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{{short description|American anti-Muslim writer and blogger}}
:''For other people named Robert Spencer, see ]''
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{pp-semi-blp|small=yes}}
{{Infobox person <!--please see talk page re. choice of infobox format--> {{Infobox person <!--please see talk page re. choice of infobox format-->
| name =Robert Spencer | name = Robert Spencer
| honorific_suffix = | honorific_suffix =
| image =Robert Spencer.jpg | image = Robert Spencer 2020.png
| alt =
| image_size =
| caption = Spencer in 2020
| alt =
| birth_name = Robert Bruce Spencer
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1962|2|27}}
| birth_name =
| birth_place =
| birth_date ={{Birth year and age|1962}}
| monuments =
| birth_place =
| nationality = American
| monuments =
| other_names =
| residence = ]
| citizenship =
| nationality =American
| alma_mater = ] (])
| other_names =
| occupation = {{hlist|Author|blogger}}
| ethnicity =
| years_active = 2002–present
| citizenship =
| employer =
| alma_mater =The ], B.A. (1983),<br />M.A. (1986), ])
| organization = {{hlist|]|]}}
| occupation =Author, blogger
| known_for = ] views, '']'', books
| years_active =2002–present
| employer =
| organization =
| agent =
| known_for = Criticism of Islam, <br />books and websites about <br />] and ]
| notable_works = '']'', (2006)<br />'']'', (2005)
| style = Advocacy journalism
| influences =
| influenced =
| home_town =
| salary =
| net_worth =
| television =
| party =
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| boards =
| religion = |
| spouse = |
| parents =
| relatives =
| awards =
| website = {{URL|www.jihadwatch.org}}
| footnotes =
}} }}
'''Robert Bruce Spencer''' (born February 27, 1962)<ref>{{cite twitter|title=Very grateful to all who are wishing me happy birthday, may God bless you all, and thanks...|date=February 27, 2023|user=jihadwatchRS|number=1630266440002711552}}</ref><ref name="splc">{{Cite web|title=Robert Spencer|url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/robert-spencer|access-date=March 3, 2024|work=Southern Poverty Law Center}}</ref> is an American ]{{refn|name=anti-Muslim|Sources describing Spencer as ''anti-Muslim'' or ''Islamophobic'': <ref name="Ernst-book-Islamophobia-in-America">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kc-ceS7md6cC|url-access=limited|via=]|title=Islamophobia in America: The Anatomy of Intolerance|year=2013|pages=4, 125–126, 163|publisher=]|doi=10.1057/9781137290076|isbn=978-1-137-32188-6|accessdate=20 February 2022|language=en|editor1-last=Ernst|editor1-first=Carl W.|editor-link=Carl W. Ernst|quote=Anti-Muslim activists like Terry Jones, Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, the Bible Believers, and the Westboro Baptist Church are drawn to Dearborn because they see it as an abomination, as a dangerous exception to the American norm. In fact, Dearborn is proof that an alternative American reality, one in which Islam is normal and Muslims enjoy political support, is possible and will become increasingly common in future.|archive-date=April 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408192936/https://books.google.com/books?id=Kc-ceS7md6cC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mariuma |first1=Yarden |title=Taqiyya as Polemic, Law and Knowledge: Following an Islamic Legal Term through the Worlds of Islamic Scholars, Ethnographers, Polemicists and Military Men |journal=The Muslim World |date=2014 |volume=104 |issue=1–2 |page=89 |doi=10.1111/muwo.12047 |access-date=20 February 2022 |publisher=] |language=en |issn=1478-1913 |url=https://sarinusseibeh.com/files/courses/cornell/TaqiyyaasPolemicLawandKnowledge.pdf |quote=A concept whose meaning has varied significantly among Islamic sects, scholars, countries, and political regimes, it nevertheless is one of the key terms used by recent anti-Muslim polemicists such as Robert Spencer or Daniel Pipes, and has been used by US Prosecutors to explain terrorist behavior. |archive-date=February 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220231509/https://sarinusseibeh.com/files/courses/cornell/TaqiyyaasPolemicLawandKnowledge.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/right-wing-populism-in-europe-politics-and-discourse/|chapter-url=https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/right-wing-populism-in-europe-politics-and-discourse/ch6-hate-across-the-waters|first=Heidi|last=Beirich|editor1-first=Ruth|editor1-last=Wodak|editor1-link=Ruth Wodak|editor2-first=Majid|editor2-last=KhosraviNik|editor2-link=Majid KhosraviNik|editor3-first=Brigitte|editor3-last=Mral|editor3-link=Brigitte Mral|chapter=Hate Across the Waters: The Role of American Extremists in Fostering an International White Consciousness|title=Right-Wing Populism in Europe|doi=10.5040/9781472544940.ch-006|doi-access=free|year=2013|publisher=]|pages=90–92|language=en|access-date=July 12, 2019|quote=But the primary sources for the anti-Muslim propaganda that had helped give voice to Breivik's manifesto were American. The anti-Muslim author Robert Spencer, who runs the Jihad Watch website, was cited by Breivik 64 times in his manifesto and excerpted extensively. ‘About Islam I recommend essentially everything written by Robert Spencer', Breivik wrote, adding that Spencer should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (Lenz 2011).|archive-date=June 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625003811/https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/right-wing-populism-in-europe-politics-and-discourse/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mohideen |first1=H. |last2=Mohideen |first2=S. |title=The Language of Islamophobia in Internet Articles |journal=Intellectual Discourse |url=https://journals.iium.edu.my/intdiscourse/index.php/id/article/download/31/26 |access-date=20 February 2022 |date=30 June 2008 |volume=16 |issue=1 |page=76 |publisher=] |language=en |quote=Robert Spencer, a prolific Islamophobic writer, has gravely offended Muslims by describing the Holy Qur'ān as the jihadists ''Mein Kampf'', the book which embodies Hitler's fascist philosophy. |archive-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408193231/https://journals.iium.edu.my/intdiscourse/index.php/id/article/download/31/26 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Guimond |first1=Amy Melissa |title=Converting to Islam: Understanding the Experiences of White American Females |date=20 May 2017 |publisher=] |isbn=978-3-319-54250-8 |pages=61 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JNgoDwAAQBAJ |access-date=21 February 2022 |language=en |chapter=Islamophobia and the Talking Heads |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-54250-8_3 |chapter-url-access=subscription |url-access=limited |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-54250-8_3 |quote=Robert Spencer, a well-known Islamophobe, published five anti-Muslim books in the years following September 11 and, in the 7 years after the launch of his Islamophobic website, was earning an annual salary of $140,000.00 off of the profiteering of Islamophobic sentiments through his instant bestsellers. |archive-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408193309/https://books.google.com/books?id=JNgoDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cole |first1=Darnell |last2=Ahmadi |first2=Shafiqa |last3=Sanchez |first3=Mabel E. |title=Examining Muslim Student Experiences With Campus Insensitivity, Coercion, and Negative Interworldview Engagement |journal=Journal of College and Character |publisher=] |date=1 November 2020 |volume=21 |issue=4 |page=302 |doi=10.1080/2194587X.2020.1822880 |s2cid=227249730 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/2194587X.2020.1822880 |access-date=21 February 2022 |issn=2194-587X |url-access=subscription |quote=Campus-supported events like the anti-Muslim speaker Robert Spencer, invited by the Stanford College Republicans, have also been linked to increases in discrimination and harassment aimed at Muslim students. Spencer is the director of the Muslim-bashing website Jihad Watch and the co-founder of Stop Islamization of America and the American Freedom Defense Initiative, which are both classified as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). |archive-date=February 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221001426/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/2194587X.2020.1822880 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="bail">{{Cite book|last=Bail|first=Christopher|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kl-BAAAQBAJ|title=Terrified: How Anti-Muslim Fringe Organizations Became Mainstream|date=21 December 2014|publisher=]|isbn=9780691173634|language=en|quote=Anti-Muslim bloggers Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller founded SIOA to protest the construction of the so-called Ground Zero Mosque, as the next section of this chapter describes. Yet even before this high-profile controversy, Spencer and Geller received modest notoriety for their anti-Muslim views.|access-date=21 February 2022|url-access=limited|archive-date=April 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408193508/https://books.google.com/books?id=5kl-BAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Anti-Muslim-speakers-Washingtonpost"/><ref name="BBC-US-bloggers-banned-from-UK"/><ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/us/04extreme.html|title=To Fight Radical Islam, U.S. Wants Muslim Allies|last=Shane|first=Scott|date=August 3, 2011|work=]|access-date=April 21, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002193127/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/us/04extreme.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/29/iowas-congressional-delegation-responds-trump-immigration-order/97221888/|first=Jason|last=Noble|title=Iowa's congressional delegation responds to Trump immigration order|website=]|language=en|access-date=July 12, 2019|archive-date=March 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323184708/https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/29/iowas-congressional-delegation-responds-trump-immigration-order/97221888/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Isaacs-Unz-American-Islamophobia">{{cite web |last1=Isaacs |first1=Arnold |title=American Islamophobia's Fake Facts |url=https://www.salon.com/2018/08/09/american-islamophobias-fake-facts |website=] |access-date=August 8, 2021 |date=August 9, 2018 |archive-date=August 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210808204318/https://www.salon.com/2018/08/09/american-islamophobias-fake-facts/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}} author and blogger, and one of the key figures of the ] movement.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j0LBDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22robert+spencer%22+%22counter-jihad%22&pg=PT190|title=Cumulative Extremism: A Comparative Historical Analysis|first=Alexander J.|last=Carter|page=190|year=2019|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9780429594526}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jfa2DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22robert+spencer%22+%22counter-jihad%22&pg=PT87|title=Liberal Roots of Far Right Activism: The Anti-Islamic Movement in the 21st Century|first=Lars Erik|last=Berntzen|page=87|year=2019|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781000707960}}</ref> Spencer founded and has directed the blog '']'' since 2003. In 2010 he co-founded the organization ] with ].<ref name="KaplanLööw2017">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mxE4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT214|title=Lone Wolf and Autonomous Cell Terrorism|author1=Jeffrey Kaplan|author2=Heléne Lööw|author3=Leena Malkki|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2017|isbn=978-1-317-53042-8|page=214}}</ref>


