Robert B. Spencer Explained

Robert Spencer
Birth Name:Robert Bruce Spencer
Birth Date:27 February 1962
Nationality:American
Alma Mater:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (MA)
Years Active:2002–present
Known For:Anti-Muslim views, Jihad Watch, books

Robert Bruce Spencer (born February 27, 1962)[1] [2] is an American anti-Muslim author and blogger, and one of the key figures of the counter-jihad movement.[3] [4] 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.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7]

Background

Spencer was baptized in the Greek Orthodox Church and joined the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in 1984.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10]

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.[11]

Spencer has been harshly criticized by several clerics of the Roman Catholic Church because of his views on Islam.[12] In 2016, as a result of "personal reflection and historical study", Spencer returned to the Greek Orthodox Church.[13]

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.[14] [15] He worked in think tanks for more than 20 years,[10] and in 2002–2003 was an adjunct fellow with the Free Congress Foundation.[16]

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."[17] [18] In addition to being the editor for the David Horowitz Freedom Center's Jihad Watch blog, Spencer has also written for Breitbart News,[19] and has been a columnist for Human Events, PJ Media and FrontPage Magazine.[2] [20]

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[21] and the Southern Poverty Law Center.[22] [23] [24] 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.[2]

Ban from entering the UK

On June 26, 2013, both Spencer and Pamela Geller were banned from entering the UK.[25] 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".[26] 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."[27] 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,[28] which said it had collected 26,000 signatures for a petition to the Home Secretary.[29] 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."[30] [31]

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.[32] Spencer responded to the ban by stating that the UK had become a "de facto Islamic state".[2]

The government of Pakistan previously banned Spencer's book, The Truth About Muhammad, in 2007, citing "objectionable material" as the cause.[33] His book Onward Muslim Soldiers was banned in Malaysia the same year.[34]

Speaking engagements

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.[35] He spoke at the University of Buffalo in May the same year, where he was shouted down and heckled.[36] 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.[37] Spencer said, "There is one kind of diversity that is not valued generally in an academic setting and that is intellectual diversity."[38] Spencer spoke at Stanford University in November 2017, during which many students walked out.[39]

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.[40] [41] A medical report indicated he had been given MDMA and amphetamines.[42]

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.[2]

Influence and criticism

Spencer is known for his anti-Muslim views. He comments on radical Islam, Islamic extremism, Islamic terrorism, and Islamic supremacism.[43] 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.[2] According to author Todd H. Green, Spencer's commentary on Islam has been regarded as "hav[ing] made a huge impact on the misinformation about Islam that circulates so freely on the Internet, in the media, and in political circles."[44]

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).[45]

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."[46] Spencer condemned Breivik and said he was unfairly blamed by the media for the attack,[47] likening it to Charles Manson drawing inspiration from The Beatles.[2] Breivik has later admitted that he has been a neo-Nazi since the early 1990s, who only in later years exploited counter-jihad writings.[48]

