The Amazon.com review section has never been a bastion of keen observation and rectitude, although Amazon is generally conscientious about removing defamatory and slanderous reviews. However, a Jihad Watch reader has pointed out this review to me, which unashamedly lies about the contents of my new book The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades). The reviewer, "Andrew High 'T De C' (Durham, NC USA)" says:
The five pillars of islam do not include "Jihad." This is the fundamental error in this text. It allows Spencer to paint all muslims as warmongering fanatics.
Of course, I do not say in The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) or anywhere else that jihad is one of the five pillars of Islam, or that all Muslims are warmongering fanatics. Later on this guy says that "It's not politically correct to recognize that all Muslims are not terrorists," and of course I do not say in the book or anywhere else that all Muslims are terrorists either.
Anyone who did say such things, of course, would show himself to be ignorant of Islam and fanatical in hatred of it -- which is how "Andrew High" is trying to portray me. But since he can't find those things in my actual writings, he just makes something up.
I guess I'm naive in some ways. It took my breath away that someone would lie so cannily about the contents of the book -- clearly he wants very much to lead readers away from it, and how better to do so than by misrepresenting me as having made statements that are obviously, howlingly false?
So I complained to Amazon.com and got this reply:
We understand your concern, but the review you mention doesn't fall outside of our guidelines. In order to help customers make informed buying decisions, we are interested in cultivating a diversity of opinion in our reviews. Part and parcel of that is allowing our customers to air their honest thoughts about items.
Well, all right. But how could this man be airing his honest thoughts when what he says is so patently dishonest?
The moral of the story, and the reason why I am writing this entry, has nothing to do with me or my book. It is that the topic of Islamic jihad is blanketed by deceivers, and that they are as clever and persistent as any the world has ever seen: they have taken Muhammad's dictum that "war is deceit" and run with it. I have tried to expose many of these deceptions at Dhimmi Watch, but the positive reception accorded to CAIR's loophole-laden fatwa indicates that they are still largely successful. And as long as that continues, we are all that much more at risk.
Well perhaps we might all try clicking on the report as innapropriate link and see what comes of it.
Remember Kevin Bold, the banned troll? Here is part of his review -
It also never occurs to Spencer that the Muslims began their conquests because they were sick of the Greeks and the Persians fighting over Arab territory. Once united under Islam, the Arabs' tribal rivalries took a back seat and allowed them to fight their oppressors.
And when Muslims conquered a people, they merely taxed the unbelievers; Christian conquerors killed them.
(I wonder why Spencer doesn't mention that...)
Sheesh!
(I wonder why Spencer doesn't mention that...)
Could it be because it is a great big lie?
What the reviewer said may not be out of the guidelines of amazon.com, but it is clearly slander.
While you may not be able to find the person who slandered you, a) a reply by you on amazon's site, (or any other JWers who read the book), would be appropritate;
b) amazon.com cannot be a forum to allow slander; they can allow opinions but those opinions cannot be slanderous [i.e, illegal]. amazon.com NEEDS TO BE REMINDED OF THEIR RESPONSIBILITY.
Book of Jihad, on page 580 of Maktba Dar-us-Salam’s publication of Sahih Al-Bukhari: “Jihad is holy fighting in Allah’s Cause with full force of weaponry. It is given the utmost importance in Islam and is one of its Pillars..."
Of course Bukhari didn't number the jihad pillar, but he aknowledged its existance...
In this sense Robert Spencer is being naive -- if you look at any of the books about Islam, both positive and negative on Amazon, you will see that their comments are littered with comments by Muslim apologists. The recurring if the book is negative about Islam are:
1) the writer is ignorant about Islam
2) the writer is a racist, which always is a misuse of the term, since they mean someone who isn't a supporter of Islam
3) the book gets only one star from the reviewer, even though said reviewer never makes specific comments about the book, and seemingly has not read the book
4) usually the response is littered with misspellings by these authors who seem to use English as a second language
I have an acquaintance who is a Muslim who is encouraged among his group of believers in his mosque to aggressively post negative reviews on Amazon of any books critical of Islam. His "reviews" frequently blame Zionists for all of Muslims' ills and for controlling America.
Amazon does not delete or edit any reviews for content unless they clearly slander the author or swear.
Robert can expect much worse to come from these "reviewers" who want to bury any critical opinions under a mountain of sewage. It is evidence of the continuing effort by many angry and subversive Muslims in America to suppress a critical dialogue about Islam, its meaning and its history.
Anyone want to bet that "Andrew High 'T De C'" is a Muslim or a 33rd degree Freemason and Shriner who has taken the Shriner's oath that "Allah is the god of my fathers"? He onlyh gives the book one star. There are four reviews prior to Andrew's that give the book 5 stars and one after that also gives it 5 stars.
Mr.Spencer,
After I read about the experience one of JihadWatch's commenters had in trying to acquire your new book "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades)", I went out today (8/6/05), to several Barnes and Noble bookstores and one Borders bookstore here in Los Angeles/Orange County, California and discovered that NOT ONE of these bookstores had your new book in the NEW ARRIVALS section-NOT ONE.