Three of Spencer's books reached ].<ref name="splc" /> Reports that two of Spencer's books were listed in ] training materials and that he had given seminars to various law enforcement units in the United States stirred controversy.<ref name="Anti-Muslim-speakers-Washingtonpost">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/anti-muslim-speakers-still-popular-in-law-enforcement-training/2014/03/12/bc8d8e30-aa1c-11e3-8a7b-c1c684e2671f_story.html|title=Anti-Muslim speakers still popular in law enforcement training|date=March 12, 2014|newspaper=]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318114828/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/anti-muslim-speakers-still-popular-in-law-enforcement-training/2014/03/12/bc8d8e30-aa1c-11e3-8a7b-c1c684e2671f_story.html|archive-date=March 18, 2017|url-status=live|access-date=September 10, 2017}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> In 2013, the ] barred Spencer from travel to the United Kingdom for three to five years for "making statements that may foster hatred that might lead to inter-community violence".<ref name="BBC-US-bloggers-banned-from-UK"/> He has frequently appeared on ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/01/13/meet-the-extremists-who-lead-foxs-conversation/202119|title=Meet The Extremists Who Lead Fox's Conversation About Islam|date=January 13, 2015|work=]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080539/https://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/01/13/meet-the-extremists-who-lead-foxs-conversation/202119|archive-date=February 11, 2017|url-status=live|access-date=February 10, 2017}}</ref>
'''Robert Bruce Spencer''' (born 1962) is an American author and blogger best known for ] and research into ] and ]. He has published ], including two ''New York Times'' bestsellers, and is a regular contributor to ]'s '']'' and '']''. In 2003, with sponsorship by ], he founded and has since directed ], a blog he describes as containing "...news of the international jihad, commentary..." <ref name="lamb"/> 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".<ref name="Why Jihadwatch">{{cite web|url=http://www.jihadwatch.org/why-jihad-watch.html|title=Why Jihad Watch?|publisher=Jihad Watch|accessdate=June 17, 2011}}</ref> He also co-founded ] (SIOA) and the Freedom Defense Initiative, with activist ], with whom he co-authored a book, ''The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America''.


==Background== ==Background==
Spencer was baptized in the ] and joined the ] in 1984.<ref name="Spero News">{{cite news|url=http://www.speroforum.com/a/42470/Pope-must-condemn-demonizing-of-Israel|title=Pope must condemn demonizing of Israel|last=Spencer|first=Robert|date=October 26, 2010|work=Spero News|access-date=October 29, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029001117/http://www.speroforum.com/a/42470/Pope-must-condemn-demonizing-of-Israel|archive-date=October 29, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> Spencer has stated that, under the reign of President ], his grandparents were ] from an area that is now part of ] because they were Christians.<ref name="lamb">{{cite web|url=http://www.c-span.org/video/?193778-1/qa-robert-spencer|date=August 20, 2006|title=Robert Spencer Jihad Watch, Director Q & A with Brian Lamb|publisher=]|access-date=November 30, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109043825/http://www.c-span.org/video/?193778-1%2Fqa-robert-spencer|archive-date=November 9, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Spencer's father worked for ] during the ], and in his younger days, Spencer himself worked at Revolution Books, a ] bookstore in ] founded by ].<ref name="Muhammad comes to">{{cite web|url=http://nymag.com/news/features/67635/index2.html|title=Muhammad Comes to Manhattan|work=New York|author=Mark Jacobson|date=August 22, 2010|access-date=November 1, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826065300/http://nymag.com/news/features/67635/index2.html|archive-date=August 26, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>
According to a 2010 interview in '']'' magazine, Spencer's father worked for the ] during the ], and in his younger days, Spencer himself worked at Revolution Books, a ] bookstore in ] founded by ].<ref name="Muhammad comes to">{{cite web|url=http://nymag.com/news/features/67635/index2.html|title=Muhammad Comes to Manhattan|work=New York|author= Mark Jacobson|date=August 22, 2010|accessdate=November 1, 2010}}</ref> Spencer is a practicing ].<ref name="Spencer bio">{{cite web|url=http://www.jihadwatch.org/about-robert-spencer.html|title=About Robert Spencer|publisher=Jihad Watch|accessdate=October 29, 2010}}</ref><ref name="Spero News">{{cite news|url=http://www.speroforum.com/a/42470/Pope-must-condemn-demonizing-of-Israel|title=Pope must condemn demonizing of Israel|last=Spencer|first=Robert|date=October 26, 2010|work=]}}</ref> It is a rite of the ] whose adherents are, according to Spencer, "mostly concentrated in Lebanon and Syria, also in Jordan and the Palestinian territories."<ref name="lamb"/> He has said his grandparents were forced to immigrate from an area that is now part of Turkey because they were Christians.<ref name="lamb">{{cite web|url=http://www.q-and-a.org/Transcript/?ProgramID=1086|date=August 20, 2006|title=Robert Spencer Jihad Watch, Director Q & A with Brian Lamb|publisher=CSpan|accessdate=October 31, 2010}}</ref>


Spencer received a B.A. in 1983 and an M.A. in 1986 in ] from the ]. His masters thesis was on a Catholic history topic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://webcat.lib.unc.edu/search/aspencer%2C+robert/aspencer+robert/1%2C15%2C59%2CB/frameset&FF=aspencer+robert+bruce&1%2C1%2C|publisher=UNC-CH Libraries|work=Davis Library Thesis, Religion, 1986|title=The monophysite in the mirror, by Robert Bruce Spencer}}</ref> He has said he has been studying Islamic theology, law, and history on his own since 1980.<ref name="lamb"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://trib.com/news/local/article_2428fa7c-c843-561b-80ac-b243218b92be.html |title=Marines gather to honor, celebrate |publisher=Trib.com |date=2005-10-26 |accessdate=2010-11-01}}</ref> He worked in ]s for more than 20 years,<ref name="Muhammad comes to"/> and in 2002–2003 did a stint as an adjunct fellow with the ], an arm of the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jihadwatch.org/about-robert-spencer.html |title=About Robert Spencer |publisher=Jihad Watch |date= |accessdate=2010-11-25}}</ref><ref name="tribute">{{cite web | url= http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=31171 | title=A Tribute: Paul Weyrich Has Died | date=December 19, 2008|accessdate=December 16, 2010| author= Robert Spencer|publisher=Catholic Online}}</ref> Spencer named ], 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."<ref name="tribute"/> Spencer's first book on Islam was published in 2002. Spencer received an M.A. in 1986 in ] from the ]. His masters thesis was on ] and the ].<ref name=UNC>{{cite thesis|url=http://webcat.lib.unc.edu/record=b2172870~S1|publisher=UNC-CH Libraries|work=Davis Library Thesis, Religion, 1986|title=The monophysite in the mirror, by Robert Bruce Spencer|access-date=March 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301144945/http://webcat.lib.unc.edu/record=b2172870~S1|archive-date=March 1, 2017|url-status=live|year=1986 |last1=Spencer |first1=Robert Bruce }}</ref>


