The types of momentos for sale in Gaza. The twin towers - aflame - are at the mullah's feet. He is holding the Pentagon.
May Allah rip out his spine from his back and split his brains in two, and then put them both back, and then do it over and over again. Amen.
I'm sure Salman Rushdie could relate. Along with President Bush, Spencer's name is found on Al Quaeda's published list of "Zionist crusader missionaries of hate and counter-Islam consultants". Quite an honor.
Spencer has written a total six books on Islam and terrorist ideology and history, including Islam Unveiled: Disturbing Questions About the World's Fastest Growing Faith
Perhaps the biggest threat the Islamic leadership would see in Spencer is his superb scholarship. His books are not a simple diatribe on his opinion of Islam. They are collections of historical fact, well-documented with numerous citations of his research. He leaves it up to the reader to see what is plain, and by the time he gets around to offering his own strong opinion, he has laid for it a strong foundation. His research is bolstered not only by a longtime scholarship on the subject of Islam (since 1980), but by a knowledge of the Arabic language, first-hand knowledge of Middle Eastern culture, and a degree in Religious Studies (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1986). It is a shame that his books are not required reading in our schools and universities - we might now be a safer, less naive society. Spencer says of his own writing:
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. 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. Also, I am always open to new information
It may surprise critics of Mr. Spencer's work when they learn that his interest in the Middle East came about from his own family background:
It has been an enduring fascination. Since childhood I have had an interest in the Muslim world, from which my family comes. When I was very young my grandparents would tell me stories about their life there, and I always heard them with great interest. When I met Muslim students as a college undergraduate I began reading and studying the Qur'an in earnest. That led to in-depth forays into tafsir (interpretations of the Qur'an), hadith (traditions of the Prophet Muhammad), and much more about Islamic theology and law. While working on my master's thesis, which dealt not with Islam but (in part) with some early Christian heretical groups, I began to study early Islamic history, since some of these groups ended up in Arabia and may have influenced Muhammad. In the intervening years I continued these studies of Islamic theology, history, and law out of personal interest.
This led to my consulting privately with some individuals and groups about Islam, but I had never intended to do such work publicly. However, after 9/11 I was asked to write Islam Unveiled in order to correct some of the misapprehensions about Islam that were widespread at that time...
In their blind zeal to discredit Mr. Spencer, critics from the Islamic fundamentalist community and the far left elsewhere have started many false rumors about Mr. Spencer, his ideology and background. Amongst these are that he is a "secret Catholic", a Jew, a Maoist, and that he supports deportation from the U.S. of all Muslims. When asked directly if he disagrees outright with all liberal thought on Islam, he says:
Certainly not. I encourage any Muslim individual or group who is willing to work publicly for the reform of the Islamic doctrines, theological tenets and laws that Islamic jihadists use to justify violence. But this must be done honestly and thoroughly, confronting the texts of the Qur'an, Hadith, and Sira that are used to justify violence against unbelievers, and decisively rejecting Qur'anic literalism. Not all self-proclaimed moderates are truly moderate: many deny that these elements of Islam exist at all — hardly a promising platform for reform. It is important to make proper distinctions and speak honestly about the roots of the terrorist threat.
It may be because of the courage and intelligence of scholars like Robert Spencer, that Western civilization survives the militant Islamic onslaught.
For more on Mr. Spencer's views on his own reputation, convictions and writings, see his biographical section on Jihad Watch.
