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[[Al Qaeda]] included Spencer in a list of "Zionist crusader missionaries of hate and counter-Islam consultants." <ref>[http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP128106]</ref> Khaleel Mohammed and Spencer have had detailed discussions on Front Page Magazine <ref> [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17696]</ref> <ref> [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17727]</ref> <ref> [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17769] </ref> <ref> [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=18001] </ref>.
[[Al Qaeda]] included Spencer in a list of "Zionist crusader missionaries of hate and counter-Islam consultants." <ref>[http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP128106]</ref> Khaleel Mohammed and Spencer have had detailed discussions on Front Page Magazine <ref> [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17696]</ref> <ref> [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17727]</ref> <ref> [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17769] </ref> <ref> [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=18001] </ref>.


== Criticism ==
=== Credentials and Scholarship ===
Spencer's credentials as a scholar of Islam are seen as questionable. Though he claims to have been a researcher of Islam for 25 years, there is no public record of any study, interest or publications by Spencer related to Islam prior to 2001. His publication history in the 1990s consists of articles in Roman Catholic publications on matters of Catholic dogma and the need for absolute orthodoxy within the Church.


⚫
===Spencer's responses to critics===
=== Accusations of Stereotyping and Bigotry ===
{{pov-section}}
* Spencer is named one of nine candidates from the Americas in the running for the fabled Islamic Human Rights Commission’s “Islamophobia award” for 2006
⚫
In response to criticism, Spencer claims that none of his critics have managed to substantiate their claims 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. One example: after I spoke at the University of North Carolina, Professor Carl Ernst of the university wrote a piece about me warning that my books were non-scholarly and were published by presses that he believed reflected a political agenda of which he did not approve. That kind of approach may impress some people, but Carl Ernst did not and cannot bring forth even a single example of a supposed inaccuracy in my work. I would, of course, be happy to debate Carl Ernst or any other scholar of Islam about Islam and jihad; this is a standing invitation."{{fact}}. He has also said "It is amusing to me that some people like to focus on my credentials, when I have never made a secret of the fact that most of what I know about Islam comes from personal study. It is easier for them to talk about degrees than to find any inaccuracy in my work. Yet 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."{{fact}}. Spencer has criticized academics at his web site writing that he opted not to enter any PhD program because he "could see [in 1986] that Middle East Studies and other departments were becoming highly politicized and retreating from genuine academic work"<ref> [http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/005715.php] </ref>.<ref> [http://www.jihadwatch.org/spencer/] </ref> About charges of "bigotry" and "hatred" from Ernst {{fact}} and others he says: "It is not an act of hatred against Muslims to point out the depredations of jihad ideology. It is a peculiar species of displacement and projection to accuse someone who exposes the hatred of one group of hatred himself: I believe in the equality of rights and dignity of all people, and that is why I oppose the global jihad. And I think that those who make the charge know better in any case: they use the charge as a tool to frighten the credulous and politically correct away from the truth."{{fact}}
* Spencer selective emphasis on the violent interpretations of jihäd and the worst possible interpretations of Islam may prejudice his readers' perception of a religion that has many facets besides those he brings to the public.[http://www.ratzingerfanclub.com/blog/2003/11/differing-interpretations-of-jihad.html]
* Many Islamic-American and Arab-American groups, such as The [[American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee]] and The [[Council on American-Islamic Relations]] ([[CAIR]]), have often criticized Spencer.
** "[http://www.cair-california.org/ CAIR-LA] has learned that Robert Spencer, who operates the “Jihad Watch” Internet hate site, spoke at Temple Shalom for the Arts during a [[Yom Kippur]] event. Spencer’s website is notorious for its depiction of Islam as an inherently violent faith that is a threat to world peace." [ed note: exact quote do not change] November 11, 2005. [[CAIR]] press release [http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1853&theType=NR]
** "Since [[9/11]], right-wing evangelical preachers such as [[Pat Robertson]] and [[Jerry Falwell]], and commentators such as Robert Spencer and [[Daniel Pipes]], have spared no effort to spread fear and hatred of Islam and the growing American Muslim community." American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, [http://www.adc.org/index.php?id=2153&type=100]

Most notably, articles written by JihadWatch Board Vice President [[Hugh Fitzgerald]], posted and endorsed by Spencer are seen as particularly incendiary. [[Hugh Fitzgerald#Criticism|Fitzgerald is critized]] for advocating (in Spencer-posted articles):
* a complete ban on Muslim migration to the Western world [http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/007241.php]
* finding ways to deport all Muslim non-citizens [http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/008486.php]
* limiting contact between Muslims in the US (citizens and non-citizens) and friends and family in other countries [[http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/007241.php]]
* the creation of an environment in the US where the practice of Islam is made difficult. [http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/008486.php].
* the POV that the concept of a "Moderate Muslim" is meaningless as it is impossible to tell whether they are sincere [http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/008667.php]

