(David P.)
2007-02-20 20:31:04 UTC
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Spencer
Robert Spencer
Robert Bruce Spencer (1962 - ) is an American writer on Islam.
He the author of six books, including two bestsellers, on topics
related to Islam and terrorism, is the founder and director of the
Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch websites that focus on Islamist
terrorism-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,[1] Spencer
began studying Islam in 1980 during his first year as an under-
graduate 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.
In 2006, he participated in a workshop on terrorist threats, jointly
sponsored by the German Foreign Ministry and the United States
Embassy Berlin [8]. In the same year, he conducted a workshop
at the United States Central Command [9]. He has discussed
jihad, Islam, and terrorism on a variety of television networks,
as well as on numerous radio programs.
His writings on Islam and other topics have been published in the
New York Post, the Washington Times, the Dallas Morning News,
Canada's National Post, FrontPage Magazine, WorldNetDaily,
Human Events, National Review Online, and in other publications.
He has consulted with United States Central Command and the
U.S. State Department and the German Foreign Ministry, and
frequently appears on global media networks such as well as on
the BBC, CNN, FoxNews, MSNBC, PBS, C-Span, as well as on
numerous radio programs including Michael Savage's Savage
Nation, The Alan Colmes Show, The G. Gordon Liddy Show,
The Neal Boortz Show, The Michael Medved Show, The Michael
Reagan Show, The Larry Elder Show, The Barbara Simpson
Show, Vatican Radio amongst others.
Views on Spencer and his works
Daniel Pipes,[2] Bat Ye'or,[3] and Ibn Warraq[4] are among those
who have a positive view of Spencer's works, while Khaleel
Mohammed[5] and organizations such as CAIR,[6] and ADC[7]
hold negative views.
Khaleel Mohammed, Louay M. Safi and Carl Ernst assert that
Spencer's scholarship and interpretations of Islam are funda-
mentally 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'.[8] [9] [5] For
example,
critics have objected to what they see as Spencer's method of
taking some Muslim interpretations and then using them to charac-
terize all Muslims or what he implies is the real Islam; cf. for
example
Mark LeVine [10]. They object to what they describe as Spencer's
method of taking a position they deem to be radical (on apostasy,
women, etc) and then attibute that position to all of Islam, rather
than situating it within ongoing discussions.[5] Khaleel Mohammed
and Spencer have had detailed discussions on Front Page
Magazine.[11][9] [12][13] Carl Ernst and William Kenan have called
him an Islamophobe.[14]. They also allege that Spencer's publications
are not scholarly because they are not blind peer reviewed and not
published by any university press.[14]
Additionally, Al-Qaeda has also singled Spencer, along with
several other individuals out for criticism. [15]
Spencer's responses to critics
In response to criticism, Spencer states that none of his critics have
substantiated their claims of inaccuracy in his work, but content
them-
selves 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.".[16] He has
also
said "It is amusing to me that some people like to focus on my creden-
tials, 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.".[17] Spencer has
criti-
cized 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".[18][19] About charges of "bigotry" and
"hatred" from Ernst [10] 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." [11]
Book-ban
The government of Pakistan announced on 20 December 2006 its
ban on Robert Spencer's book "The Truth About Muhammad:
Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion" citing "objection-
able material" as the cause. [20]
"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. [21]
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 he "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 Invi-
tation From al-Qaeda", September 6, 2006) in which he publicly
rejected Gadahn's offer and responded with his own counter-offer:
I invite you [Gadahn] 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.
.
.
--
Robert Spencer
Robert Bruce Spencer (1962 - ) is an American writer on Islam.
He the author of six books, including two bestsellers, on topics
related to Islam and terrorism, is the founder and director of the
Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch websites that focus on Islamist
terrorism-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,[1] Spencer
began studying Islam in 1980 during his first year as an under-
graduate 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.
In 2006, he participated in a workshop on terrorist threats, jointly
sponsored by the German Foreign Ministry and the United States
Embassy Berlin [8]. In the same year, he conducted a workshop
at the United States Central Command [9]. He has discussed
jihad, Islam, and terrorism on a variety of television networks,
as well as on numerous radio programs.
His writings on Islam and other topics have been published in the
New York Post, the Washington Times, the Dallas Morning News,
Canada's National Post, FrontPage Magazine, WorldNetDaily,
Human Events, National Review Online, and in other publications.
He has consulted with United States Central Command and the
U.S. State Department and the German Foreign Ministry, and
frequently appears on global media networks such as well as on
the BBC, CNN, FoxNews, MSNBC, PBS, C-Span, as well as on
numerous radio programs including Michael Savage's Savage
Nation, The Alan Colmes Show, The G. Gordon Liddy Show,
The Neal Boortz Show, The Michael Medved Show, The Michael
Reagan Show, The Larry Elder Show, The Barbara Simpson
Show, Vatican Radio amongst others.
Views on Spencer and his works
Daniel Pipes,[2] Bat Ye'or,[3] and Ibn Warraq[4] are among those
who have a positive view of Spencer's works, while Khaleel
Mohammed[5] and organizations such as CAIR,[6] and ADC[7]
hold negative views.
Khaleel Mohammed, Louay M. Safi and Carl Ernst assert that
Spencer's scholarship and interpretations of Islam are funda-
mentally 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'.[8] [9] [5] For
example,
critics have objected to what they see as Spencer's method of
taking some Muslim interpretations and then using them to charac-
terize all Muslims or what he implies is the real Islam; cf. for
example
Mark LeVine [10]. They object to what they describe as Spencer's
method of taking a position they deem to be radical (on apostasy,
women, etc) and then attibute that position to all of Islam, rather
than situating it within ongoing discussions.[5] Khaleel Mohammed
and Spencer have had detailed discussions on Front Page
Magazine.[11][9] [12][13] Carl Ernst and William Kenan have called
him an Islamophobe.[14]. They also allege that Spencer's publications
are not scholarly because they are not blind peer reviewed and not
published by any university press.[14]
Additionally, Al-Qaeda has also singled Spencer, along with
several other individuals out for criticism. [15]
Spencer's responses to critics
In response to criticism, Spencer states that none of his critics have
substantiated their claims of inaccuracy in his work, but content
them-
selves 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.".[16] He has
also
said "It is amusing to me that some people like to focus on my creden-
tials, 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.".[17] Spencer has
criti-
cized 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".[18][19] About charges of "bigotry" and
"hatred" from Ernst [10] 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." [11]
Book-ban
The government of Pakistan announced on 20 December 2006 its
ban on Robert Spencer's book "The Truth About Muhammad:
Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion" citing "objection-
able material" as the cause. [20]
"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. [21]
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 he "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 Invi-
tation From al-Qaeda", September 6, 2006) in which he publicly
rejected Gadahn's offer and responded with his own counter-offer:
I invite you [Gadahn] 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.
.
.
--