coming from foreign, Islamist sources, and also said: "Ground Zero is purely about being American. It can never be about being Muslim." After President Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
defended the constitutional right of Muslims in America to build a mosque and community center on private property, but not the wisdom of its location, Jasser criticized Obama for "engaging in passive aggressive meddling" and for telling "the more than 70 percent of Americans who oppose the mosque that they were either wrong or confused."
Jasser believes acts of Islamic terrorism are rooted in the ideology of "political Islam", or "Islamism". He has said that Islamists believe that the "Islamic state and its shar’iah law is superior to our Constitutional republic." He believes the U.S. needs a "coordinated existential strategy" to combat the ideology, and that this has been dangerously lacking, with the result that the number of home-grown terrorists is increasing. He has expressed the opinion that the 2009 Christmas Day attempted airplane bombing
Northwest Airlines Flight 253
Northwest Airlines Flight 253 was an international passenger flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands, to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan, United States...
, the Fort Hood shooting
Fort Hood shooting
The Fort Hood shooting was a mass shooting that took place on November 5, 2009, at Fort Hood, the most populous U.S. military installation in the world, located just outside Killeen, Texas. In the course of the shooting, a single gunman killed 13 people and wounded 29 others...
and the 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt
2010 Times Square car bombing attempt
The attempted car bombing of Times Square on May 1, 2010, was a planned terrorist attack that was foiled when two street vendors discovered the car bomb and alerted a NYPD Patrolman to the car bomb threat after they spotted smoke coming from a vehicle...
have not prodded the United States into the appropriate action, but rather, have resulted in politically correct
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
denial by U.S. government authorities, and inaction by most American Muslims. He believes that even the Bush administration took inadequate measures against Islamism in America. He says the U.S. needs to provide alternatives for Muslim youth and promote reformist groups. In his television appearances, Jasser has claimed that three to five percent of U.S. Muslims are militant and 30 to 40 percent do not believe in separation of mosque and state.
Views on Israel
Jasser is an "outspoken supporter of Israel" who believes that Muslim organizations and leaders need to be held to a litmus test to see whether they recognize Israel as a state, specifically condemn groups such as HamasHamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
and Al Qaeda, and governments such as the Saudi and Syrian dictatorships. "If they don't [...] then you have to wonder where their allegiances are," said Jasser.
American Islamic Forum for Democracy
Jasser and a group of American Muslims founded the non-profit American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) in 2003 with the goal of demonstrating the compatibility of Islam with democracy and American values. Jasser is the group's president and chief spokesperson. The AIFD supports separation of religion and state, religious pluralism, equality of the sexes, the unconditional recognition of Israel and the creation of an independent PalestinePalestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
, "on the current 'occupied territories'". The organization rejects terrorism and any justification for it.
Media appearances
Jasser is a contributor to national and international media on the issue of political Islam or IslamismIslamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
and has been a frequent guest on Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, and MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
. He has also contributed articles to The Arizona Republic
The Arizona Republic
The Arizona Republic is a daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. It was ranked tenth in US daily newspapers by circulation in 2007.-Early years:The newspaper was founded...
, The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
, The New York Post, The Wall St. Journal and The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
. As well as many nationally syndicated radio programs.
Documentaries
Jasser is a contributor in four documentaries. Jasser was featured in the PBSPublic Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
film Islam v Islamists:Voices from the Muslim Center which PBS banned from the air after pressure from Muslim organizations.
He was the main narrator in the Clarion Fund
Clarion Fund
Clarion Fund is a New York City-based nonprofit organizationfounded in 2006 whose stated mission is "to educate Americans about issues of national security," with its main focus on what it calls "the most urgent threat of radical Islam."...
film, The Third Jihad
The Third Jihad
The Third Jihad: Radical Islam's Vision For America is a documentary film made by Wayne Kopping on the subject of radical Islam in present day United States.- Production :...
, which opens with Jasser stating “This is not a film about Islam. It is about the threat of radical Islam. Only a small percentage of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims are radical. This film is about them.” Third Jihad's promotional materials state "that radical Islamists driven by a religiously motivated rejection of western values cultures and religion are engaging in a multifaceted strategy to overcome the western world." The film has stirred controversy with the The New Republic stating the producer of the film has ties to the Israeli settlement movement
Settlement movement (Israel)
Settlement movement is a term used in Israel to describe national umbrella organisations for kibbutzim, moshavim, moshavim shitufiim, and communal settlements...
. Although Jasser has said he does not agree with everything in the film, he supports the overall message.
Jasser also appeared in the 2010 Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....
film, America At Risk: The War With No Name, a production of Citizens United
Citizens United
Citizens United is a conservative non-profit organization in the United States. Its president and chairman is David Bossie.-Overview:Citizens United describes its mission as being dedicated to restoring the United States government to "citizens' control" and to "assert American values of limited...
.The film's promotional materials state "We are long overdue for a serious global strategy in fighting terrorism and the ideology behind it. We must have the courage to tell the truth and to act on that truth." It has been described as "anti-Obama" by The Nation.
Jasser is also featured in the Fox News Channel documentary Fox Reporting: A Question of Honor, which examined the killing of Noor Al-Maleki in Peoria, Arizona
Peoria, Arizona
Peoria is a city in Maricopa and Yavapai counties in the U.S. state of Arizona. Located primarily in Maricopa County, it is a major suburb of Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau releases, the population of the city is 154,065. Peoria is currently the sixth largest city in Arizona for land...
by her father Falah Al-Maleki and his subsequent trial.
Reception
An article in the liberal media watchdog group Media Matters for AmericaMedia Matters for America
Media Matters for America is a politically progressive media watchdog group which says it is "dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media." Set up as a 501 non-profit organization, MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and...
criticized Jasser's lack of credentials and his "right-wing rhetoric." On the contrary, self-described conservative Daniel Pipes
Daniel Pipes
Daniel Pipes is an American historian, writer, and political commentator. He is the founder and director of the Middle East Forum and its Campus Watch project, and editor of its Middle East Quarterly journal...
has praised Jasser as truly moderate
Moderate
In politics and religion, a moderate is an individual who is not extreme, partisan or radical. In recent years, political moderates has gained traction as a buzzword....
and whose activities shows up the falsehood of phony moderates.
Professional activities, honors and awards
Jasser practices internal medicine and nuclear cardiology in Phoenix. He served as the President of the Arizona Medical Association and has been on the Maricopa County Board of Health since 2005. He is a member of the Clarion Fund's advisory board. In 2007, he formed a statewide Disaster Preparedness Task Force for physicians. He chairs a bioethicsBioethics
Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....
committee and teaches nuclear cardiology
Cardiology
Cardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...
in Phoenix.
He was honored in October 2007 by Frank Gaffney
Frank Gaffney
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. is the founder and president of the American Center for Security Policy, columnist at the Washington Times, blogger at Big Peace and radio host on Secure Freedom Radio....
's Center for Security Policy
Center for Security Policy
The Center for Security Policy is a Washington, D.C. think tank that focuses on national security issues. The Center was founded in 1988 by Frank Gaffney, Jr....
as a "Defender of the Home Front" for his anti-Islamist activism. In January 2008 he was presented with the 2007 Director’s Community Leadership Award by the Phoenix office of the Federal Bureau of investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
.