Spencer has been harshly criticized by several clerics of the ] because of his views on Islam.<ref name=":3">{{cite web|url=https://www.crisismagazine.com/2018/robert-spencer-and-the-religion-of-terror|title=Robert Spencer and the Religion of Terror|work=Crisis Magazine|author=Jeffrey Rubin|date=October 25, 2018|access-date=October 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025120653/https://www.crisismagazine.com/2018/robert-spencer-and-the-religion-of-terror|archive-date=October 25, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2016, as a result of "personal reflection and historical study", Spencer returned to the Greek Orthodox Church.<ref>{{Cite tweet |user=jihadwatchRS |author=Robert Spencer |number=1269903323764850688 |date = 8 June 2020 |title=I did return to Orthodoxy, yes, but as the result of personal reflection and historical study.]}}</ref>
==Spencer's views on Islam==
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".<ref name="the last">{{cite web|url=http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/021661.php|title=''The Last Patriot'': Worse than Spencer's books!|publisher= www.jihadwatch.org|date=July 7, 2008}}</ref> However, he rejects the notion that all Muslims are necessarily violent people.<ref name="the last"/> 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."<ref name="what is moderate">{{cite web|url=http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/009791.php|title=What is a moderate Muslim?|publisher=Jihad Watch|author=Robert Spencer|date=January 14, 2006}}</ref> Spencer has also said he would welcome any Muslim who renounces ] and ] to join in his "anti-jihadist efforts",<ref name="about Robert">{{cite web|url=http://www.jihadwatch.org/spencer/ |title=About Robert Spencer|publisher=Jihad Watch}}</ref> 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."<ref name="Hawkins interview">{{cite web|url=http://www.rightwingnews.com/interviews/spencer.php|title=An Interview With Robert Spencer|author=John Hawkins|publisher=Right Wing News}}</ref> He has also argued that many so-called reformers are not interested in genuine reform, but instead are aiming to deflect scrutiny of Islam.<ref name="what is moderate"/><ref name="Hawkins interview"/>


==Activities and writings==
Spencer has expressed ] and numerous other Muslim advocacy groups that he claims are closely tied to allegedly jihadist organizations such as the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/016754.php|title=CAIR "unindicted co-conspirator" in Hamas funding case|date=June 4, 2007|publisher=Jihad Watch}}</ref> He has also criticized the employment of several Muslims who were<ref>United States of America v. Randall Todd Royer, et al, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, June 2003</ref> convicted on charges relating to terrorism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=26676|title=Cair's Continuing Mystery|publisher=Human Events|author=Robert Spencer|date=May 27, 2008}}</ref>
Spencer has been studying Islamic theology, law, and history since 1980, but his publications on Islam and Muslims have not undergone academic ]. They have been published by publishing houses that specialize in the writings of political conservatives, mostly ] or ].<ref name="Let's talk about Robert Spencer">{{Cite web|title=Let's talk about Robert Spencer|date=November 9, 2017|url=https://www.stanforddaily.com/2017/11/09/lets-talk-about-robert-spencer/|access-date=December 14, 2021|archive-date=December 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214233618/https://www.stanforddaily.com/2017/11/09/lets-talk-about-robert-spencer/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://trib.com/news/local/article_2428fa7c-c843-561b-80ac-b243218b92be.html |title=Marines gather to honor, celebrate |publisher=Trib.com |date=October 26, 2005 |access-date=November 1, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908021137/http://trib.com/news/local/article_2428fa7c-c843-561b-80ac-b243218b92be.html |archive-date=September 8, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> He worked in think tanks for more than 20 years,<ref name="Muhammad comes to"/> and in 2002–2003 was an adjunct fellow with the ].<ref name="tribute">{{cite web|url=http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=31171|title=A Tribute: Paul Weyrich Has Died|date=December 19, 2008|access-date=December 16, 2010|author=Robert Spencer|publisher=Catholic Online|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309161405/http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=31171|archive-date=March 9, 2009}}</ref>


A 2010 investigative report by '']'' described Spencer as one of several individuals who "cash in on spreading hate and fear about Islam." The ''Tennessean'' investigation concluded: "IRS filings from 2008 show that Robert Spencer earned $132,537 from the ]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101024/NEWS01/10240374/Anti-Muslim-crusaders-make-millions-spreading-fear|title=Anti-Muslim crusaders make millions spreading fear|website=]|date=October 24, 2010|access-date=November 4, 2010|archive-date=February 3, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130203123032/http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101024/NEWS01/10240374/Anti-Muslim-crusaders-make-millions-spreading-fear?nclick_check=1|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tennessean.com/assets/pdf/DN1658821023.PDF|title=David Horowitz Freedom Center's IRS Form 990|website=]|date=June 3, 2009|access-date=April 24, 2011}}</ref> In addition to being the editor for the David Horowitz Freedom Center's ''Jihad Watch'' blog, Spencer has also written for '']'',<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bq-IDwAAQBAJ|title=Soldiers of a Different God: How the Counter-Jihad Movement Created Mayhem, Murder and the Trump Presidency|date=15 August 2018|isbn=9781445678009 |last1=Othen |first1=Christopher |page=275|publisher=Amberley }}</ref> and has been a columnist for '']'', '']'' and '']''.<ref name="splc"/><ref name="spencer">{{cite web|url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Robert-Spencer/70779919|title=Robert Spencer|work=Simon & Schuster|accessdate=August 26, 2023}}</ref>
He has appeared with ] speakers on several occasions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ARIwatch.com/BirdsOfAFeather.htm |title=Birds of a Feather|publisher=Ariwatch.com |date= |accessdate=2010-11-01}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/18/AR2010081802582_3.html?sid=ST2010081806973|title=In flap over mosque near Ground Zero, conservative bloggers gaining influence |publisher=Washingtonpost.com |date=2010-08-18 |accessdate=2010-12-15}}</ref>{{Citation needed|the video does not mention this|date=June 2011}}


Spencer co-founded the anti-Muslim group ] (also known as the American Freedom Defense Initiative) with Pamela Geller in 2010. The organization is designated as a "hate group" by the ]<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502054200/http://www.adl.org/main_Extremism/sioa.htm |date=May 2, 2012 }}. ''Extremism''. ]. March 25, 2011 . Retrieved February 16, 2012.</ref> and the ].<ref>{{cite web|author=Lach, Eric|date=March 1, 2011|work=]|url=http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/pam_geller_on_splc_hate_group_label_badge_of_honor.php|title=Pam Geller On 'Hate Group' Label: 'A Badge of Honor'|access-date=February 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313082234/http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/pam_geller_on_splc_hate_group_label_badge_of_honor.php|archive-date=March 13, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Pamela Geller & Stop Islamization of America|url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/profiles/pamela-geller|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center|access-date=June 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110625194540/http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/profiles/pamela-geller|archive-date=June 25, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Steinback|first=Robert|title=Jihad Against Islam|url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2011/summer/jihad-against-islam|work=Intelligence Report, Issue #142|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center|access-date=June 27, 2011|date=Summer 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119075935/http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2011/summer/jihad-against-islam|archive-date=January 19, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Together with Geller he led a campaign to stop the building of ], an Islamic community center near the World Trade Center, which they referred to as the "Ground Zero Mosque",<ref name=":0" /> claiming that imam ] planned to build a "victory mosque" to celebrate the destruction of the ] in the ].<ref name="splc"/>
Qur'an critic and secularist author ] has said that Spencer "tells the truth that few in the U.S. or Europe wish to face".<ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=_7RD2jwMU2wC&pg=PA271&dq=ibn+warraq+%22robert+spencer%22&client=firefox-a&cd=4#v=onepage&q=ibn%20warraq%20%22robert%20spencer%22&f=false |title=The politically incorrect guide to ... - Google Books |publisher=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=2010-11-01}}</ref>


