| Robert Spencer | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1962 (age 49–50) |
| Residence | United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A. (1983), M.A. (1986), Religious Studies) |
| Occupation | Author, blogger |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Known for | Criticism of Islam, books and websites about Jihad and Islamic terrorism |
| Notable works | The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion, (2006) The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (And the Crusades), (2005) |
| Style | Advocacy journalism |
| Website | |
| www.jihadwatch.org | |
Robert Bruce Spencer (born 1962) is an American author and blogger best known for critiques of Islam and research into Islamic terrorism and jihad. He has published ten books, including two New York Times bestsellers, and is a regular contributor to David Horowitz's FrontPage Magazine and Human Events. In 2003, with sponsorship by David Horowitz Freedom Center, he founded and has since directed Jihad Watch, a blog he describes as containing "...news of the international jihad, [and] commentary..."[1] which is dedicated to "bringing public attention to the role that jihad theology and ideology plays in the modern world, and to correcting popular misconceptions about the role of jihad and religion in modern-day conflicts".[2] He also co-founded Stop Islamization of America (SIOA) and the Freedom Defense Initiative, with activist Pamela Geller, with whom he co-authored a book, The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America.
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According to a 2010 interview in New York magazine, Spencer's father worked for the Voice of America during the Cold War, and in his younger days, Spencer himself worked at Revolution Books, a Communist bookstore in New York City founded by Robert Avakian.[3] Spencer is a practicing Melkite Greek Catholic.[4][5] It is a rite of the Catholic Church whose adherents are, according to Spencer, "mostly concentrated in Lebanon and Syria, also in Jordan and the Palestinian territories."[1] He has said his grandparents were forced to emigrate from an area that is now part of Turkey because they were Christians.[1]
Spencer received a B.A. in 1983 and an M.A. in 1986 in religious studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His masters thesis was on a Catholic history topic.[6] He has said he has been studying Islamic theology, law, and history on his own since 1980.[1][7] He worked in think tanks for more than 20 years,[3] and in 2002–2003 did a stint as an adjunct fellow with the Free Congress Foundation, an arm of the Heritage Foundation.[8][9] Spencer named Paul Weyrich, also a Melkite Catholic, as a mentor of his writings on Islam. Spencer writes, "Paul Weyrich taught me a great deal, by word and by example – about how to deal both personally and professionally with the slanders and smears that are a daily aspect of this work."[9] Spencer's first book on Islam was published in 2002.
Spencer does not believe that traditional Islam is "inherently terroristic" but says he can prove that "traditional Islam contains violent and supremacist elements", and that "its various schools unanimously teach warfare against and the subjugation of unbelievers".[10] However, he rejects the notion that all Muslims are necessarily violent people.[10] He has said that among moderate Muslims, "there are some who are genuinely trying to frame a theory and practice of Islam that will allow for peaceful coexistence with unbelievers as equals."[11] Spencer has also said he would welcome any Muslim who renounces jihad and dhimmitude to join in his "anti-jihadist efforts",[12] but feels that anyone pursuing his called-for reforms will face a difficult task, because "the radicals actually do have a stronger theoretical, theological, and legal basis within Islam for what they believe than the moderates do."[13] He has also argued that many so-called reformers are not interested in genuine reform, but instead are aiming to deflect scrutiny of Islam.[11][13]
Spencer has expressed criticism of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and numerous other Muslim advocacy groups that he claims are closely tied to allegedly jihadist organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood.[14] He has also criticized the employment of several Muslims who were[15] convicted on charges relating to terrorism.[16]
He has appeared with Ayn Rand Institute speakers on several occasions.[17] In an interview with the Washington Post he was "...asked if he was being deliberately combative and provocative, Spencer chuckled. "Why not?" he asked. "It's fun."[18]
Qur'an critic and secularist author Ibn Warraq has said that Spencer "tells the truth that few in the U.S. or Europe wish to face".[19]
Michelle Malkin says that Spencer "tells truths about jihadists that no one else will tell."[19] Conservative radio talk show host Dennis Prager has called JihadWatch, "one of most honorable Web sites that I know of monitoring jihad in the world today."[20]
In a public debate between Spencer and Daniel C. Peterson, a professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic, Peterson was critical about what he described as a selective criticism of Islam, but conceded to Spencer that "yes there is a broad consensus and has been for a long time about certain elements of jihadi teaching," about Spencer's assertion that the schools of Islamic jurisprudence do agree on the necessity to wage war against unbelievers, and that "we are really not disagreeing that much ... terrorism, Islamic terrorism, really does have roots in actual parts of the tradition of Islam."[21][22]
Spencer's work has been criticized as showing "entrenched hostility" towards Islam,[23] and condemned as hate speech by a number of Muslim-American and civil rights groups.[24][25]
Karen Armstrong criticized Spencer's citations of Islamic scripture as cherry-picked,[26] stating among other examples that "Spencer never cites the Koran's condemnation of all warfare as an 'awesome evil', its prohibition of aggression or its insistence that only self-defence justifies armed conflict..." She concludes that "His book is a gift to extremists who can use it to 'prove' ... that the west is incurably hostile to their faith."
