Search Results - Vidino, Lorenzo 1977-

Lorenzo G. Vidino

Lorenzo G. Vidino is an Italian-American writer on Islamism in Europe and North America, with a special focus on the Muslim Brotherhood. Since June 2015, he has headed the George Washington University Center for Cyber and Homeland Security's Program on Extremism. Vidino has written for various publications, including for the Middle East Forum and the Saudi state-owned channel Al Arabiya.

Prior to his current role, he held positions at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, the U.S. Institute of Peace, the RAND Corporation, and the Center for Security Studies (ETH Zurich). In 2014, Vidino served as an expert for the UK government's official review of the Muslim Brotherhood. From 2016 to 2018, he served as Italy's Coordinator of the National Commission on Jihadist Radicalization, under the governments of Matteo Renzi and Paolo Gentiloni.

Vidino has written two books about the Muslim Brotherhood in the West, ''The New Muslim Brotherhood in the West'' (2010) and ''The Closed Circle: Joining and Leaving the Muslim Brotherhood in the West'' (2020), both published by Columbia University Press.

Georgetown University's Bridge Initiative has criticized Vidino, saying that he "promotes conspiracy theories about the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe and the United States" that lead to the criminalization of Muslim civil society.

The 2023 Abu Dhabi Secrets investigation revealed that Vidino works for the private UAE government-linked intelligence company Alp Services. He is therefore described by ''NRC Handelsblad'' as a non-independent scientist. His ties to the United Arab Emirates have been criticized, along with his quoting of alt-right figures, including Udo Ulfkotte. Vidino has been accused of extensive disinformation by Williams College professor Farid Hafez, culminating in a $10 million lawsuit against Vidino. Provided by Wikipedia