Robert Bruce Spencer (born 1962) is an American blogger and author of articles and books relating to Islam and Islamic terrorism. He has published nine books, including two bestsellers, and also is a contributor to the FrontPage magazine, directed by David Horowitz. He created Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch Web sites that focus on Islamic terrorism-related events and various Jihad-activity worldwide.[1]
Biography
Robert Spencer received a Master's degree in the department of Religious Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1986. His master's thesis is titled The Monophysite in the Mirror and concerns the Christological controversies of the early Church and their connection to various ecclesiological models. He claims it led him to study the Eastern Churches in depth, which "coalesced nicely" with his study of Islam.[2]
Views
Spencer holds the view that "traditional Islam contains violent and supremacist elements," and that "its various schools unanimously teach warfare against and the subjugation of unbelievers." He calls for Muslims to follow an interpretation of Islam that rejects violence and supremacism.[3]. Although he believes Islam has violent elements in its traditional teachings, he rejects the idea that all Muslims must necessarily be violent people as a misunderstanding of his position. He asserts that "Islam is not a monolith, and never have I said or written anything that characterizes all Muslims as terrorist or given to violence. I am only calling attention to the roots and goals of jihad violence. Any Muslim who renounces violent jihad and dhimmitude is welcome to join in our anti-jihadist efforts. Any hate in my books comes from Muslim sources I quote, not from me. Cries of "hatred" and "bigotry" are effectively used by American Muslim advocacy groups to try to stifle the debate about the terrorist threat."[4]
Spencer has expressed strong criticism of the Council on American-Islamic Relations as well as numerous other Muslim advocacy groups, in particular relating to their alleged close ties with jihadist organisations such as the Muslim Brotherhood[5] and their employment of several Muslims who were later convicted on charges relating to terrorism.[6]
Spencer says 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,"[7] but he also argues that many so-called reformers are not interested in genuine reform, instead aiming to deflect scrutiny of Islam. Spencer 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."[8]
Views on Spencer and his works
Those who view Spencer positively
Those with a positive view of Spencer's works include Daniel Pipes, Frank Gaffney, Ibn Warraq[9], Ann Coulter, Dennis Prager, Steven Emerson, Don Feder, Walid Phares, Michelle Malkin, R. James Woolsey, Jr., David G. Dalin[10] and Bat Ye'or,[11].
Daniel Pipes has said: "Robert Spencer and I have discussed the perceived differences in our view of Islam. He and I concluded that, although we have different emphases - he deals more with scriptures, I more with history - we have no disagreements."[12] He has also endorsed Spencer's books The Truth About Muhammad, and Onward Muslim Soldiers.
Dennis Prager has said that Spencer's website, JihadWatch "is one of most honorable Web sites that I know of monitoring jihad in the world today."[13]
R. James Woolsey, Jr. said of Spencer's Book "Stealth Jihad," "Robert Spencer makes a solid case that the major threat to our way of life does not come solely from those radical Islamists who embrace violence and terrorism. It also comes from those who do not accept that they must live side-by-side on a basis of equality with those of other faiths in a civil society." [14]
Those who view Spencer negatively
Karen Armstrong, author of numerous books on comparative religion, wrote in her review of Spencer's books that he writes in hatred. On his methods, she wrote: he deliberately manipulates the evidence to support his thesis.[15]
"When discussing Muhammad’s war with Mecca, 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. He ignores the Koranic emphasis on the primacy of forgiveness and peaceful negotiation: the second the enemy asks for peace, Muslims must lay down their arms and accept any terms offered, however disadvantageous. There is no mention of Muhammad’s non-violent campaign that ended the conflict."
"People would be offended by an account of Judaism that dwelled exclusively on Joshua’s massacres and never mentioned Rabbi Hillel’s Golden Rule, or a description of Christianity based on the bellicose Book of Revelation that failed to cite the Sermon on the Mount. But the widespread ignorance about Islam in the West makes many vulnerable to Spencer’s polemic; he is telling them what they are predisposed to hear. His book is a gift to extremists who can use it to ”prove” to those Muslims who have been alienated by events in Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq that the west is incurably hostile to their faith."