===Ban from entering the UK===
] says that Spencer "tells truths about jihadists that no one else will tell."<ref name="books.google.com"/> Conservative radio talk show host ] has called JihadWatch, "one of most honorable Web sites that I know of monitoring jihad in the world today."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0707/31/pzn.01.html|title=Koran in the Toilet: Hate Crime?; Political Bedtime Stories|publisher=CNN|author=Paula Zahn|date=July 31, 2007}}</ref>
On June 26, 2013, both Spencer and Pamela Geller were banned from entering the UK.<ref name="BBC-US-bloggers-banned-from-UK">{{cite news|title=US bloggers banned from entering UK|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23064355|access-date=June 27, 2013|publisher=]|date=June 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627011447/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23064355|archive-date=June 27, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> They were due to speak at an ] march in ], south London, where Drummer ] by an Islamist. Home Secretary ] informed Spencer and Geller that their presence in the UK would "not be conducive to the public good".<ref>{{cite news|last=Rawlinson|first=Kevin|title=Anti-Ground Zero Mosque campaigners Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer barred from entering Britain to speak at an EDL rally|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/antiground-zero-mosque-campaigners-pamela-geller-and-robert-spencer-barred-from-entering-britain-to-speak-at-an-edl-rally-8675251.html|access-date=June 27, 2013|newspaper=The Independent|date=June 26, 2013|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627192049/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/antiground-zero-mosque-campaigners-pamela-geller-and-robert-spencer-barred-from-entering-britain-to-speak-at-an-edl-rally-8675251.html|archive-date=June 27, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> A letter from the UK Home Office stated that this decision is based on Spencer's statement that Islam "is a religion or a belief system that mandates warfare against unbelievers for the purpose of establishing a societal model that is absolutely incompatible with Western society. ...Because of media and general government unwillingness to face the sources of Islamic terrorism, these things remain largely unknown."<ref>{{cite video|title=The Speech that Got Robert Spencer Banned From the UK|publisher=]|date=June 27, 2013|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHdUgc6gxDI|access-date=December 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202053606/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhdugc6gxdi|archive-date=February 2, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The decision<!-- ", which they cannot appeal,"-it was appealed in 2015-see below--> was to stand for between three and five years. The ban followed a concerted campaign by the UK anti-racism organization ],<ref>{{cite news|title=Anti-Muslim pair banned from UK|url=http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/410494/Anti-Muslim-pair-banned-from-UK|access-date=June 27, 2013|newspaper=Daily Express|location=UK|date=June 26, 2013|archive-date=June 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630215027/http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/410494/Anti-Muslim-pair-banned-from-UK|url-status=live}}</ref> which said it had collected 26,000 signatures for a petition to the Home Secretary.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lowles|first=Nick|title=Geller and Spencer Banned|url=http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/blog/article/2803/geller-and-spencer-banned|publisher=Hope not Hate|access-date=June 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630023715/http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/blog/article/2803/geller-and-spencer-banned|archive-date=June 30, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Spencer and Geller contested the ban, but in 2015 the ] dismissed the appeal, arguing that "this was a public order case where the police had advised that significant public disorder and serious violence might ensue from the proposed visit."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cgi?doc=/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2015/45.html&query=geller&method=boolean | title=Geller & Anor, R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department EWCA Civ 45 (05 February 2015) | publisher=] | access-date=October 31, 2017 | archive-date=July 9, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709161147/http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cgi?doc=/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2015/45.html&query=geller&method=boolean | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="UK Human Rights Blog">{{cite web | url=https://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2015/02/15/critics-of-islam-prevented-from-entering-uk-to-attend-lee-rigby-rally/ | title=Critics of Islam prevented from entering UK to attend Lee Rigby rally | publisher=1 Crown Office Row | work=UK Human Rights Blog | date=February 15, 2015 | access-date=October 31, 2017 | author=English, Rosalind | archive-date=January 21, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121210006/https://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2015/02/15/critics-of-islam-prevented-from-entering-uk-to-attend-lee-rigby-rally/ | url-status=live }}</ref>


The ban was criticized by author ]. He has stated his belief that because ] hate preachers were and are still allowed to enter the UK, and because what Geller and Spencer say is much less objectionable than the views and statements of extremist Muslim clerics such as Muhammad al-Arefe (who was allowed to enter the UK shortly before Spencer and Geller were banned), the ban is unjust.<ref>{{cite news|title=A gross double standard over hate speech|url=http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2013/06/a-gross-double-standard-over-hate-speech/|access-date=February 8, 2017|newspaper=]|location=UK|date=June 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114143645/http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2013/06/a-gross-double-standard-over-hate-speech/|archive-date=November 14, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Spencer responded to the ban by stating that the UK had become a "de facto Islamic state".<ref name="splc"/>
In a public debate between Spencer and ], 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."<ref>{{cite web|title=Islam: Threat or Not? - Part 4|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WX0hQeAbgs&feature=youtu.be&t=2m13s|publisher=JihadWatchVideo}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Islam: Threat or Not? - Part 5|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NabkkJLqqOA&feature=youtu.be&t=2m55s|publisher=JihadWatchVideo}}</ref>


The government of Pakistan previously banned Spencer's book, '']'', in 2007, citing "objectionable material" as the cause.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.nationalreview.com/phi-beta-cons/45068/pakistan-book-closed-muhammad-candace-de-russy |title= Pakistan: Book Closed on Muhammad |website= ] |access-date= April 19, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150612204845/http://www.nationalreview.com/phi-beta-cons/45068/pakistan-book-closed-muhammad-candace-de-russy |archive-date= June 12, 2015 |url-status= live |date= January 9, 2007 }}</ref> His book '']'' was banned in Malaysia the same year.<ref name="BERNAMA">{{cite news|title=Ministry Bans 14 Books|url=http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/printable.php?id=272915|newspaper=]|date=July 12, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221210/http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/printable.php?id=272915|archive-date=March 3, 2016}}</ref>
==Criticism==
Spencer's work has been criticized as showing "entrenched hostility" towards Islam,<ref name=arms>]. , '']'', April 27, 2007</ref> and condemned as hate speech by a number of Muslim-American and civil rights groups.<ref>''Censored 2004: The Top 25 Censored Stories'' Peter Phillips page 244</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeerah.info/News/2009/July/11%20n/Chicago%20Library%20Group%20Panelists%20Withdraw%20Over%20Role%20of%20Islam-Basher%20Robert%20Spencer.htm |title=Chicago Library Group Panelists Withdraw Over Role of Islam-Basher Robert Spencer|work=Al Jazeera|date=July 11, 2009|accessdate=November 1, 2010}}</ref>


===Speaking engagements===
] criticized Spencer's citations of Islamic scripture as cherry-picked,<ref>{{cite news|last=Armstrong|first=Karen|title=Balancing the Prophet|newspaper=]| date =April 27, 2007|url =http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4a05a4a4-f134-11db-838b-000b5df10621.html}}</ref> 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."
] by the ] in 2020]]
Spencer spoke at ] in April 2017 despite protests and a petition against him, having been invited by the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/truman-state-grapples-with-controversial-anti-muslim-speaker/article_138f0acd-bd84-59e1-890e-d921a1ec6ee2.html|title=Truman State grapples with controversial anti-Muslim speaker|date=April 11, 2017 |publisher=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|access-date=May 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424121832/http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/truman-state-grapples-with-controversial-anti-muslim-speaker/article_138f0acd-bd84-59e1-890e-d921a1ec6ee2.html|archive-date=April 24, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> He spoke at the ] in May the same year, where he was shouted down and heckled.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://buffalonews.com/2017/05/01/controversial-speaker-ub-shouted-heckled/|title=No violence, but UB speaker greeted with tension, heckling|publisher=The Buffalo News|access-date=May 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170502134727/http://buffalonews.com/2017/05/01/controversial-speaker-ub-shouted-heckled/|archive-date=May 2, 2017|url-status=live|date=May 2, 2017}}</ref> He also spoke at ] two days later; 375 alumni urged the college president ] to cancel the speech, but the event went on as planned.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://gettysburgian.com/2017/05/open-letter-from-375-alums-urges-president-riggs-to-cancel-robert-spencers-speech/|title=Open letter from 375 alums urges President Riggs to cancel Robert Spencer's speech|date=May 1, 2017|newspaper=]|access-date=May 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170503155217/http://gettysburgian.com/2017/05/open-letter-from-375-alums-urges-president-riggs-to-cancel-robert-spencers-speech/|archive-date=May 3, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Spencer said, "There is one kind of diversity that is not valued generally in an academic setting and that is intellectual diversity."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://gettysburgian.com/2017/05/robert-spencers-speech-at-gettysburg-college-engages-students-in-civil-discourse/|title=Robert Spencer's speech at Gettysburg College engages students in civil discourse|author=Pontz, Benjamin|date=May 3, 2017|newspaper=The Gettysburgian|access-date=May 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504173030/http://gettysburgian.com/2017/05/robert-spencers-speech-at-gettysburg-college-engages-students-in-civil-discourse/|archive-date=May 4, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Spencer spoke at ] in November 2017, during which a group of students walked out.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Stanford-Students-Walk-Out-Protest-During-Robert-Spencer-Speaking-Event-457635203.html|title=Stanford Students Walk Out, Protest During Robert Spencer Speaking Event|date=November 15, 2017 |publisher=NBC Bay Area|access-date=November 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117001808/https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Stanford-Students-Walk-Out-Protest-During-Robert-Spencer-Speaking-Event-457635203.html|archive-date=November 17, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>


