"The principal leader…in the new academic field of Islam-bashing."
"Spencer's readers are carefully steered away from all contact with the Islamic interpretative tradition, which equals or exceeds that of any other religion, because any scholarly knowledge about Islam would expose all his extremist interpretations to ridicule."
- Robert Crane (Ex-Nixon Aide, author)
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"[Robert Spencer] has no academic training in Islamic studies whatsoever; his M.A. degree was in the field of early Christianity"
“The publications of Spencer belong to the class of Islamophobic extremism that is promoted and supported by right-wing organizations, who are perpetuating a type of bigotry similar to anti-Semitism and racial prejudice. They are to be viewed with great suspicion by anyone who wishes to find reliable and scholarly information on the subject of Islam.”
- Carl Ernst (Islamic Scholar UNC)
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“[Robert Spencer] uses the Internet to spread misinformation and hatred of Islam and presents a ‘skewed, one-sided, and inflammatory story that only helps to sow the seed of civilizational conflict’."
- Benazir Bhutto (Late Prime Minister of Pakistan)
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“When it comes to Robert Spencer scholars of Islamic studies outright dismiss him and his body of work. They call him an unreliable ideologue at best and a divisive bigot at worst.”
- Michael Kruse (Writer St. Petersburg Times)
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“After looking at your website, I was quite surprised to see how much hate, venom and misunderstanding you are fostering.”
- M. Cherif Bassiouni (Law Professor, Scholar, Humanitarian)
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“Robert Spencer is an extremist, right-wing anti-Muslim rabble rouser.”
- Robert Dreyfuss (Nation Magazine Editor, Contributor to Rolling Stone and Mother Jones)
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“Mr. Spencer espouses a view of Islam as a system of belief which is essentially violent, undemocratic, totalitarian, exclusive and at war with all non-Muslims. Mr. Spencer in fact goes as far as to equate Islam with fascism.”
- Group of ALA Librarians, scholars and academics
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“There is no doubt The Little King [Robert Spencer] ‘plagiarized,’ and therefore is a ‘plagiarist’.”
- Andrew Bostom (Close friend, ally and blog collaborator)
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“Robert Spencer is an anti-Muslim blogger…And yes, I do mean ‘anti-Muslim’ — Spencer long ago crossed the line from simply criticizing radical Islamists to relentlessly demonizing all Muslims. And the bigoted, hateful comments he allows at his website are beyond disgusting.”
- Charles Johnson (Former Ally, Friend and Blog Collaborator)
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“Spencer's historical argument is dubious. It emphasizes violent passages in the Koran, while downplaying the passages that urge peace and goodwill. It applies a moral standard to Islamic empires that certainly could not be met by the Roman empire or the empires established by the Portuguese, the Spanish, the French and the British. In the Spain of Ferdinand and Isabella, for example, Jews had three choices: convert to Christianity, leave the country, or be killed. No Muslim empire legislated or systematically enforced such a policy toward its religious minorities."
"Spencer glibly jumps over entire centuries in linking, say, the savagery of the Ottomans in Constantinople with the savagery of Hezbollah in Lebanon or the Taliban in Afghanistan."
- Dinesh D’Souza (Conservative scholar, pundit and author)
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“According to Mr. Spencer, Judeo-Christianity is fundamentally and qualitatively superior to Islam, so to suggest that there could be a degenerative least-common-denominator into which all three religions could converge under any conditions, reeks of cultural relativism, because it denies Judeo-Christianity’s irreducible superiority.”
“I find it curious that Robert Spencer closes both eyes to atrocities perpetrated by Serbs, because if it had only been Muslims on their receiving end, I would understand now (but of course not justify it) seeing where Spencer is coming from, but Serbs have also fought against Croats and Slovenes —their fellow Christians. Yet he takes the side of the most historically aggressive representatives of his own ‘Religion of Peace.’ Could it be that while ostensibly and quite irrationally denying any violence within Christianity, he in fact secretly and perhaps subconsciously admires violent Christianity?”
- Kejda Gjermani (Commentary Magazine author)
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“Robert Spencer, a prolific anti-Islam writer and a leading Islamophobe who is bent on distorting Islam and demonizing Muslims, has persistently argued that violence and terrorism employed by Muslim extremists is rooted in the Quran and its message. Spencer calls the Quran, a book sacred to Muslim, ‘the jihadists’ Mein Kampf,’ in reference to Hitler’s memoir.”
- Louay M. Safi (Islamic Scholar)
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“The widespread ignorance about Islam in the West makes many vulnerable to Spencer’s polemic; he is telling them what they are predisposed to hear. His book is a gift to extremists who can use it to ‘prove’ to those Muslims who have been alienated by events in Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq that the west is incurably hostile to their faith."
- Karen Armstrong (Author)
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“Spencer thinks, ‘Islamist fundamentalist drive European politics’.”
“Spencer and Bat Ye’or “lack academic seriousness.”
- Ivan Jablonka (Scholar)
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“Words like Islamophobia and phrases like anti-Muslim bigotry are bandied about too liberally…But the real thing does exist, and it frequently takes the cover of anti-jihadism. Jihad Watch...traffics fairly openly in such stuff.”
- Cathy Young (Writer with Reason Magazine)
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They must think Muslims are not human…
“It is sad that the Voice of the Copts has chosen to give a platform to hatemongers of the worst kind, it undermines a valuable day and hurts any credibility that they may have.”
Before Ahni publishes a list of attacks on Coptic Christians by Muslims, I will say that the situation for Coptic Christians is terrible in the Arab World but that is no reason to ally themselves with Muslim-haters. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr, “Meet hate with love”. That would apply to Muslims being discriminated against in the West as well.