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, in her book Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West, called Spencer a "radical intellectual" and accused him of "falsely constructing a divide between Islam and West." Regarding Spencer's blog JihadWatch, she said he uses the Internet to spread misinformation and hatred of Islam and presents a "skewed, one-sided, and inflammatory story that only helps to sow the seed of civilizational conflict."[16]
Dinesh D'Souza, a fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a conservative Catholic, who debated Spencer, noted that "Spencer is an effective polemicist" and that he downplays the passages of the Quran that urge peace and goodwill to reach his one-sided opinions. He also noted that Spencer applies moral standard to Muslim empires that could not have been met by any of the European empires, including the British, French, and Spanish. For example, 15th century Spain gave its Jews a choice of either converting to Christianity, leaving the country, or being killed. Contrasting that with history of Muslim empires, D'Souza noted: "For example, the Muslims ruled North India for two centuries before they were displaced by the British. The Muslim emperors could have killed the tens of millions of Hindus under their control or at least forced them to become Muslims. They did nothing of the sort."[17].
Dr. Robert D. Crane called Spencer superficially scholarly and notes that his explanations actually invert Islam's true teachings. Crane documented that Spencer did this by either omitting context or using unreliable sources.[18] For example, Crane shows that Spencer, interpreting a key Quranic passage (chapter 9, verses 1-6), on pages 160-162 of his 2006 book "The Truth About Muhammad," completely omits verse 4 from his reference which qualifies the verse to allow warfare in defensive cases only. As stated in the Quran 9:4, "But excepted shall be with whom you [O believers] have made a covenant and who thereafter have in no wise failed to fulfill their obligations towards you, and neither have aided anyone against you. Verily, God loves those who are conscious of Him."(Quran 9:4). Crane concludes: "The message here is to respect the rights of those who have not embraced Islam, rather than to exterminate them."[18][19]
Louay M. Safi, Khaleel Mohammed, and Carl Ernst assert that Spencer's scholarship and interpretations of Islam are fundamentally flawed - that he supports preconceived notions through selection bias - that he lacks genuine understanding and; that 'he has no academic training in Islamic studies whatsoever; his M.A. degree was in the field of early Christianity'.[20][21][22] For example, critics have objected to what they describe as Spencer's method of taking a position they deem to be radical (on apostasy, women, etc.) and then attribute that position to all of Islam, rather than situating it within ongoing discussions.[23].
Karen Armstrong,[24] Cathy Young,[25] Stephen Schwartz (journalist),[26] and organizations such as CAIR,[27], ADC[28] and FAIR[29] also hold negative views.
Professor Khaleel Mohammed and Spencer have had detailed discussions on FrontPage Magazine.[21][30][31][32] Professor Khaleel Mohammed wrote that as a scholar he prefers to engage in discussion where facts, rather than fictions and prejudgments are presented. And not where the interpretation of Islam is by those whose agenda is based on hate.[33]
Carl Ernst and William Kenan have called him an "Islamophobe".[34] Ernst notes that Spencer's articles have never been published in peer-reviewed academic journals, nor are his publications similarly reviewed or edited by a qualified scholar and published by an academic or university publishers but by conservative presses such as Regnery Publishing.[34]
French academic historian, Ivan Jablonka, from École Normale Supérieure in Paris, in his study of similarities between the approaches to Islam of authors like Bat Ye'or, Robert Spencer, David Pryce-Jones and Daniel Pipes[35], argues that, to Spencer, "Islamist integrists drive European politics" to such a point that "Zapatero's victory in Spain after Madrid blasts is presented by Spencer as an ultimate victory of jihadists." Such declarations, according to Jablonka, underline the similarities between Spencer's work and Bat Ye'or's views on "Eurabia." Jablonka notes that Spencer or Bat Ye'or's views lack of academic seriousness: their purported historical and interpretative continuity between some data picked up from Middle Age Islamic civilization and modern activism is a political construction poorly substantiated. For Jablonka, writings of authors like Spencer or Bat Ye'or relentlessly intent to designate "new enemies for wars to come"[36].
