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{{short description|American anti-Muslim writer and blogger}}
'''Robert Bruce Spencer''' is an ] writer focusing on ] and ]. He the author of six books, including two bestsellers, on topics related to ] and ], is the founder and director of the ] and ] websites that focus on ] ]-related events.<ref> </ref>
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{pp-semi-blp|small=yes}}
{{Infobox person <!--please see talk page re. choice of infobox format-->
| name = Robert Spencer
| honorific_suffix =
| image = Robert Spencer 2020.png
| alt =
| caption = Spencer in 2020
| birth_name = Robert Bruce Spencer
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1962|2|27}}
| birth_place =
| monuments =
| nationality = American
| other_names =
| citizenship =
| alma_mater = ] (])
| occupation = {{hlist|Author|blogger}}
| years_active = 2002–present
| employer =
| organization = {{hlist|]|]}}
| known_for = ] views, '']'', books
}}
'''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>
== Biography ==
Robert Spencer holds a ] in Religious Studies from the ] ].


==Background==
He began his career in ] at the University of North Carolina. His MA thesis is entitled and concerns the conversion of ] to Catholicism in 1845 and Newman's denunciation of the ] as ].
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>


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>
According to the biography at one of his websites,<ref> </ref> Spencer began studying ] in ] during his first year as an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina. He wrote freelance articles for various publications between 1980 and 2001 on Catholic religious issues. In ], he became an adjunct fellow with the ]. He wrote seven ]s 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.


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>
In ], he participated in a workshop on terrorist threats jointly sponsored by the ] ] and the {] ] ] . In the same year, he conducted a workshop at the ] . He has discussed jihad, Islam, and terrorism on a variety of television networks, as well as on numerous radio programs.


==Activities and writings==
In late October 2006, Robert Spencer commented on the efficacy of his work:
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>
:I have spoken about the jihad ideology on the ], the ], numerous other radio and television outlets, and to audiences all over this country, as well as in ] and ]. I've spoken at a workshop sponsored by the ] and the ] ], given presentations to ] and to a ] group, and also addressed influential fora that I am not at liberty to name. I've given information on jihadist activity to media outlets on which (or in which, as the case may be) I've never appeared personally, including ], the ], and the ]. And I've written two books that made the ] ] List. All this is personally gratifying, but it is all much more important as an indication that, increasingly, word is getting out. The truth is getting out.<ref> http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/013772.php</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>
His writings on Islam and other topics have been published in the ], the ], the ], Canada's ], ], ], ], ] Online, and many other publications. He has consulted with ] and the ] and the ] ], and frequently appears on global media networks such as well as on the ], ], ], ], ], ], as well as on numerous radio programs including ]'s ], The ] Show, The ] Show, The ] Show, The ] Show, The ] Show, The ] Show, The ] Show, ] amongst others.


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"/>
== Views on Spencer's works==
],<ref> by Daniel Pipes and Sharon Chadha, Middle East Quarterly, Spring 2006</ref> ],<ref> Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis, Bat Ye'or, p. 31, 107, 206 </ref> and ]<ref> (who contributed to '']: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims'', edited by Spencer)</ref> are among those who have a positive view of Spencer's works, while ],<ref name="Ernst"> </ref> and ]<ref name="Khaleel"> </ref> and organizations such as ],<ref> </ref> ],<ref> , American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, February 3, 2004 </ref> and ]<ref></ref> hold negative views.


===Ban from entering the UK===
Khaleel Mohammed and Spencer have had detailed discussions on Front Page Magazine.<ref> </ref><ref> </ref><ref> </ref><ref> </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"/>
Many Muslims, Christians and Jews criticize Mr. Spencer for his views which are considered bigoted and Islamphobic. Many consider his writings as part of an agenda and a crusade against Islam. His association with several anti-Muslim personalities gives credence to this criticism. Mr. Spencer often uses incomplete and out-of-context parts of Quran verses and doubtful Hadith (sayings of the prophet) sources to support his claims. He often ignores evidence and rebuttals directed against his writings. His current book on Prophet Muhammad lacks scholarly research but does repeat criticism of the prophet that has been presented elsewhere. His criticism is a bit dated becuase it does not cater to the new body of evidence, specially evidence presented by Mr. W.N Arafat and others.