=== Presents Misleading Arguments ===
* "Spencer cherry picks few out of the hundreds verses that deal with issues of peace and war, and misrepresents Islam by arguing that the Quran directs Muslims to fight non-Muslims on the account of having different faith. He does that by obscuring both the textual and historical contexts of the verses he cites." [http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/24568] [http://www.tharwaproject.com/index.php?option=com_keywords&task=view&id=1105&Itemid=0]

** Spencer bases his "representation of Islam on its worst examples while carefully shielding both Christianity and the West from comparable critique" [http://indyweek.com/durham/2003-01-08/ae.html]

* "Spencer attributes beliefs etc to the Qur'an when in fact they are NOT from the Qur’an but tradition." [http://www.frontpagemag.com/articles/readarticle.asp?ID=13957&p=1] Specifically, Spencer overweights the sayings of Muhammad, while ignoring the contrary verses in the Quran, even though the sayings do "not have the authority of the Qur'an and was made up long after Muhammad died." [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17727]
** "Spencer portrays himself as a scholar of Islam, and that he is not. He misquotes verses of the Qur'an, takes things out of context, and shamelessly lies."[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17727]

* Spencer ignores non-religious motivations of conflict between Muslims and non-Muslims. [http://www.thewhitepath.com/archives/2004/10/terrors_roots_not_in_islam.php]

* Spencer "falls into the Orientalist trap of trying to use Islamic legal compendiums dating back well over 600 years...to define for all times what Muslims think about a particular issue." [http://hnn.us/articles/9005.html]

* Spencer has no formal training in Islamic studies and his works are claimed to not meet scholarly standards:
** Spencer's "books are not scholarly, and they do not pass the review of blind refereed evaluation practiced by university presses. They are instead supported by specific political and ideological interests through think-tanks and private foundations" [http://www.unc.edu/courses/2004spring/reli/026/001/spencer.htm].
** "Spencer's study is not the critical, experienced account it claims to be. It's intellectually dishonest" [http://indyweek.com/durham/2003-01-08/ae.html]


⚫
== Spencer's responses to Criticism ==
⚫
In response to criticism, Spencer claims that none of his critics have managed to substantiate their claims 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. One example: after I spoke at the University of North Carolina, Professor Carl Ernst of the university wrote a piece about me warning that my books were non-scholarly and were published by presses that he believed reflected a political agenda of which he did not approve. That kind of approach may impress some people, but Carl Ernst did not and cannot bring forth even a single example of a supposed inaccuracy in my work. I would, of course, be happy to debate Carl Ernst or any other scholar of Islam about Islam and jihad; this is a standing invitation."{{fact}}. He has also said "It is amusing to me that some people like to focus on my credentials, when I have never made a secret of the fact that most of what I know about Islam comes from personal study. It is easier for them to talk about degrees than to find any inaccuracy in my work. Yet 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."{{fact}}. Spencer has criticized academics at his web site writing that he opted not to enter any PhD program because he "could see [in 1986] that Middle East Studies and other departments were becoming highly politicized and retreating from genuine academic work"<ref> [http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/005715.php] </ref>.<ref> [http://www.jihadwatch.org/spencer/] </ref> About charges of "bigotry" and "hatred" from Ernst {{fact}} and others he says: "It is not an act of hatred against Muslims to point out the depredations of jihad ideology. It is a peculiar species of displacement and projection to accuse someone who exposes the hatred of one group of hatred himself: I believe in the equality of rights and dignity of all people, and that is why I oppose the global jihad. And I think that those who make the charge know better in any case: they use the charge as a tool to frighten the credulous and politically correct away from the truth."{{fact}} On Khaleel Mohammed's assertion regarding the traditions ([[hadith]]) and Spencer's perceived dishonesty, Spencer has noted importance of the traditions to Muslims and refuted Mohammed's claim that he misquoted the Quran in the original article. [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17769]


===CAIR===
===CAIR===
On November 2006, [[Council on American-Islamic Relations|CAIR]]'s executive director [[Ahmed Bedier]] posted a comment on [[Jihad Watch]] attacking Robert Spencer's motives, stating that Robert Spencer is a bigot, and "no one is reading Jihad Watch." Robert Spencer responded by showing Internet traffic of Jihad Watch, and his New York Times bestseller books. Ironically, this response lead to over 260 comments from Jihad Watch readers. [http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/013937.php]
On November 2006, [[Council on American-Islamic Relations|CAIR]]'s executive director [[Ahmed Bedier]] posted a comment on [[Jihad Watch]] attacking Robert Spencer's motives, stating that Robert Spencer is a bigot, and "no one is reading Jihad Watch." Robert Spencer responded by showing Internet traffic of Jihad Watch, and his New York Times best seller books. Ironically, this response lead to over 260 comments from Jihad Watch readers. [http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/013937.php]


=="Invitation to Islam"==
=="Invitation to Islam"==

Revision as of 22:05, 10 November 2006

R. Spencer

Robert Bruce Spencer is an American writer focusing on Islam. He is the author of six books on topics related to Islam and terrorism. He is the founder and director of the Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch websites, which concentrate on Islamic terrorism and related events.[1]

Biography

Robert Spencer holds a Master's degree in Religious Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 1986.