Spencer has claimed that "a young Icelandic Leftist" poisoned him in 2017 in Reykjavik, Iceland, after a speaking event where he warned Icelanders of the dangers of "the impact of Islam" on Icelandic society.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://icelandmag.is/article/controversial-us-author-robert-spencer-claims-he-was-poisoned-leftist-while-iceland | title=Controversial US author Robert Spencer claims he was poisoned by "leftist" while in Iceland | access-date=December 19, 2019 | archive-date=October 24, 2020 | work= Iceland Magazine| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024113848/https://icelandmag.is/article/controversial-us-author-robert-spencer-claims-he-was-poisoned-leftist-while-iceland | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = https://grapevine.is/news/2017/05/16/islamophobe-robert-spencer-claims-young-leftist-poisoned-him/|title = Islamophobe Robert Spencer Claims Young Leftist Poisoned Him|date = May 16, 2017|access-date = December 19, 2019|archive-date = August 6, 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190806232556/https://grapevine.is/news/2017/05/16/islamophobe-robert-spencer-claims-young-leftist-poisoned-him/|url-status = live}}</ref> A medical report indicated he had been given ] and ].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dv.is/frettir/2017/05/16/spencer-var-byrlud-e-tafla-sjadu-laeknaskyrsluna/|title=Spencer var byrluð e-tafla: Sjáðu læknaskýrsluna|date=May 16, 2017|work=DV|language=Icelandic}}</ref>
] 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".<ref name="Bhutto">Benazir Bhutto, ''Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West'', Harper, 2008, pp. 245-6</ref>


Spencer became a senior fellow of ]'s ] in 2020, after years of consultations with the group. He is also a frequent guest on Gaffney's Secure Freedom Radio and Securing America TV.<ref name="splc"/>
], of the ], 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.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://newsbloggers.aol.com/2007/03/02/letting-bin-laden-define-islam/|title=Letting Bin Laden Define Islam|author= Dinesh D'Souza|date=January 17, 2009}}</ref>


==Influence and criticism==
In an article discussing ]'s 2005 book '']'', 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{{'"}}.<ref name="online version">Ivan Jablonka, , ''La Vie des idées'', May 1, 2006. ISSN: 2105-3030. {{Fr icon}}</ref>
Spencer is known for his anti-Muslim views. He comments on ], ], ], and ].<ref name="Deland 2014 p. 162">{{cite book|title=In the Tracks of Breivik: Far Right Networks in Northern and Eastern Europe|last=Deland|first=Mats|publisher=Lit Verlag|year=2014|isbn=978-3-643-90542-0|location=Berlin Wien|page=162}}</ref> His main thesis is that ] is an ], and that extremists who commit acts of terror are simply following Islam's most authentic version.<ref name="splc"/> According to author Todd H. Green, Spencer's commentary on Islam has been regarded as "hav made a huge impact on the misinformation about Islam that circulates so freely on the Internet, in the media, and in political circles."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Green|first=Todd H.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2sSHDwAAQBAJ|title=The Fear of Islam, Second Edition: An Introduction to Islamophobia in the West|publisher=Fortress Press|year=2019|isbn=978-1-5064-5045-2|pages=206|language=en}}</ref>


Spencer's 2008 book ''Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs'' has been seen to have developed one of the most important ideas of the counter-jihad, namely the "stealth jihad" idea that "terrorists aren't America's real Muslim problem", writing that "distracted by foreign wars and the prospect of domestic terror attacks, Americans pay little heed to the true agents of intolerance in their midst", namely the ] and its alleged American offshoots such as the ] (CAIR) and ] (MPAC).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/world/2017/2/13/14559822/trump-islam-muslims-islamophobia-sharia|title=Trump's counter-jihad|date=February 13, 2017|work=Vox|last=Beauchamp|first=Zack|access-date=November 30, 2022|archive-date=June 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608051716/https://www.vox.com/world/2017/2/13/14559822/trump-islam-muslims-islamophobia-sharia|url-status=live}}</ref>
The ] (SPLC) has named Spencer and SIOA co-founder Pamela Geller as the founders of an anti-Muslim hate group.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pamela Geller & Stop Islamization of America|url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/profiles/pamela-geller|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center|accessdate=27 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Steinback|first=Robert|title=Jihad Against Islam|url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2011/summer/jihad-against-islam|work=Intelligence Report, Issue #142|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center|accessdate=June 27, 2011|month=Summer|year=2011}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web|last=Steinback|first=Robert|title=The Anti-Muslim Inner Circle|url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2011/summer/the-anti-muslim-inner-circle|work=Intelligence Report, Issue #142|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center|accessdate=June 27 2011|month=Summer|year=2011}}</ref> ] (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".<ref>{{cite web|title=Smearcasters: Robert Spencer|url=http://smearcasting.com/smear_spencer.html|publisher=Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting|accessdate=June 27, 2011}}</ref>


The perpetrator of the ], ], cited Robert Spencer 64 times in his manifesto and wrote of him: "About Islam I recommend essentially everything written by Robert Spencer."<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gardell|first=Mattias|date=January 1, 2014|title=Crusader Dreams: Oslo 22/7, Islamophobia, and the Quest for a Monocultural Europe|journal=Terrorism and Political Violence|volume=26|issue=1|pages=129–155|doi=10.1080/09546553.2014.849930|s2cid=144489939|issn=0954-6553}}</ref> Spencer condemned Breivik and said he was unfairly blamed by the media for the attack,<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/25/us/25debate.html|title=Killings in Norway Spotlight Anti-Muslim Thought in U.S.|last=Shane|first=Scott|date=July 24, 2011|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 12, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 18, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918090725/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/25/us/25debate.html|url-status=live}}</ref> likening it to ] drawing inspiration from ].<ref name="splc"/> Breivik has later admitted that he has been a neo-Nazi since the early 1990s, who only in later years exploited counter-jihad writings.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nettavisen.no/artikkel/breivik-jeg-leste-hitlers-mein-kampf-da-jeg-var-14-ar/s/12-95-3423203669|title=Breivik: - Jeg leste Hitlers Mein Kampf da jeg var 14 år |date=16 March 2016|work=Nettavisen|language=no}}</ref>
==Controversies==
On December 20, 2006, the government of ] announced a ban on Spencer's book, '']'', citing "objectionable material" as the cause.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=936032 |title= Pakistan bans Roberts' book about Prophet Muhammad}}{{dead link|date=November 2010}}</ref> Former Pakistani prime minister ] was likewise highly critical of Spencer's work.<ref name="Bhutto" /> In his response to Bhutto's criticism, Spencer notes that the passage she cites was in fact written by ].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.jihadwatch.org/2008/03/parting-words-from-benazir-bhutto.html | title=Parting Words from Benazir Bhutto}}</ref>


In July 2011, '']'' magazine reported that two of Spencer's books were listed in ] training materials. Both '']'' and ''The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam'' were recommended for agents hoping to better understand Islam.<ref name=":1">{{cite magazine|author=Ackerman, Spencer|date=July 27, 2011|magazine=]|url=https://www.wired.com/2011/07/fbi-islam-101-guide/|title=FBI 'Islam 101' Guide Depicted Muslims as 7th-Century Simpletons|access-date=November 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204011823/https://www.wired.com/2011/07/fbi-islam-101-guide/|archive-date=December 4, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> His books were later dropped from federal training programs.<ref name="splc"/>
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 ], 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=ALA Conference 2009: Panelists Quit Session Featuring 'Islam Basher{{'-}}|url=http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6670156.html|work=Library Journal|accessdate=June 11, 2011|author=Raya Kuzyk|coauthors=Norman Oder|date=July 11, 2009}}</ref>

In March 2010, Spencer endorsed the ] (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."<ref>{{cite web|author=Spencer, Robert|url=http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/03/uk-fascist-anti-fascists-attack-anti-jihad-demonstrators.html |title=UK: Fascist 'anti-fascists' attack anti-jihad demonstrators |publisher=Jihad Watch|date=March 21, 2010|accessdate=November 1, 2010}}</ref> The EDL has been described as a hate group by various British organizations, such as ]<ref>{{cite web|last=Lowles|first=Nick|title=The growing Islamophobic international|url=http://www.searchlightmagazine.com/pages/StoryTemplatePrint.php?story=334|publisher=Searchlight Magazine|accessdate=June 26, 2011|month=September|year=2010}}</ref> and the Jewish ].<ref>{{cite web|last=CST|title=Don't be fooled by Islamophobia|url=http://thecst.org.uk/blog/?p=963|publisher=Community Security Trust|accessdate=June 26, 2011|date=November 30, 2009}}</ref>

In August 2010 ''The Washington Post'' cited Spencer, along with ] as conservative bloggers who have been influential in challenging the construction of the ] project, which he calls the "Ground Zero mosque".<ref name="Flap over mosque">{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/18/AR2010081802582.html?sid=ST2010081806973|title=In flap over mosque near Ground Zero, conservative bloggers gaining influence|author=Michelle Boorstein|date=August 19, 2010|work=The Washington Post}}</ref> Spencer and Geller's organization ] launched their first public protest outside of the Park51 location on June 6, 2010.