However, at those same Barnes and Nobles bookstores, a book called "Why They Don't Hate Us" by Mark LeVine-which features a star and cresent on the book cover-was featured prominently in the NEW ARRIVALS section.
That's unfair and biased!
One Barnes and Noble bookstore had the book located in the "History" section. The Borders bookstore had the book located in the "Medieval Literature" section. I let them know that your new book should be located in the "Current Events" or "Political Science" sections.
At each store, I had to ask the employee at the Information Desk to locate the book. I also asked each employee at each bookstore why the book wasn't located in the NEW ARRIVALS section. I received various answers, the most encouraging of which was, "It (the book) was just released a week ago, it should be located in the NEW ARRIVALS section."-Borders employee. The most discouraging answer was, "Well, some books just aren't put in the NEW ARRIVALS section."-Barnes and Noble employee.
Anyway, perhaps you could let your publisher know that the book is being misplaced/misfiled in the bookstores.?.
I also wanted to say that I bought the new book "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades)" at the first Barnes and Noble bookstore that I went to and I am looking forward to reading it. I read through the table of contents and skimmed through one of the book's sections. The book is easy to read and I've already learned something new. I hope everyone reads this book!
" It is that the topic of Islamic jihad is blanketed by deceivers, ... "
As one commenter
http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/007531.php#c116475
put it: "there is strictly NO difference between "political correctness" and and takeya."
( N.B. I think they meant Tadyia instead of takeya)
I have reported loads of stupid comment on Robert's book. One person Kevin(I rather pay Jizya and live as Dhimmi than pay a dime to the IRS)Bold keept on bouncing back
Singh
I saw this review. Unlike the pc crowd, I wasn't shocked to see the spin. The pc crowd loves to spout lies. That's "their job"!
We need to follow Miss Moneypenney's advice: "Well perhaps we might all try clicking on the report as innapropriate link and see what comes of it."
Also, those who have the "Guide" in hand should flood Amazon with reviews of their own.
At Amazon, I've seen similar reviews of other truth-telling books.
Meanwhile, I'm recommending the "Guide" to everyone I know.
BTW, did anyone else here catch Fox New's interview with Robert? I think the interview was this past Friday, August 5. I videotaped it.
Way to go, Robert!
I pre-ordered my copy online from Amazon.com. It arrived on the specified day. Here is my cursory initial assessment:
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) is written for the average reader in a format that resembles modern high-school textbooks, making the information straightforward and easy to read, including side-bar attention-getting devices, and reading lists. Kudos to the person that made the decision to use this format.
I plan to buy additional copies to distribute to my friends and neighbors for the purposing of supporting the "debate about Islam in a free society" that we should be holding. One can not debate without information. Perhaps others could also do the same.
Hating Islam and muslims/terrorists, is understandable, but counter productive.
Hate is too much of a mental drain. I dont hate the household garbage, I just take it to the dump, and put it where it belongs. Bad ideas dont require hate to get rid of them. Let muslims hate...their hate will eventually be their undoing. There are lots of things I dont like...some of them I dont like a lot, but I dont hate them. I dont know about you folks, but hate interferes with my ability to act intelligently. It causes me to act irrationally, and creates more problems than the ones I am attempting to fix. Hate is the cousin of fear, I dont hate, or fear, Islam, muslims, or even terrorists, but I recognise the deleterious nature of Islam and all it's parts, as a bag of garbage that needs to go to the dump. If you dont get rid of your garbage, it rots and produces dangerous vermin and substances.
In my view Islam is a bag of garbage that needs to go to the dump, and be thrown on the scrapheap of bad ideas. We dont need hate to do that, but we do need recognition and the willingness to act efficiently. So far govs and the public are a little slow in those catagories, but the cooler headed truth spreaders, such as RS and JW/DW, are turning that corner...
Dear Mr. Spencer,
In an effort to help, and take off a little heat from the comments sections here, I have been trying to set up a few blog back-up COMMENTS sites - in case, lamentably, you chose to close down the COMMENTS here.
A troll has been clogging the comments areas ON THESE BLOGS with endless obscene idiocy every time I re-post, and BLOGGER's webmaster hasn't been able to expunge the jackass sucessfully yet.
http://watchmyjihad.blogspot.com/
Or:
http://watchjihad.blogspot.com/
(The BLOGGER crew did one 'clean out' of the garbage, but the troll is back. Why they just didn't revoke his ability to post... under the same screen title "s.a.k"... I can't figure, and have just emailed them again to see if this can't be done. Especially since it is rendering the blog a complete clog of Freudian scatological drivel. I'll keep you posted. But the methodology seems the same as at Amazon: whether a taqiyya assualt or a 'denial of access' attack.)
If it weren't hitting a live nerve, they wouldn't be trying so hard to thwart it.
Keep up the good work!
Hating Islam and muslims/terrorists, is understandable, but counter productive.