He began his career in 1979 at the University of North Carolina. His MA thesis is entitled "The Monophysite in the Mirror" and concerns the conversion of John Henry Newman to Catholicism in 1845 and Newman's denunciation of the Church of England as monophysite.

According to the biography at one of his websites,[2] Spencer began studying Islam in 1980 during his first year as an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina. He wrote freelance articles for various publications between 1980 and 2001 on Catholic religious issues. In 2002, he became an adjunct fellow with the Free Congress Foundation. He wrote seven monographs on Islam for the Free Congress Foundation in 2002 and 2003. He is a regular columnist for FrontPageMagazine.com, and Human Events. His writings on Islam and other topics have been published in various other publications.

Robert Spencer is currently the director of JihadWatch, which became in 2006 a project of the David Horowitz Freedom Center [11] and an Adjunct Fellow of the Free Congress Foundation. In 2006, he participated in a workshop on terrorist threats jointly sponsored by the German Foreign Ministry and the United States Embassy Berlin [12]. In the same year, he also participated in a workshop at the United States Central Command [13]. He has discussed jihad, Islam, and terrorism on a variety of television networks, as well as on numerous radio programs.

Views on Spencer's works

Daniel Pipes[3], Bat Ye'or[4], David Horowitz [5] and Ibn Warraq [6] are among those who have a positive view of Spencer's works, while Carl Ernst and Khaleel Mohammed hold negative views.

Al Qaeda included Spencer in a list of "Zionist crusader missionaries of hate and counter-Islam consultants." [7] Khaleel Mohammed and Spencer have had detailed discussions on Front Page Magazine [8] [9] [10] [11].


Spencer's responses to critics

In response to criticism, Spencer claims that none of his critics have managed to substantiate their claims 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. One example: after I spoke at the University of North Carolina, Professor Carl Ernst of the university wrote a piece about me warning that my books were non-scholarly and were published by presses that he believed reflected a political agenda of which he did not approve. That kind of approach may impress some people, but Carl Ernst did not and cannot bring forth even a single example of a supposed inaccuracy in my work. I would, of course, be happy to debate Carl Ernst or any other scholar of Islam about Islam and jihad; this is a standing invitation."[citation needed]. He has also said "It is amusing to me that some people like to focus on my credentials, when I have never made a secret of the fact that most of what I know about Islam comes from personal study. It is easier for them to talk about degrees than to find any inaccuracy in my work. Yet 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."[citation needed]. Spencer has criticized academics at his web site writing that he opted not to enter any PhD program because he "could see [in 1986] that Middle East Studies and other departments were becoming highly politicized and retreating from genuine academic work"[12].[13] About charges of "bigotry" and "hatred" from Ernst [citation needed] and others he says: "It is not an act of hatred against Muslims to point out the depredations of jihad ideology. It is a peculiar species of displacement and projection to accuse someone who exposes the hatred of one group of hatred himself: I believe in the equality of rights and dignity of all people, and that is why I oppose the global jihad. And I think that those who make the charge know better in any case: they use the charge as a tool to frighten the credulous and politically correct away from the truth."[citation needed]

CAIR

On November 2006, CAIR's executive director Ahmed Bedier posted a comment on Jihad Watch attacking Robert Spencer's motives, stating that Robert Spencer is a bigot, and "no one is reading Jihad Watch." Robert Spencer responded by showing Internet traffic of Jihad Watch, and his New York Times best seller books. Ironically, this response lead to over 260 comments from Jihad Watch readers. [14]

"Invitation to Islam"

On 2 September 2006 a video called "Invitation to Islam" featuring Adam Gadahn with a brief appearance also by Ayman al-Zawahiri [15]. In the video, Gadahn named Spencer in a list of "Zionist crusader missionaries of hate and counter-Islam consultants" which included George W. Bush, and that if they "were to abandon their unbelief and repent and enter into the light of Islam and turn their swords against the enemies of God, it would be accepted of them and they would be our brothers in Islam."

Spencer responded with an article in Frontpage Magazine ("My Invitation From al-Qaeda", September 6, 2006) in which he publicly rejected Gadahn's offer and responded with his own counter-offer:

Meanwhile, Adam, I have an invitation of my own for you: I invite you to accept the Bill of Rights, and enter into the brotherhood of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. My invitation does not focus on my religion, although I invite you to that also, but rather on a framework within which people of differing faiths can live in peace, harmony, and mutual respect – provided that none of the groups involved cherishes supremacist ambitions to subjugate the others.

Books

Video clips

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ [2]
  3. ^ CAIR: Islamists Fooling the Establishment by Daniel Pipes and Sharon Chadha, Middle East Quarterly, Spring 2006
  4. ^ Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis, Bat Ye'or, p. 31, 107, 206
  5. ^ [3]
  6. ^ (who contributed to The Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims, edited by Spencer)
  7. ^ [4]
  8. ^ [5]
  9. ^ [6]
  10. ^ [7]
  11. ^ [8]
  12. ^ [9]
  13. ^ [10]
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