Adam Serwer, writing in ] 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."<ref>{{cite web|last=Sewer|first=Adam|title=Spencer's (Still) Tenuous Evidence|url=http://prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapped_archive?month=06&year=2010&base_name=spencers_still_tenuous_evidenc|accessdate=June 26, 2011|date=June 14, 2010}}</ref> The non-partisan ] 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".<ref>{{cite web|title=Questions About the 'Ground Zero Mosque'|url=http://www.factcheck.org/2010/08/questions-about-the-ground-zero-mosque/|publisher=FactCheck.org|accessdate=June 27, 2011|date=August 25, 2010}}</ref>

In an October 2010 news article, an investigative report by '']'' found that the "leaders of the anti-Muslim movement" earn millions in their "crusades". Concerning Spencer, the newspaper noted 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". <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101024/NEWS01/10240374/Anti-Muslim-crusaders-make-millions-spreading-fear|title=Anti-Muslim crusaders make millions spreading fear|date=October 24, 2010|accessdate=November 4, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tennessean.com/assets/pdf/DN1658821023.PDF|title=David Horowitz Freedom Center's IRS Form 990|date=June 3, 2009|accessdate=April 24, 2011}}</ref>

In September 2010, on ABC's '']'' show, ] said that SIOA is an offshoot of ], which he said had been referred to as a neo-Nazi organization by the ].<ref>{{cite web|title=Should Americans Fear Islam? pt.3|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dCHm_H0c1U&feature=youtu.be&t=13m40s|accessdate=June 18, 2011}}</ref> Spencer later challenged Aslan to produce any evidence of his claim.<ref>{{cite web|last=Spencer|first=Robert|title=Why is Reza Aslan taken seriously?|url=http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/10/questions-for-reza-aslan.html|publisher=Jihad Watch|date=October 4, 2010|accessdate=June 18, 2011}}</ref>


==Bibliography== ==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|title=Muhammad: A Critical Biography|year=2024|publisher=Bombardier|isbn=979-8888453087}}
===Best sellers===
* {{cite book|title=Empire of God: How the Byzantines Saved Civilization|year=2023|publisher=Bombardier|isbn=978-1637587423}}
* '']'', ], 2006 (] bestseller list – 2006-10-29<ref name=autogenerated1> – ]</ref>) ISBN 1-59698-028-1
* {{cite book|title=The Sumter Gambit: How the Left Is Trying to Foment a Civil War|year=2023|publisher=Bombardier|isbn=978-1637585320}}
* '']'', Regnery Press, 2005. (NYT bestseller list – 2005-10-16<ref> – ]</ref>) ISBN 0-89526-013-1
* {{cite book|title=The Critical Qur'an: Explained from Key Islamic Commentaries and Contemporary Historical Research|year=2022|publisher=Bombardier|isbn=978-1642939491}}

* {{cite book|title=Who Lost Afghanistan?|year=2022|publisher=Center for Security Policy|isbn=979-8849452913}}
===Other books===
* {{cite book|title=The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America|author=Pamela Geller|coauthor=Robert Spencer|publisher=Threshold Editions|date=July 27, 2010|page=400|isbn= 978-1439189306}} * {{cite book|title=The Church and the Pope: The Case for Orthodoxy|year=2022|publisher=Uncut Mountain|isbn=978-1639410057}}
* {{cite book|title=The Complete Infidels' Guide to the Koran|publisher= Regnery Press|date=September 21, 2009|page=260|isbn=978-1596981041}} * {{cite book|title=Islamophobia and the Threat to Free Speech|year=2021|publisher=Center for Security Policy|isbn=979-8528301945}}
* {{cite book|title=Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs|publisher=Regnery Press|date=October 28, 2008|isbn=978-1596985568}} * {{cite book|title=Rating America's Presidents: An America-First Look at Who Is Best, Who Is Overrated, and Who Was An Absolute Disaster|year=2020|publisher=Bombardier|isbn=978-1642935356}}
* {{cite book|title=The Palestinian Delusion: The Catastrophic History of the Middle East Peace Process|publisher=Bombardier|year=2019|isbn=978-1642932546}}
* ''Religion of Peace?: Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn't'', Regnery Publishing, 2007, ISBN 1-59698-515-1
* {{cite book|title=The History of Jihad: From Muhammad to ISIS|publisher=Bombardier|year=2018|isbn=9781682616598}}
* '']'' (editor), ], 2005. ISBN 1-59102-249-5
* {{cite book|title=Confessions of an Islamophobe|publisher=Bombardier|year=2017|isbn=978-1682614914}}
* '']'', ], 2003. ISBN 0-89526-100-6
* {{cite book|title=]: 100 questions and answers|author=(with ])|publisher=]|year=2003|page=197|isbn=0-9659228-5-5}} * {{cite book|title=The Complete Infidel's Guide to Free Speech (and Its Enemies)|publisher= Regnery|year=2017|isbn=978-1621576273}}
* {{cite book|title=]|publisher=]|date=October 25, 2002|page=202|isbn=1893554589}} * {{cite book|title=The Complete Infidels' Guide to Iran|publisher= Regnery|year=2016|isbn=978-1621575160}}
* {{cite book|title=The Complete Infidel's Guide to ISIS|publisher= Regnery|year=2015|isbn=978-1-62157-453-8}}

* {{cite book|title=The Arab Winter Comes to America: The Truth about the War We're In|year=2014|publisher=Regnery|isbn=978-1-62157-204-6}}
==See also==
* {{cite book|title=Not Peace But a Sword: The Great Chasm Between Christianity and Islam|publisher=Catholic Answers|year=2013|isbn=978-1938983283}}
* ]
* {{cite book|title=]|publisher=ISI Books|year=2012|isbn=978-1-61017-061-1}}
* ]
* {{cite book|title=The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America (with Pamela Geller) |publisher=Threshold Editions|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4391-8930-6}}
* ]
* {{cite book|title=The Complete Infidels' Guide to the Koran|publisher= Regnery|year=2009|isbn=978-1-59698-104-1}}
* {{cite book|title=Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs|publisher=Regnery|year=2008|isbn=978-1-59698-556-8}}
* {{cite book|title=Religion of Peace?: Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn't|publisher=Regnery|year=2007|isbn=978-1-59698-515-5}}
* {{cite book|title=]|publisher=Regnery|year=2006|isbn=1-59698-028-1}}
* {{cite book|title=The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (And the Crusades)|publisher=Regnery|year=2005|isbn=0-89526-013-1}}
* {{cite book|title=]|publisher=Prometheus|year=2005|isbn=1-59102-249-5}}
* {{cite book|title=]|publisher=Regnery|year=2003|isbn=0-89526-100-6}}
* {{cite book|title=Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics: 100 questions and answers (with Daniel Ali)|publisher=Ascension|year=2003|isbn=978-0-9659228-5-2}}
* {{cite book|title=Islam Unveiled: Disturbing Questions About the World's Fastest Growing Faith|publisher=Encounter|date=2002|isbn=978-1-893554-58-0}}


==References== ==References==
{{Reflist|2}} {{Reflist}}


==External links== ==External links==
{{Wikiquote}} {{Commons}}
*{{twitter|jihadwatchRS|Robert Spencer}}
* Robert Spencer's
*{{C-SPAN|1003529}}
* weblog
{{Authority control}}
* {{C-SPAN|robertspencer}}
* {{Worldcat id|lccn-n2002-104117}}


===Audio and interviews===
*
*
*

===Video clips===
*
*
*

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Latest revision as of 19:21, 19 November 2024

American anti-Muslim writer and blogger

Robert Spencer
Spencer in 2020
BornRobert Bruce Spencer
(1962-02-27) February 27, 1962 (age 62)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (MA)
Occupations
  • Author
  • blogger
Years active2002–present
Organizations
Known forAnti-Muslim views, Jihad Watch, books

Robert Bruce Spencer (born February 27, 1962) is an American anti-Muslim author and blogger, and one of the key figures of the counter-jihad movement. Spencer founded and has directed the blog Jihad Watch since 2003. In 2010 he co-founded the organization Stop Islamization of America with Pamela Geller.