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.[49] His books were later dropped from federal training programs.[2]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Very grateful to all who are wishing me happy birthday, may God bless you all, and thanks.... February 27, 2023. jihadwatchRS. 1630266440002711552.
  2. Web site: Robert Spencer. March 3, 2024. Southern Poverty Law Center.
  3. Book: Carter, Alexander J.. Cumulative Extremism: A Comparative Historical Analysis. 190. 2019. Routledge. 9780429594526.
  4. Book: Berntzen, Lars Erik. Liberal Roots of Far Right Activism: The Anti-Islamic Movement in the 21st Century. 87. 2019. Routledge. 9781000707960.
  5. Book: Lone Wolf and Autonomous Cell Terrorism. Jeffrey Kaplan. Heléne Lööw. Leena Malkki. Taylor & Francis. 2017. 978-1-317-53042-8. 214.
  6. News: Anti-Muslim speakers still popular in law enforcement training. March 12, 2014. The Washington Post. 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. March 18, 2017. live. September 10, 2017.
  7. Web site: Meet The Extremists Who Lead Fox's Conversation About Islam. January 13, 2015. Media Matters. https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080539/https://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/01/13/meet-the-extremists-who-lead-foxs-conversation/202119. February 11, 2017. live. February 10, 2017.
  8. News: Pope must condemn demonizing of Israel. Spencer. Robert. October 26, 2010. Spero News. October 29, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101029001117/http://www.speroforum.com/a/42470/Pope-must-condemn-demonizing-of-Israel. October 29, 2010. live.
  9. Web site: Robert Spencer Jihad Watch, Director Q & A with Brian Lamb. August 20, 2006. C-SPAN. November 30, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141109043825/http://www.c-span.org/video/?193778-1%2Fqa-robert-spencer. November 9, 2014. live.
  10. Web site: Muhammad Comes to Manhattan. New York. Mark Jacobson. August 22, 2010. November 1, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100826065300/http://nymag.com/news/features/67635/index2.html. August 26, 2010. live.
  11. Web site: The monophysite in the mirror, by Robert Bruce Spencer. UNC-CH Libraries. Davis Library Thesis, Religion, 1986. March 20, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20170301144945/http://webcat.lib.unc.edu/record=b2172870~S1. March 1, 2017. live. 1986.
  12. Web site: Robert Spencer and the Religion of Terror. Crisis Magazine. Jeffrey Rubin. October 25, 2018. October 26, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181025120653/https://www.crisismagazine.com/2018/robert-spencer-and-the-religion-of-terror. October 25, 2018. live.
  13. jihadwatchRS . Robert Spencer . 1269903323764850688 . 8 June 2020 . I did return to Orthodoxy, yes, but as the result of personal reflection and historical study.].
  14. Web site: Let's talk about Robert Spencer. November 9, 2017. December 14, 2021. December 14, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211214233618/https://www.stanforddaily.com/2017/11/09/lets-talk-about-robert-spencer/. live.
  15. Web site: Marines gather to honor, celebrate . Trib.com . October 26, 2005 . November 1, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170908021137/http://trib.com/news/local/article_2428fa7c-c843-561b-80ac-b243218b92be.html . September 8, 2017 . live .
  16. Web site: A Tribute: Paul Weyrich Has Died. December 19, 2008. December 16, 2010. Robert Spencer. Catholic Online. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090309161405/http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=31171. March 9, 2009.
  17. Web site: Anti-Muslim crusaders make millions spreading fear. The Tennessean. October 24, 2010. November 4, 2010. February 3, 2013. https://archive.today/20130203123032/http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101024/NEWS01/10240374/Anti-Muslim-crusaders-make-millions-spreading-fear?nclick_check=1. dead.
  18. Web site: David Horowitz Freedom Center's IRS Form 990. The Tennessean. June 3, 2009. April 24, 2011.
  19. Book: Soldiers of a Different God: How the Counter-Jihad Movement Created Mayhem, Murder and the Trump Presidency. 15 August 2018. 9781445678009 . Othen . Christopher . 275. Amberley .
  20. Web site: Robert Spencer. Simon & Schuster. August 26, 2023.
  21. http://www.adl.org/main_Extremism/sioa.htm "Backgrounder: Stop Islamization of America (SIOA)"
  22. Web site: Lach, Eric. March 1, 2011. Talking Points Memo. Pam Geller On 'Hate Group' Label: 'A Badge of Honor'. February 17, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120313082234/http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/pam_geller_on_splc_hate_group_label_badge_of_honor.php. March 13, 2012. live.
  23. Web site: Pamela Geller & Stop Islamization of America. Southern Poverty Law Center. June 27, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110625194540/http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/profiles/pamela-geller. June 25, 2011. live.
  24. Web site: Steinback. Robert. Jihad Against Islam. Intelligence Report, Issue #142. Southern Poverty Law Center. June 27, 2011. Summer 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120119075935/http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2011/summer/jihad-against-islam. January 19, 2012. live.
  25. News: US bloggers banned from entering UK. June 27, 2013. BBC. June 26, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130627011447/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23064355. June 27, 2013. live.
  26. News: Rawlinson. Kevin. Anti-Ground Zero Mosque campaigners Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer barred from entering Britain to speak at an EDL rally. June 27, 2013. The Independent. June 26, 2013. London. 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. June 27, 2013. live.
