Type of Organization: Media, Politics, Education
The David Horowitz Freedom Center was founded by outspoken conservative David Horowitz to confront “the efforts of the radical left and its Islamist allies to destroy American values.” The Center is a conservative think tank and charity, committed to “waging war” against the political left and defending free societies from secular and religious enemies. The Freedom Center has declared itself a “School for Political Warfare,” and it is part of a loose nationwide network of like-minded charities linked together by ideology, personalities, conservative funders, and websites, including the for-profit Breitbart News. The Freedom Center has helped cultivate a generation of political warriors seeking to upend the Washington establishment including some of the most powerful and influential figures in the Trump administration such as Attorney General Sessions, Senior Policy Adviser Stephen Miller, and former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon.
Described by Horowitz as a think-tank turned “battle-tank,” the DHFC functions as an umbrella foundation with many projects working underneath it. These projects include “Jihad Watch” and “Frontpage magazine” ― both of which have exhibited anti-Islamic sentiment since their inception.
In 2007, the DHFC began its “Islamofascism Awareness Week.” According to the center, the week would be taking place on 100 college campuses and aimed to alert American students to the looming threat posed by Islam.
A recent 2018 article featured on the DHFC’s most prominent offshoot publication Frontpage Magazine urged “forging ties with our shared Western patrimony…to ensure that his and our civilization is saved, yet again, from the scourge of Islam.”
Robert Spencer, one of the most prolific anti-Muslim figures in the United States, is a vocal affiliate of the Freedom Center. His blog Jihad Watch operates as a subsidiary of the Freedom Center, receiving significant funding from Horowitz.
The Freedom Center hosts an annual “Restoration Weekend.” This event serves as a ‘retreat’ for many prominent American anti-Islamic figures, ranging from Pamela Geller, founder of the “Stop Islamization of America” group, to ex-Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos, who was awarded the Annie Taylor Award for Courage at Restoration Weekend 2016.
The Freedom Center exercises significant influence within the American conservative political arena through its various media platforms, organized programs/events, and high-level relationships.
The Center has created an online encyclopedia of the Left, providing profiles of leftist organizations and individuals. The encyclopedia has been cited in several anti-Leftist books and thousands of articles, including Stanley Kurtz’s definitive portrait of Obama’s radicalism, Radical in Chief, and Aaron Klein’s The Manchurian President.
Frontpage magazine is the FC’s “flagship” site for which Horowitz is the editor-in-chief. Contributors have included Paul Gottfried, John Derbyshire, Ann Coulter, Mustafa Akyol, Jamie Glazov, Robert Spencer, Bruce Thornton, Raymond Ibrahim, Kenneth Timmerman, and now-senior adviser to President Trump, Stephen Miller.
David Horowitz Television is a centralized media platform, aggregating the Center’s media presence onto one site. Featured programs include, Jew Hatred on Campus, Wednesday Morning Club, The Retreat, Restoration Weekend, Texas Weekend, Colleges, FrontPage Mag. Wednesday Morning Club has featured prominent political speakers such as former U.S. Solicitor General and Chancellor of Baylor University Ken Starr, Fox News commentator Robert Spencer, and English media personality Katie Hopkins, among others.
