Robert B. Spencer

Robert Bruce Spencer (born 1962)[1] is an American anti-Muslim[2][3][4][5] author, blogger and one of the key figures of the counter-jihad movement. Spencer describes himself as "the 'good' kind of Islamophobe".[6] His published books include two New York Times bestsellers.

For other people named Robert Spencer, see Robert Spencer (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with the white supremacist author and speaker Richard B. Spencer.

Robert Spencer
Born1962 (age 58–59)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, (M.A. 1986, Religious Studies)
OccupationAuthor, blogger
Years active2002–present
OrganizationDavid Horowitz Freedom Center
Known forAnti-Muslim views,
books and websites about
Jihad and Islamic terrorism
Notable work
The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion, (2006)
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (And the Crusades), (2005)
Websitejihadwatch.org

In 2003 he founded and has since directed a blog that tracks Islamic extremism known as Jihad Watch. He co-founded the anti-Muslim group Stop Islamization of America (American Freedom Defense Initiative) with blogger Pamela Geller.[7] 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.[2][8] He has frequently appeared on Fox News.[9] In 2013 the UK Home Office barred Spencer from travel to the UK for 3 to 5 years for "making statements that may foster hatred that might lead to inter-community violence".

Background

Spencer was baptized in the Greek Orthodox Church and joined the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in 1984.[10][11][12] In a 2006 interview, Spencer stated that his grandparents were forced to emigrate from an area that is now part of Turkey under Ataturk because they were Christians.[13] According to a 2010 interview in New York magazine, Spencer's father worked for the 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.[14]

Spencer received an M.A. in 1986 in religious studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His masters thesis was on Catholic history.[15] He has said he has been studying Islamic theology, law, and history since 1980.[13][16] He worked in think tanks for more than 20 years,[14] and in 2002–2003 was an adjunct fellow with the Free Congress Foundation.[17] Spencer named Paul Weyrich, 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."[17]

Spencer was criticized by clergy in the Catholic Church because of his views on Islam.[12] He left the church in 2016 to return to the Greek Orthodox Church as a result of "personal reflection and historical study".[18]

Views on Islam

Spencer is known for his anti-Muslim views.[2][3][4][5][19][20][21] He describes himself as an Islamophobe of "the 'good' kind",[6] and comments on radical Islam.[22]

Spencer co-founded the anti-Muslim[2][3][4][5] 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[23] and the Southern Poverty Law Center.[24][25][26] He and Geller 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".[19]

In 2009, Spencer blamed then-president Barack Obama himself for false rumors that Obama was a "secret Muslim".[27]

In July 2011, Wired 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.[8]

Anders Breivik, the Norwegian spree killer behind the 2011 Norway terrorist attacks which killed 77, cited Spencer 64 times in his manifesto and wrote of him, "About Islam I recommend essentially everything written by Robert Spencer."[19][28] Spencer condemned Breivik and said he was unfairly blamed by the media for the attack.[29][20]

Controversies

The government of Pakistan banned Spencer's book, The Truth About Muhammad, in 2016, citing "objectionable material" as the cause.[30] Onward Muslim Soldiers was banned in Malaysia in 2007.[31]

In an October 2010 news article, an investigative report by The Tennessean described Spencer as one of several individuals who "... cash in on spreading hate and fear about Islam." Tennessean investigation concluded: "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."[32][33]

On April 13, 2017, Spencer spoke at the Truman State University despite protests and a petition against him. He was invited by the Young America's Foundation.[34] On May 1, 2017, Spencer spoke at the University of Buffalo. There he was shouted down and heckled.[35] On May 3, 2017, Spencer spoke at Gettysburg College; 375 alumni urged the college president Janet Morgan Riggs to cancel the speech, but the event went on as planned.[36] Spencer said, "There is one kind of diversity that is not valued generally in an academic setting and that is intellectual diversity."[37] On November 14, 2017, Spencer spoke at Stanford University. Many students walked out during the event.[38]

Spencer said that "a young Icelandic Leftist" poisoned him in 2017 in Reykjavik, Iceland.[39][40] Spencer also criticized the doctor who then treated him and the police who investigated.[41]

Ban from entering the UK

On June 26, 2013, Spencer and Pamela Geller were banned from entering the UK.[42] They were due to speak at an English Defence League march in Woolwich, south London, where Drummer Lee Rigby was killed. Home Secretary Theresa May informed Spencer and Geller that their presence in the UK would "not be conducive to the public good".[43]

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."[44]

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,[45] which said it had collected 26,000 signatures for a petition to the Home Secretary.[46] 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."[47][48]

The ban was criticized by Douglas Murray. He stated that Islamist hate preachers are still allowed to enter the UK.[49]