  27. The Speech that Got Robert Spencer Banned From the UK. YouTube. June 27, 2013. December 1, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20170202053606/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhdugc6gxdi. February 2, 2017. live.
  28. News: Anti-Muslim pair banned from UK. June 27, 2013. Daily Express. UK. June 26, 2013. June 30, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130630215027/http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/410494/Anti-Muslim-pair-banned-from-UK. live.
  29. Web site: Lowles. Nick. Geller and Spencer Banned. Hope not Hate. June 27, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130630023715/http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/blog/article/2803/geller-and-spencer-banned. June 30, 2013. dead.
  30. Web site: Geller & Anor, R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWCA Civ 45 (05 February 2015) ]. . October 31, 2017 . July 9, 2018 . 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 . live .
  31. Web site: Critics of Islam prevented from entering UK to attend Lee Rigby rally . 1 Crown Office Row . UK Human Rights Blog . February 15, 2015 . October 31, 2017 . English, Rosalind . January 21, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180121210006/https://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2015/02/15/critics-of-islam-prevented-from-entering-uk-to-attend-lee-rigby-rally/ . live .
  32. News: A gross double standard over hate speech. February 8, 2017. The Spectator. UK. June 27, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20161114143645/http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2013/06/a-gross-double-standard-over-hate-speech/. November 14, 2016. live.
  33. Web site: Pakistan: Book Closed on Muhammad . . April 19, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150612204845/http://www.nationalreview.com/phi-beta-cons/45068/pakistan-book-closed-muhammad-candace-de-russy . June 12, 2015 . live . January 9, 2007 .
  34. News: Ministry Bans 14 Books. BERNAMA. July 12, 2007. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221210/http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/printable.php?id=272915. March 3, 2016.
  35. Web site: Truman State grapples with controversial anti-Muslim speaker. April 11, 2017 . St. Louis Post-Dispatch. May 3, 2017. 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. April 24, 2017. live.
  36. Web site: No violence, but UB speaker greeted with tension, heckling. The Buffalo News. May 3, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170502134727/http://buffalonews.com/2017/05/01/controversial-speaker-ub-shouted-heckled/. May 2, 2017. live. May 2, 2017.
  37. News: Open letter from 375 alums urges President Riggs to cancel Robert Spencer's speech. May 1, 2017. The Gettysburgian. May 3, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170503155217/http://gettysburgian.com/2017/05/open-letter-from-375-alums-urges-president-riggs-to-cancel-robert-spencers-speech/. May 3, 2017. live.
  38. News: Robert Spencer's speech at Gettysburg College engages students in civil discourse. Pontz, Benjamin. May 3, 2017. The Gettysburgian. May 4, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170504173030/http://gettysburgian.com/2017/05/robert-spencers-speech-at-gettysburg-college-engages-students-in-civil-discourse/. May 4, 2017. live.
  39. Web site: Stanford Students Walk Out, Protest During Robert Spencer Speaking Event. November 15, 2017 . NBC Bay Area. November 16, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171117001808/https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Stanford-Students-Walk-Out-Protest-During-Robert-Spencer-Speaking-Event-457635203.html. November 17, 2017. live.
  40. Web site: Controversial US author Robert Spencer claims he was poisoned by "leftist" while in Iceland . December 19, 2019 . October 24, 2020 . Iceland Magazine. https://web.archive.org/web/20201024113848/https://icelandmag.is/article/controversial-us-author-robert-spencer-claims-he-was-poisoned-leftist-while-iceland . live .
  41. Web site: Islamophobe Robert Spencer Claims Young Leftist Poisoned Him. May 16, 2017. December 19, 2019. August 6, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190806232556/https://grapevine.is/news/2017/05/16/islamophobe-robert-spencer-claims-young-leftist-poisoned-him/. live.
  42. News: Spencer var byrluð e-tafla: Sjáðu læknaskýrsluna. May 16, 2017. DV. Icelandic.
  43. Book: Deland, Mats. In the Tracks of Breivik: Far Right Networks in Northern and Eastern Europe. Lit Verlag. 2014. 978-3-643-90542-0. Berlin Wien. 162.
  44. Book: Green, Todd H.. The Fear of Islam, Second Edition: An Introduction to Islamophobia in the West. Fortress Press. 2019. 978-1-5064-5045-2. 206. en.
  45. News: Trump's counter-jihad. February 13, 2017. Vox. Beauchamp. Zack. November 30, 2022. June 8, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170608051716/https://www.vox.com/world/2017/2/13/14559822/trump-islam-muslims-islamophobia-sharia. live.
  46. 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. 10.1080/09546553.2014.849930. 144489939. 0954-6553.
  47. News: Killings in Norway Spotlight Anti-Muslim Thought in U.S.. Shane. Scott. July 24, 2011. The New York Times. July 12, 2019. en-US. 0362-4331. September 18, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110918090725/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/25/us/25debate.html. live.
  48. News: Breivik: - Jeg leste Hitlers Mein Kampf da jeg var 14 år . 16 March 2016. Nettavisen. no.
  49. Ackerman, Spencer. July 27, 2011. Wired. FBI 'Islam 101' Guide Depicted Muslims as 7th-Century Simpletons. November 21, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181204011823/https://www.wired.com/2011/07/fbi-islam-101-guide/. December 4, 2018. live.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Robert B. Spencer".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.