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>
=== Spencer's responses to critics ===


===Speaking engagements===
In response to criticism, Spencer points out that none of his critics have managed to substantiate their claims of inaccuracy in his work, but content themselves with broad and vague accusations. He says: "I present the work not on the basis of my credentials, but on the basis of the evidence I bring forth; evaluate it for yourself. One example: after I spoke at the University of North Carolina, Professor Carl Ernst of the university wrote a piece about me warning that my books were non-scholarly and were published by presses that he believed reflected a political agenda of which he did not approve. That kind of approach may impress some people, but Carl Ernst did not and cannot bring forth even a single example of a supposed inaccuracy in my work. I would, of course, be happy to debate Carl Ernst or any other scholar of Islam about Islam and jihad; this is a standing invitation.".<ref> </ref> He has also said "It is amusing to me that some people like to focus on my credentials, when I have never made a secret of the fact that most of what I know about Islam comes from personal study. It is easier for them to talk about degrees than to find any inaccuracy in my work. Yet I present the work not on the basis of my credentials, but on the basis of the evidence I bring forth; evaluate it for yourself.".<ref> </ref> Spencer has criticized academics at his web site writing that he opted not to enter any PhD program because he "could see that Middle East Studies and other departments were becoming highly politicized and retreating from genuine academic work".<ref> </ref><ref> </ref> About charges of "bigotry" and "hatred" from Ernst {{fact}} and others he says: "It is not an act of hatred against Muslims to point out the depredations of jihad ideology. It is a peculiar species of displacement and projection to accuse someone who exposes the hatred of one group of hatred himself: I believe in the equality of rights and dignity of all people, and that is why I oppose the global jihad. And I think that those who make the charge know better in any case: they use the charge as a tool to frighten the credulous and politically correct away from the truth."{{fact}}
] 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>
=="Invitation to Islam"==
On 2 September 2006 a video called "Invitation to Islam" featuring ] with a brief appearance also by ] . In the video, Gadahn named Spencer in a list of "Zionist crusader missionaries of hate and counter-Islam consultants" which included ], 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 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"/>
Spencer responded with an ] ("My Invitation From al-Qaeda", September 6, 2006) in which he publicly rejected Gadahn's offer and responded with his own counter-offer:
:''I invite you to accept the ], and enter into the brotherhood of ] and ]. My invitation does not focus on my religion, although I invite you to that also, but rather on a framework within which people of differing faiths can live in peace, harmony, and mutual respect – provided that none of the groups involved cherishes supremacist ambitions to subjugate the others.''


== Books == ==Influence and criticism==
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>
*'']'', Regnery Publishing 2006
*'']'' (editor), Prometheus Books, 2005. ISBN 1-59102-249-5
*'']'', Regnery Publishing, 2005. ISBN 0-89526-013-1
* '']'', Regnery Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0-89526-100-6
*'']'' (with ]), Ascension Press, 2003. ISBN 0-9659228-5-5
* '']'' (Foreword by ]), Encounter Books, 2002. ISBN 1-893554-58-9


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>
== Video clips==
*


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"/>
== External links ==
*Robert Spencer's
* weblog
* weblog
*
* by Professor of ]
* on ]
*
*Publisher's official book description of
*Hear Robert Spencer Interviewed
*Publisher's official book description of


== References == ==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|title=Muhammad: A Critical Biography|year=2024|publisher=Bombardier|isbn=979-8888453087}}
<references/>
* {{cite book|title=Empire of God: How the Byzantines Saved Civilization|year=2023|publisher=Bombardier|isbn=978-1637587423}}
* {{cite book|title=The Sumter Gambit: How the Left Is Trying to Foment a Civil War|year=2023|publisher=Bombardier|isbn=978-1637585320}}
* {{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}}
* {{cite book|title=The Church and the Pope: The Case for Orthodoxy|year=2022|publisher=Uncut Mountain|isbn=978-1639410057}}
* {{cite book|title=Islamophobia and the Threat to Free Speech|year=2021|publisher=Center for Security Policy|isbn=979-8528301945}}
* {{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}}
* {{cite book|title=The History of Jihad: From Muhammad to ISIS|publisher=Bombardier|year=2018|isbn=9781682616598}}
* {{cite book|title=Confessions of an Islamophobe|publisher=Bombardier|year=2017|isbn=978-1682614914}}
* {{cite book|title=The Complete Infidel's Guide to Free Speech (and Its Enemies)|publisher= Regnery|year=2017|isbn=978-1621576273}}
* {{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}}
* {{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==
]
{{Reflist}}
]
]
]
]
]
]
]


==External links==
]
{{Commons}}
*{{twitter|jihadwatchRS|Robert Spencer}}
*{{C-SPAN|1003529}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Robert}}
Muhammad by Karen Armstrong
]
Muhammad by Martin Lings
]
History of God by Karen Armstrong
]
What's right with Islam by Imam Faisal
]
]
]
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]
]
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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

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