There is no way that having Muslim haters on their panel is going to improve relations with Muslims. And yes, Tawfik Hamid is a Muslim hater in the same way that Jews that oppose Israeli policy are known by extremist Jews as “Jew haters” and sometimes even accused of being Nazis or fantasising about the second Holocaust .
I will also add that many Christians are facing discrimination in Israel, perhaps not as much as they face in the Arab world, but they don’t have a Jew hater on the panel. Interesting…
Even when I admit the faults of Muslims, you are never happy. I was saying that allying with Muslim-haters isn’t going to help their cause. The best way to take action would be to pressure governments around to world to pressure Arab countries.
In case you’re wondering, this comment should be below as a reply to Ahni.
I will say that the situation for Coptic Christians is terrible in the Arab World but that is no reason to ally themselves with Muslim-haters.
And who is making their situation terrible, again, just so we’re clear? Why, Muslims of course. I guess the Copts figured that being killed is worse than offending the delicate sensibilities of the Muslims like you who aren’t slaughtering Copts. Can’t say I blame them.
Why don’t Coptic exiles in the U.S. pressure the US government into cutting foreign aid to Egypt? Wouldn’t that be a start perhaps?
Typical Anhi, always blaming all Muslims without caveat. Just so you know, this kind of looniness is making you look more bigoted than you already are.
How sad that it’s come to this
How can Islamists lecture people on human rights when they’re among the worst violators?
Nobody here is an Islamist you jerkoff.
So explain this, Dan: Why won’t LoonWatch and other “progressive” websites speak on behalf of the Copts, Maronites, and other victims of Islamic persecution?
Because LW targets Islamophobia in the Western media/popular culture? And many of the posters on LW and SW have repeatedly spoken out against the terrible treatment of minorities in the Muslim world anyway. Such as here and other instances. They have also discussed the LRA and its treatment of others in the Congo, for example, and other instances of human rights violations. Yet I have not seen Jihadwatch or affiliated sites ever discuss non-”jihad” related topics.
Maronites aren’t being persecuted idiot. If anything, they did the bulk of the persecution in Lebanon during the civil war. Tel al-Zaataar, Karantina, Sabra and Shatila, and the siege of Bourj al-Hammoud ring a bell?
Touche Dan!
Who hear is an Islamist? Danios is a liberal progressive and Gefilte is Jewish. Loonwatch is popular amongst Muslims, but that’s simply because it refutes libel against them and stands up for their rights (in a world in which Muslims have become increasingly unpopular).
http://www.loonwatch.com/2010/11/loonwatch-wins-brass-crescent-award/
One point that must be made in relation to this award is that Loonwatch is a cooperative and not a solo venture which the title of the award, “Best Non-Muslim Blogger” may confuse, in our case “Best Non-Muslim Blog” may have been more appropriate. We have writers from a diverse background including Muslims, Christians, Jews and even agnostics and it is this team that continues the tremendous work of “deconstructing the lies” and inanities that is the anti-Muslim blogosphere and machine.
The term ‘oxy’ in the title is superfluous. I think ‘moron’ describes Spencer better.
Haha!
Look at this article on Jihadwatch and how it’s standing up for human rights!
Seizure of other Arab-owned or Muslim-owned assets in the West, for the same reasons. There need not be any distinction made between property owned by governments and those who are deemed to be enemy nationals — no such distinction was made during World War II.
…complete ban on Muslim migration to the Western world (which needs to be undertaken in any case), and limits put on any contact between Muslims living in the West, who may already have obtained ciizenship and — unless they are native-born converts — their countries of origin.
Government-sponsored centers to teach people about Islam outside of universities, which all over the Western world have been infiltrated, or rather captured by, apologists for Islam both Muslim and non-Muslim.
End all access to Western education, not only for those Arabs and Muslims studying any kind of science, but in every area. Attempting the hopeless project of “educating them” out of their belief-system will not work.
For more on Jihadwatch and ‘human rights’, take a gander at Hugh Fitzgerald’s articles. http://spencerwatch.com/who-is-hugh-fitzgerald/#comment-145
Ahni: Why, Muslims of course.
How come I’m not in Egypt persecuting the Copts, given that I am a Muslim and, according to you, Muslims are persecuting Copts?
How come I’m not in Egypt persecuting the Copts, given that I am a Muslim and, according to you, Muslims are persecuting Copts?
So if you are not in Egypt persecuting Copts, that means that no Muslims could possibly be in Egypt persecuting Copts? Not sure what kind of point you are trying to make, but it sounds extremely weak.
The point was pretty obvious: you generalise when it comes to Muslims, hence you claiming Muslims are Nazis because one woman was holding up a sign.
So by that logic, I suppose Coptic Christians are hereby responsible for the mass slaughter of Bosnian Muslims and Croats at the hands of their fellow Orthodox brothers in the 1990s. I guess I should hate all Orthodox christians since I feel that they all have the urge to slaughter Muslims, right?
Blanket statements are a bitch, aren’t they?
Blanket statements are a bitch, aren’t they?
Not as much as straw mans are.
Ironic comment is ironic.
Overused phrase is overused.
*Yawn*
Loon lost another ‘debate’ and is reduced to bitching about phrases.
In Egypt Coptic girls are abducted, raped and forced to convert to Islam. The Copts have always been oppressed by Muslims. Isn’t it understandable that they seek anti-Muslim allies?
So if we were to use your logic correctly, how come we didn’t see Bosnian Muslims run to al-Qaeda for anti-Christian allies as a result of Serbian Orthodox brutality?
I hope you guys or loonwatch can do a piece on Lawrence Auster one day. The guy has a pretty strong readership and talks about how Spencer isn’t hard enough on the Muslims.
Ahni, you employed a common, irrational logical fallacy called a hasty generalization. In case you never took logic, <a href=http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/hasty-generalization.html|here's a primer.