Hate is too much of a mental drain. posted by Swami
You're right of course, and one way to deflect or inhibit the natural tendency to hate those who hate us is to pity them for their execrable belief system and the culture it begets. I know, it's not easy, but it's better than clouding your mind with rage and hate, which inevitably leads to the same behavior inculcated by Islam.
I hate Islam, just like I hate communism and fascism. It will either evolve or die, but how long that will take remains to be seen. Muslims have been cozened by the biggest fraud in history and they are hapless, albeit dangerous, victims. Their asinine delusions of superiority are pathetic; they are benighted fools. They may be imbued with fanaticism, certain of Islam's infallibility and their rightful role as rulers of the universe, but their hubris and hatred will defeat them. Hatred and contempt cannot conquer the world.
Bigsleep, I have your website bookmarked and have noticed it is not working. Hopefully you can get it all worked out soon.
Terminator sez:
No matter how much we hate what they are doing to us, our hatred will never rival theirs:
Shiva sez:
WE learned hate is a sin,yet they are taught that sin is a virtue
Terminator sez:
Muhammedans suck the hatred in with the mothers milk. We didn't learn that.
Shiva sez:
Muhammedans,become addicted to the nipple of hate,like junkies to the needle of death
Terminator sez:
WE learned to be tolerant, to respect everyone and to get along.
Only after we are bombed, killed, deceived and raped, only after their demands for the Sharia and for slavery and Jiziya become unbearable, we become defensive. That still doesn't mean we hate.
Shiva sez:
Moslem's learn to be intolerant,to Disrespect everyone who are non-moslem
After we are bombed, killed, deceived and raped, only after their demands for the Sharia and for slavery and Jiziya,that they expect us to get along with their peaceful religion
If we become defensive.We are murderers,liars rapists,thieves and rascists For this we are truly worthy and deserving of their Hatred.
Terminator sez:
Do you know anyone around yourselves who is able to hate them like they hate us?
Shiva sez:
I hatred I have towards them can never rival the pedigree hatred bred into islam
Terminator sez:
To go and kill them because they are Mohammedans?
They have no problem killing Infidels and Jews, Buddhist or Hindus.
Shiva sez:
As they have no problem killing Infidels and Jews, Buddhist or Hindus,is reason enogh to go and kill them,And because they are Mohammedans,murdering in the name of a false diety,should not stop us from terminating them
Allah/Mohammed sez:
And moslems obey
Qur’an 9:71 “O Prophet, strive hard [fighting] against the unbelievers and the Hypocrites, and be harsh with them. Their abode is Hell, an evil refuge indeed.”
Qur’an 8:59 “The infidels should not think that they can get away from us. Prepare against them whatever arms and weaponry you can muster so that you may terrorize them.”
Qur’an 4:168 “Those who reject [Islamic] Faith, Allah will not forgive them nor guide them to any path except the way to Hell, to dwell therein forever. And this to Allah is easy.”
Shiva sez:
Be kind. Be compassionate. Be honest. Be sincere. Be truthful. Be bold. Be pure. Be wise. Be virtuous. Enquire: 'who am I'? Know thy-Self and be free.
BigSleep
The same troll hit here last night under the name juju
Of course the best antidote to bad speech is more speech. More reviews which point out what is actually in the book are no doubt a good idea. Then the buyer can get a good sense of which reviews are spurious.
shiva-
"juju"? (How inappropriate for a jihadist wannanbe buffoon to use the phonetic sound "Jew" twice?)
Miss Moneypenny-
"More freespeech" is nice, but when the 'pool' it swims in is poisoned, that taints all of the speech, giving the truth the same weightlessness as the lie.
That's not 'freespeech' that's just incontinence.
"The Constitution is not a suicide pact" covers it.
If the moron at Amazon is lying about the contents of the book... and he is... Amazon should remove his posting as the bilge b.s. and mere disinformational nuisance that it is.
Or do they allow people to write slanderous reviews about Harry Potter, too? (Claiming that his author is "a latent pedophile with satanic undertones", etc.) I'll bet they would guard their top seller with a little more alacrity.
(Motivation to get "The P.I.Guide to Islam" in that top spot! Where it will gain the same respect as a fantasy wizard, at least.)
Its interesting to note in the review section that all the people that give Mr. Spencers book below a 4 start out with it being islamophobic in some way shape or form.
Interesting but utterly disappointing as it shows that people still wish to put their head into the proverbal sand and be oblivious to actual threats
Its interesting to note in the review section that all the people that give Mr. Spencers book below a 4 start out with it being islamophobic in some way shape or form.
Interesting but utterly disappointing as it shows that people still wish to put their head into the proverbal sand and be oblivious to actual threats
I clicked on the "show all my reviews" button and noticed that one reviewer (Shoeb) used the identical, long rant about islamophobia for a review about several books.
Isn`t such copy-paste type review a bit too simple? Isn`t there somewhere at Amazon a rule that says "review" means review and not spam?