Three of Spencer's books reached The New York Times Best Seller list. Reports that two of Spencer's books were listed in FBI training materials and that he had given seminars to various law enforcement units in the United States stirred controversy. In 2013, the UK Home Office barred Spencer from travel to the United Kingdom for three to five years for "making statements that may foster hatred that might lead to inter-community violence". He has frequently appeared on Fox News.

Background

Spencer was baptized in the Greek Orthodox Church and joined the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in 1984. Spencer has stated that, under the reign of President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, his grandparents were forced to emigrate from an area that is now part of Turkey because they were Christians. Spencer's father worked for Voice of America during the Cold War, and in his younger days, Spencer himself worked at Revolution Books, a Maoist bookstore in New York City founded by Robert Avakian.

Spencer received an M.A. in 1986 in religious studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His masters thesis was on monophysitism and the history of the Catholic Church.

Spencer has been harshly criticized by several clerics of the Roman Catholic Church because of his views on Islam. In 2016, as a result of "personal reflection and historical study", Spencer returned to the Greek Orthodox Church.

Activities and writings

Spencer has been studying Islamic theology, law, and history since 1980, but his publications on Islam and Muslims have not undergone academic peer review. They have been published by publishing houses that specialize in the writings of political conservatives, mostly Regnery Publishing or Bombardier Books. He worked in think tanks for more than 20 years, and in 2002–2003 was an adjunct fellow with the Free Congress Foundation.

A 2010 investigative report by The Tennessean described Spencer as one of several individuals who "cash in on spreading hate and fear about Islam." The Tennessean investigation concluded: "IRS filings from 2008 show that Robert Spencer earned $132,537 from the David Horowitz Freedom Center." In addition to being the editor for the David Horowitz Freedom Center's Jihad Watch blog, Spencer has also written for Breitbart News, and has been a columnist for Human Events, PJ Media and FrontPage Magazine.

Spencer co-founded the anti-Muslim group Stop Islamization of America (also known as the American Freedom Defense Initiative) with Pamela Geller in 2010. The organization is designated as a "hate group" by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Together with Geller he led a campaign to stop the building of Park51, an Islamic community center near the World Trade Center, which they referred to as the "Ground Zero Mosque", claiming that imam Feisal Abdul Rauf planned to build a "victory mosque" to celebrate the destruction of the World Trade Center in the September 11 attacks.

Ban from entering the UK

On June 26, 2013, both Spencer and Pamela Geller were banned from entering the UK. They were due to speak at an English Defence League march in Woolwich, south London, where Drummer Lee Rigby was killed by an Islamist. Home Secretary Theresa May informed Spencer and Geller that their presence in the UK would "not be conducive to the public good". A letter from the UK Home Office stated that this decision is based on Spencer's statement that Islam "is a religion or a belief system that mandates warfare against unbelievers for the purpose of establishing a societal model that is absolutely incompatible with Western society. ...Because of media and general government unwillingness to face the sources of Islamic terrorism, these things remain largely unknown." The decision was to stand for between three and five years. The ban followed a concerted campaign by the UK anti-racism organization Hope not Hate, which said it had collected 26,000 signatures for a petition to the Home Secretary. Spencer and Geller contested the ban, but in 2015 the British Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal, arguing that "this was a public order case where the police had advised that significant public disorder and serious violence might ensue from the proposed visit."

The ban was criticized by author Douglas Murray. He has stated his belief that because Islamic supremacist hate preachers were and are still allowed to enter the UK, and because what Geller and Spencer say is much less objectionable than the views and statements of extremist Muslim clerics such as Muhammad al-Arefe (who was allowed to enter the UK shortly before Spencer and Geller were banned), the ban is unjust. Spencer responded to the ban by stating that the UK had become a "de facto Islamic state".

The government of Pakistan previously banned Spencer's book, The Truth About Muhammad, in 2007, citing "objectionable material" as the cause. His book Onward Muslim Soldiers was banned in Malaysia the same year.

Speaking engagements

Spencer as guest of a webinar by the Middle East Forum in 2020

Spencer spoke at Truman State University in April 2017 despite protests and a petition against him, having been invited by the Young America's Foundation. He spoke at the University of Buffalo in May the same year, where he was shouted down and heckled. He also spoke at Gettysburg College two days later; 375 alumni urged the college president Janet Morgan Riggs to cancel the speech, but the event went on as planned. Spencer said, "There is one kind of diversity that is not valued generally in an academic setting and that is intellectual diversity." Spencer spoke at Stanford University in November 2017, during which a group of students walked out.

Spencer has claimed that "a young Icelandic Leftist" poisoned him in 2017 in Reykjavik, Iceland, after a speaking event where he warned Icelanders of the dangers of "the impact of Islam" on Icelandic society. A medical report indicated he had been given MDMA and amphetamines.

Spencer became a senior fellow of Frank Gaffney's Center for Security Policy in 2020, after years of consultations with the group. He is also a frequent guest on Gaffney's Secure Freedom Radio and Securing America TV.

Influence and criticism

Spencer is known for his anti-Muslim views. He comments on radical Islam, Islamic extremism, Islamic terrorism, and Islamic supremacism. His main thesis is that Islam is an inherently violent religion, and that extremists who commit acts of terror are simply following Islam's most authentic version. According to author Todd H. Green, Spencer's commentary on Islam has been regarded as "hav made a huge impact on the misinformation about Islam that circulates so freely on the Internet, in the media, and in political circles."

Spencer's 2008 book Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs has been seen to have developed one of the most important ideas of the counter-jihad, namely the "stealth jihad" idea that "terrorists aren't America's real Muslim problem", writing that "distracted by foreign wars and the prospect of domestic terror attacks, Americans pay little heed to the true agents of intolerance in their midst", namely the Muslim Brotherhood and its alleged American offshoots such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC).

The perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, Anders Behring Breivik, cited Robert Spencer 64 times in his manifesto and wrote of him: "About Islam I recommend essentially everything written by Robert Spencer." Spencer condemned Breivik and said he was unfairly blamed by the media for the attack, likening it to Charles Manson drawing inspiration from The Beatles. Breivik has later admitted that he has been a neo-Nazi since the early 1990s, who only in later years exploited counter-jihad writings.

In July 2011, Wired magazine reported that two of Spencer's books were listed in FBI training materials. Both The Truth About Muhammad and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam were recommended for agents hoping to better understand Islam. His books were later dropped from federal training programs.