Spencer's responses to some critics
In response to criticism, Spencer claims that none of his critics have substantiated their accusations of inaccuracy in his work, but content themselves with broad and vague accusations. He says:
"I present the work not on the basis of my credentials, but on the basis of the evidence I bring forth; evaluate it for yourself." In response to Khaleel Mohammed, Spencer says:
"A few years ago Khaleel Mohammed said this about me: "He misquotes verses of the Qur'an, takes things out of context, and shamelessly lies." Since I do not misquote verses of the Qur'an, take things out of context, or shamelessly lie, I contacted him and asked for either documentation of his charges or a retraction...He refused to retract, even though he did not (and could not) produce even one example of my misquoting verses of the Qur'an, taking things out of context, or shamelessly lying." [37]
In response to Benazir Bhutto Spencer asserts that at least some of what she wrote is a case of mistaken identity. In her book Bhutto quotes Ibn Warraq but then mistakenly asserts that those words were written by Spencer:
"So while excoriating me for allegedly quoting the Qur’an out of context, Benazir Bhutto attributed to me words written by someone else. And that someone is, like Bhutto, a Pakistani who was raised a Muslim." [38]
Concerning this version of his Wikipedia biography, dated March 5, 2008, Spencer said "it is relentlessly biased, and the negative spin is thoroughgoing." [2] However, on March 6, 2008, Spencer specified revisions he would like to see made to his bio.[2]
Book-ban
The government of Pakistan announced on 20 December 2006 its ban on Robert Spencer's book, The Truth About Muhammad, citing "objectionable material" as the cause.[39]
Bibliography
Best sellers
Others
- Religion of Peace?: Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn't, Regnery Publishing, 2007, ISBN 1596985151
- The Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims (editor), Prometheus Books, 2005. ISBN 1-59102-249-5
- Onward Muslim Soldiers: How Jihad Still Threatens America and the West, Regnery Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0-89526-100-6
- Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics (with Daniel Ali), Ascension Press, 2003. ISBN 0-9659228-5-5
- Islam Unveiled: Disturbing Questions About the World's Fastest Growing Faith, Encounter Books, 2002. ISBN 1-893554-58-9
See also
References
- ^ "Bio from Jihadwatch.org". http://jihadwatch.org/spencer/.
- ^ a b c "Jihad Watch: Wikipedia and Robert Spencer". http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/020205.php.
- ^ "The Last Patriot: Worse than Spencer's books!". www.jihadwatch.org. 2008-07-07. http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/021661.php.
- ^ "About Robert Spencer". Jihad Watch. http://www.jihadwatch.org/spencer/.
- ^ "CAIR "unindicted co-conspirator" in Hamas funding case". Jihad Watch. 2007-06-04. http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/016754.php.
- ^ Robert Spencer (2008-05-27). "Cair's Continuing Mystery". Human Events. http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=26676.
- ^ Robert Spencer (2006-01-14). "What is a moderate Muslim?". Jihad Watch. http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/009791.php.
- ^ John Hawkins. "An Interview With Robert Spencer". Right Wing News. http://www.rightwingnews.com/interviews/spencer.php.
- ^ Ibn Warraq contributed to The Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims, edited by Spencer
- ^ RECOMMENDED BOOKS TO UNDERSTAND JIHAD AND DHIMMITUDE: Books by Jihad Watch Director Robert Spencer
- ^ Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis, Bat Ye'or, p. 31, 107, 206
- ^ Reply to Pipes' reply to Rick H. - Reader comments at DanielPipes.org
- ^ Paula Zahn (2007-07-31). "Koran in the Toilet: Hate Crime?; Political Bedtime Stories". CNN. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0707/31/pzn.01.html.