Bibliography

Best sellers
  • The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion, Regnery Press, 2006 (NYT bestseller list – 2006-10-29[50]) ISBN 1-59698-028-1 OCLC 232648493
  • The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (And the Crusades), Regnery Press, 2005. (NYT bestseller list – 2005-10-16[51]) ISBN 0-89526-013-1 OCLC 779057129

Other books

Pamphlets

See also

References
  1. "Robert Spencer". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  2. "Anti-Muslim speakers still popular in law enforcement training". The Washington Post. March 12, 2014. Archived from the original on March 18, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  3. Isaacs, Arnold (July 31, 2018). "American Islamophobia's Fake Facts". The Unz Review. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  4. Islamophobia in America - The Anatomy of Intolerance | C. Ernst | Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 4, 125–126, 163.
  5. "US bloggers banned from entering UK". June 26, 2013. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  6. "The Case for Islamophobia". Frontpage Mag. December 6, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  7. Jeffrey Kaplan; Heléne Lööw; Leena Malkki (2017). Lone Wolf and Autonomous Cell Terrorism. Taylor & Francis. p. 214. ISBN 978-1-317-53042-8.
  8. Ackerman, Spencer (July 27, 2011). "FBI 'Islam 101' Guide Depicted Muslims as 7th-Century Simpletons". Wired. Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  9. "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.
  10. "About Robert Spencer". Jihad Watch. Archived from the original on December 29, 2010. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. "Robert Spencer Jihad Watch, Director Q & A with Brian Lamb". CSpan. August 20, 2006. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  14. Mark Jacobson (August 22, 2010). "Muhammad Comes to Manhattan". New York. Archived from the original on August 26, 2010. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
  15. "The monophysite in the mirror, by Robert Bruce Spencer". Davis Library Thesis, Religion, 1986. UNC-CH Libraries. 1986. Archived from the original on March 1, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  16. "Marines gather to honor, celebrate". Trib.com. October 26, 2005. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
  17. 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.
  18. Robert Spencer [@jihadwatchRS] (June 8, 2020). "I did return to Orthodoxy, yes, but as the result of personal reflection and historical study.]" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. "Right-Wing Populism in Europe". Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 90–92. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  20. Shane, Scott (August 3, 2011). "To Fight Radical Islam, U.S. Wants Muslim Allies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  21. "Iowa's congressional delegation responds to Trump immigration order". Des Moines Register. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  22. 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.
  23. "Backgrounder: Stop Islamization of America (SIOA)" Archived May 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Extremism. Anti-Defamation League. March 25, 2011 [August 26, 2010]. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  24. 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.
  25. "Pamela Geller & Stop Islamization of America". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on June 25, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  26. 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.
  27. Etheridge, Eric (June 3, 2009). "Muslim Again?". Opinionator. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  28. 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.
  29. Shane, Scott (July 24, 2011). "Killings in Norway Spotlight Anti-Muslim Thought in U.S." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  30. "Pakistan: Book Closed on Muhammad". January 9, 2007. Archived from the original on June 12, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  31. "Ministry Bans 14 Books". BERNAMA. July 12, 2007. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
  32. "Anti-Muslim crusaders make millions spreading fear". October 24, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  33. "David Horowitz Freedom Center's IRS Form 990" (PDF). June 3, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
  34. "Truman State grapples with controversial anti-Muslim speaker". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on April 24, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  35. "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.
  36. "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.
  37. 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.
  38. "Stanford Students Walk Out, Protest During Robert Spencer Speaking Event". NBC Bay Area. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  39. "Controversial US author Robert Spencer claims he was poisoned by "leftist" while in Iceland".
  40. "Islamophobe Robert Spencer Claims Young Leftist Poisoned Him". May 16, 2017.
  41. "Leftist Privilege: Poisoned in Iceland a year ago, no one arrested". Frontpagemag. May 21, 2018.
  42. "US bloggers banned from entering UK". BBC. June 26, 2013. Archived from the original on June 27, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  43. 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.
  44. 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.
  45. "Anti-Muslim pair banned from UK". Daily Express. UK. June 26, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  46. Lowles, Nick. "Geller and Spencer Banned". Hope not Hate. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  47. "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. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
  48. 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. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
  49. "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.
  50. Best Sellers – Hardcover Nonfiction Archived April 2, 2015, at the Wayback Machine – NYT
  51. Paperback Nonfiction – NYT
  52. Spencer, Robert (September 21, 2009). "The Complete Infidels Guide to the Koran". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  53. Spencer, Robert (October 25, 2002). Islam Unveiled: Disturbing Questions about the World's Fastest-Growing Faith. Encounter Books. ISBN 9781594032950. Retrieved March 9, 2020.

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