Benazir Bhutto accused Spencer of "falsely constructing a divide between Islam and West". She said he was using the Internet to spread hatred of Islam by presenting a "skewed, one-sided, and inflammatory story that only helps to sow the seed of civilizational conflict".[27]
Dinesh D'Souza, of the Hoover Institution, wrote that Spencer downplays the passages of the Quran that urge peace and goodwill to reach one-sided opinions. He contends that Spencer applies a moral standard to Muslim empires that could not have been met by any European empire.[28]
In an article discussing Bat Ye'or's 2005 book Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis, French academic historian Ivan Jablonka refers to Spencer, saying he has made a specialty of denouncing Islamist threats and quoting Spencer's own review of Eurabia as criticizing Europe for "selling its soul to the devil 'in exchange for markets'".[29]
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has named Spencer and SIOA co-founder Pamela Geller as the founders of an anti-Muslim hate group.[30][31] In the Summer 2011 issue of Intelligence Report, published by the SPLC, Robert Steinback listed Spencer as a member of the "anti-Muslim inner circle", noting that "Spencer has been known to fraternize with European racists and neo-fascists, though he says such contacts were merely incidental."[32] Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) listed Spencer as a "Smearcaster", and stated that "by selectively ignoring inconvenient Islamic texts and commentaries, Spencer concludes that Islam is innately extremist and violent".[33]
On December 20, 2006, the government of Pakistan announced a ban on Spencer's book, The Truth About Muhammad, citing "objectionable material" as the cause.[34] Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto was likewise highly critical of Spencer's work.[27] In his response to Bhutto's criticism, Spencer notes that the passage she cites was in fact written by Ibn Warraq.[35]
In 2009, Spencer was asked to participate in an information session about Islam and Muslims designed for ethnic and multicultural librarians entitled "Perspectives on Islam: Beyond the Stereotyping", at the 2009 annual meeting of the American Library Association, which was sponsored by the ALA's Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT). After objections were raised by ALA members and the general public, the three other panelists withdrew in protest and the session was ultimately canceled.[36]
In March 2010, Spencer endorsed the English Defence League (EDL) saying that "The EDL is standing up to violent thugs from both the Left and the increasingly assertive Islamic communities in Britain, and they deserve the support of all free people."[37] The EDL has been described as a hate group by various British organizations, such as Searchlight Magazine[38] and the Jewish Community Security Trust.[39]
In August 2010 The Washington Post cited Spencer, along with Pamela Geller as conservative bloggers who have been influential in challenging the construction of the Park51 project, which he calls the "Ground Zero mosque".[40] Spencer and Geller's organization Stop Islamization of America launched their first public protest outside of the Park51 location on June 6, 2010.
Adam Serwer, writing in The American Prospect countered that Spencer's evidence for this accusation was insufficient, and criticized Spencer's conclusions regarding Rauf's comments on the practice of Shariah by American Muslims. Serwer asked Rauf to clarify, and the latter responded that "...there are aspects of Sharia law that we are allowed to practice. Like Jews practice their dietary laws, we practice them without contradiction."[41] The non-partisan FactCheck also found no evidence of Rauf's supposed radicalism, stating that "Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf has a long history of cooperation with the U.S. government, beginning during the Bush administration", and that supposedly anti-American comments made by him were "...taken out of context".[42]
In an October 2010 news article, an investigative report by The Tennessean found that "IRS filings from 2008 show that Robert Spencer earned $132,537 from the David Horowitz Freedom Center, and Horowitz pocketed over $400,000 for himself in just one year". [43][44]
In September 2010, on ABC's This Week show, Reza Aslan said that SIOA is an offshoot of SIOE, which he said had been referred to as a neo-Nazi organization by the European Union.[45] Spencer later challenged Aslan to produce any evidence of his claim.[46]