- ^ Robert Spencer. "EXPOSED: The Islamic plan to conquer the U.S. -- not by terrorist acts, but by stealth". Conservative Book Club. http://www.conservativebookclub.com/products/BookPage.asp?prod_cd=c7292.
- ^ Armstrong, Karen (April 27 2007), "Balancing the Prophet", FT.com (Financial Times), http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4a05a4a4-f134-11db-838b-000b5df10621.html
- ^ Benazir Bhutto, Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West, Harper, 2008, p.245-6
- ^ Dinesh D'Souza (2009-01-17). "Letting Bin Laden Define Islam". http://newsbloggers.aol.com/2007/03/02/letting-bin-laden-define-islam/.
- ^ a b Robert D. Crane (2007-10-20). "“Fascist-Islamophobia”: A Case Study in Totalitarian Demonization - Part 3". The American Muslim. http://www.theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/part_3/0014839.
- ^ Robert D. Crane (2007-09-17). "Forging a Common Front Against the Totalitarian Mind: A Case Study in Religious Demonization". The American Muslim. http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/forging_a_common_front_against_the_totalitarian_mind_a_case_study_in_religi/.
- ^ Louay M. Safi (December 29 2005). "Will the Extreme Right Succeed? Turning the War on Terror into a War on Islam". http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/24568.
- ^ a b "Response to Spencer's "Muslim Feminism?"". FrontPage Magazine. http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17727.
- ^ "Home page of Muhammad Khaleel". http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~khaleel/. - Comments on his discussions with Spencer accessible at 8/28/2006 - The comments are "archived in a prior version of this article". http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk%3ARobert_Spencer&diff=72355508&oldid=72338443.
- ^ "Home page of Muhammad Khaleel". http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~khaleel/. - Comments on his discussions with Spencer accessible at 8/28/2006 - The comments are archived here
- ^ Armstrong, Karen (April 27 2007), "Balancing the Prophet", FT.com (Financial Times), http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4a05a4a4-f134-11db-838b-000b5df10621.html Armstrong writes "he makes basic and bad mistakes of fact", concentrating on what she says are omissions.
- ^ "The Jihad Against Muslims". http://www.reason.com/news/show/36677.html.
- ^ "A Schwartz-Spencer Exchange". http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID={23602E93-CF37-484E-8E40-2B07B239C1DB}.
- ^ "CAIR press release". November 11, 2005. http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1853&theType=NR.
- ^ "ADC Op-ed: "Violence is a human, not an Islamic trait"". American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. February 3, 2004. http://www.adc.org/index.php?id=2153&type=100.
- ^ "The Smearcasters: Robert Spencer". Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. October 2008. http://www.smearcasting.com/smear_spencer.html.
- ^ "Muslim Feminism? by Spencer". http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17696.
- ^ "Response to Khaleel Mohammed". http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17769.
- ^ "Spencer vs. Mohammed, Round II". http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=18001.
- ^ "Khaleel's home page". http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~khaleel/.
- ^ a b "Notes on the Ideological Patrons of an Islamophobe, Robert Spencer". http://www.unc.edu/~cernst/courses/2004/026/001/spencer.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
- ^ La peur de l'Islam, Bat Ye'or et le spectre de l'Eurabie, [1].
- ^ ibid.
- ^ http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/022881.php
- ^ http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.aspx?GUID=74FC0798-8F4F-45CC-B1AB-F26D17333D91
- ^ "Pakistan bans Roberts' book about Prophet Muhammad". http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=936032.
- ^ Best Sellers - Hardcover Nonfiction - NYT
- ^ Paperback Nonfiction - NYT
External links
Audio and Interviews
Video clips