Bibliography

References

  1. @jihadwatchRS (February 27, 2023). "Very grateful to all who are wishing me happy birthday, may God bless you all, and thanks..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "Robert Spencer". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  3. Ernst, Carl W., ed. (2013). Islamophobia in America: The Anatomy of Intolerance. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 4, 125–126, 163. doi:10.1057/9781137290076. ISBN 978-1-137-32188-6. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2022 – via Google Books. Anti-Muslim activists like Terry Jones, Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, the Bible Believers, and the Westboro Baptist Church are drawn to Dearborn because they see it as an abomination, as a dangerous exception to the American norm. In fact, Dearborn is proof that an alternative American reality, one in which Islam is normal and Muslims enjoy political support, is possible and will become increasingly common in future.
  4. Mariuma, Yarden (2014). "Taqiyya as Polemic, Law and Knowledge: Following an Islamic Legal Term through the Worlds of Islamic Scholars, Ethnographers, Polemicists and Military Men" (PDF). The Muslim World. 104 (1–2). Hartford International University: 89. doi:10.1111/muwo.12047. ISSN 1478-1913. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 20, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022. A concept whose meaning has varied significantly among Islamic sects, scholars, countries, and political regimes, it nevertheless is one of the key terms used by recent anti-Muslim polemicists such as Robert Spencer or Daniel Pipes, and has been used by US Prosecutors to explain terrorist behavior.
  5. ^ Beirich, Heidi (2013). "Hate Across the Waters: The Role of American Extremists in Fostering an International White Consciousness". In Wodak, Ruth; KhosraviNik, Majid; Mral, Brigitte (eds.). Right-Wing Populism in Europe. Bloomsbury. pp. 90–92. doi:10.5040/9781472544940.ch-006. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2019. But the primary sources for the anti-Muslim propaganda that had helped give voice to Breivik's manifesto were American. The anti-Muslim author Robert Spencer, who runs the Jihad Watch website, was cited by Breivik 64 times in his manifesto and excerpted extensively. 'About Islam I recommend essentially everything written by Robert Spencer', Breivik wrote, adding that Spencer should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (Lenz 2011).
  6. Mohideen, H.; Mohideen, S. (June 30, 2008). "The Language of Islamophobia in Internet Articles". Intellectual Discourse. 16 (1). International Islamic University Malaysia: 76. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2022. Robert Spencer, a prolific Islamophobic writer, has gravely offended Muslims by describing the Holy Qur'ān as the jihadists Mein Kampf, the book which embodies Hitler's fascist philosophy.
  7. Guimond, Amy Melissa (May 20, 2017). "Islamophobia and the Talking Heads". Converting to Islam: Understanding the Experiences of White American Females. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 61. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-54250-8_3. ISBN 978-3-319-54250-8. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2022. Robert Spencer, a well-known Islamophobe, published five anti-Muslim books in the years following September 11 and, in the 7 years after the launch of his Islamophobic website, was earning an annual salary of $140,000.00 off of the profiteering of Islamophobic sentiments through his instant bestsellers.
  8. Cole, Darnell; Ahmadi, Shafiqa; Sanchez, Mabel E. (November 1, 2020). "Examining Muslim Student Experiences With Campus Insensitivity, Coercion, and Negative Interworldview Engagement". Journal of College and Character. 21 (4). Routledge: 302. doi:10.1080/2194587X.2020.1822880. ISSN 2194-587X. S2CID 227249730. Archived from the original on February 21, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2022. Campus-supported events like the anti-Muslim speaker Robert Spencer, invited by the Stanford College Republicans, have also been linked to increases in discrimination and harassment aimed at Muslim students. Spencer is the director of the Muslim-bashing website Jihad Watch and the co-founder of Stop Islamization of America and the American Freedom Defense Initiative, which are both classified as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
  9. Bail, Christopher (December 21, 2014). Terrified: How Anti-Muslim Fringe Organizations Became Mainstream. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691173634. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2022. Anti-Muslim bloggers Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller founded SIOA to protest the construction of the so-called Ground Zero Mosque, as the next section of this chapter describes. Yet even before this high-profile controversy, Spencer and Geller received modest notoriety for their anti-Muslim views.
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  12. ^ Shane, Scott (August 3, 2011). "To Fight Radical Islam, U.S. Wants Muslim Allies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
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  15. Sources describing Spencer as anti-Muslim or Islamophobic:
  16. Carter, Alexander J. (2019). Cumulative Extremism: A Comparative Historical Analysis. Routledge. p. 190. ISBN 9780429594526.
  17. Berntzen, Lars Erik (2019). Liberal Roots of Far Right Activism: The Anti-Islamic Movement in the 21st Century. Routledge. p. 87. ISBN 9781000707960.
  18. Jeffrey Kaplan; Heléne Lööw; Leena Malkki (2017). Lone Wolf and Autonomous Cell Terrorism. Taylor & Francis. p. 214. ISBN 978-1-317-53042-8.
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  20. "Meet The Extremists Who Lead Fox's Conversation About Islam". Media Matters. January 13, 2015. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  21. Spencer, Robert (October 26, 2010). "Pope must condemn demonizing of Israel". Spero News. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
  22. ^ Jeffrey Rubin (October 25, 2018). "Robert Spencer and the Religion of Terror". Crisis Magazine. Archived from the original on October 25, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
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  24. ^ Mark Jacobson (August 22, 2010). "Muhammad Comes to Manhattan". New York. Archived from the original on August 26, 2010. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
  25. Spencer, Robert Bruce (1986). The monophysite in the mirror, by Robert Bruce Spencer. Davis Library Thesis, Religion, 1986 (Thesis). UNC-CH Libraries. Archived from the original on March 1, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  26. Robert Spencer (June 8, 2020). "I did return to Orthodoxy, yes, but as the result of personal reflection and historical study.]" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. "Let's talk about Robert Spencer". November 9, 2017. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  28. "Marines gather to honor, celebrate". Trib.com. October 26, 2005. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
  29. Robert Spencer (December 19, 2008). "A Tribute: Paul Weyrich Has Died". Catholic Online. Archived from the original on March 9, 2009. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
  30. "Anti-Muslim crusaders make millions spreading fear". The Tennessean. October 24, 2010. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  31. "David Horowitz Freedom Center's IRS Form 990" (PDF). The Tennessean. June 3, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
  32. Othen, Christopher (August 15, 2018). Soldiers of a Different God: How the Counter-Jihad Movement Created Mayhem, Murder and the Trump Presidency. Amberley. p. 275. ISBN 9781445678009.
  33. "Robert Spencer". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  34. "Backgrounder: Stop Islamization of America (SIOA)" Archived May 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Extremism. Anti-Defamation League. March 25, 2011 . Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  35. Lach, Eric (March 1, 2011). "Pam Geller On 'Hate Group' Label: 'A Badge of Honor'". Talking Points Memo. Archived from the original on March 13, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
  36. "Pamela Geller & Stop Islamization of America". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on June 25, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  37. Steinback, Robert (Summer 2011). "Jihad Against Islam". Intelligence Report, Issue #142. Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  38. Rawlinson, Kevin (June 26, 2013). "Anti-Ground Zero Mosque campaigners Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer barred from entering Britain to speak at an EDL rally". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on June 27, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  39. The Speech that Got Robert Spencer Banned From the UK. YouTube. June 27, 2013. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  40. "Anti-Muslim pair banned from UK". Daily Express. UK. June 26, 2013. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  41. Lowles, Nick. "Geller and Spencer Banned". Hope not Hate. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  42. "Geller & Anor, R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWCA Civ 45 (05 February 2015)". British and Irish Legal Information Institute. Archived from the original on July 9, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
  43. English, Rosalind (February 15, 2015). "Critics of Islam prevented from entering UK to attend Lee Rigby rally". UK Human Rights Blog. 1 Crown Office Row. Archived from the original on January 21, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
  44. "A gross double standard over hate speech". The Spectator. UK. June 27, 2013. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  45. "Pakistan: Book Closed on Muhammad". National Review. January 9, 2007. Archived from the original on June 12, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  46. "Ministry Bans 14 Books". BERNAMA. July 12, 2007. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
  47. "Truman State grapples with controversial anti-Muslim speaker". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. April 11, 2017. Archived from the original on April 24, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  48. "No violence, but UB speaker greeted with tension, heckling". The Buffalo News. May 2, 2017. Archived from the original on May 2, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  49. "Open letter from 375 alums urges President Riggs to cancel Robert Spencer's speech". The Gettysburgian. May 1, 2017. Archived from the original on May 3, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  50. Pontz, Benjamin (May 3, 2017). "Robert Spencer's speech at Gettysburg College engages students in civil discourse". The Gettysburgian. Archived from the original on May 4, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  51. "Stanford Students Walk Out, Protest During Robert Spencer Speaking Event". NBC Bay Area. November 15, 2017. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  52. "Controversial US author Robert Spencer claims he was poisoned by "leftist" while in Iceland". Iceland Magazine. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  53. "Islamophobe Robert Spencer Claims Young Leftist Poisoned Him". May 16, 2017. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  54. "Spencer var byrluð e-tafla: Sjáðu læknaskýrsluna". DV (in Icelandic). May 16, 2017.
  55. Deland, Mats (2014). In the Tracks of Breivik: Far Right Networks in Northern and Eastern Europe. Berlin Wien: Lit Verlag. p. 162. ISBN 978-3-643-90542-0.
  56. Green, Todd H. (2019). The Fear of Islam, Second Edition: An Introduction to Islamophobia in the West. Fortress Press. p. 206. ISBN 978-1-5064-5045-2.
  57. Beauchamp, Zack (February 13, 2017). "Trump's counter-jihad". Vox. Archived from the original on June 8, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  58. Gardell, Mattias (January 1, 2014). "Crusader Dreams: Oslo 22/7, Islamophobia, and the Quest for a Monocultural Europe". Terrorism and Political Violence. 26 (1): 129–155. doi:10.1080/09546553.2014.849930. ISSN 0954-6553. S2CID 144489939.
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