| FrontPageMag.com | By Robert Spencer | By Hugh Fitzgerald | Books | Dhimmi Watch | Robert Spencer | Islam 101 | Qur'an Blog |  |
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A profile of the wicked Jihad Watch director who is "at-times soft-spoken," -- that is, when he ain't screamin' like a banshee. (Seriously, this is a very nice profile and I thank Mindy Belz for it.) "Islamo-ignorance: We can’t defeat an enemy when we don’t know why he’s fighting," by Mindy Belz in World Magazine:
Robert Spencer is used to being called an Islamophobe. And when the noted director of Jihad Watch travels to a speaking engagement, he has the bodyguards to prove that he takes his critics seriously. In 2006 lieutenants of Osama bin Laden named him in what amounted to a fatwa, calling on him, President Bush, and others to join Islam or die. Other death threats arrive by email, he told WORLD recently, and matter-of-factly.But his most noted attacker of late is the now-dead former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. In her posthumous book Reconciliation, released last month, she spent a page venting against the popular blogger and author of seven books on Islam, who she said "uses the Internet to spread misinformation and hatred of Islam." This she said of an at-times soft-spoken Catholic whose grandparents were forced from Turkey for refusing to convert to Islam, in a book she completed just as her jihadist assassin was strapping on his bomb vest.
"You're kidding," Spencer said in an email when I asked him about her remarks. "I hadn't heard of this before." When Spencer looked up the passage, he discovered that where Bhutto had quoted him from one of his books, she quoted a passage that was actually written by Ibn Warraq (Spencer edited the book). Warraq, like Bhutto, is Pakistani and, like Spencer, is a noted (and also death-threatened) critic of Islamic teaching.
As charges and threats against him have mounted since his best-selling, post-9/11 Islam Unveiled, Spencer is a little defensive. "It is not hateful or bigoted to tell the truth," he contends. True, but for most of us, criticism of Islam has become white noise, and any discussion of moderate vs. radical Islam, jihadists vs. peaceful Muslims leaves us dazed and confused. Bring the boys home, make it go away, we say.Spencer has a more workable idea: "We can't defeat an enemy when we don't even know why he is fighting, what he wants, or what will bring him to stop fighting." So about a year ago he took on a much-needed public service project. He decided to go through the Quran verse by verse, line by line, discussing it in context, he emphasizes, and showing what Muslim commentators say about the various passages. "No one will thus be able to say with any accuracy that I am ignoring peaceful sections or misstating how such passages are understood by Muslims," he says.
And so "Blogging the Quran" (with inspiration from Slate's "Blogging the Bible") was born. And every week Spencer faithfully posts successive commentary on about 40 verses from the Quran—making extensive use of Muslim commentaries and interpretations so that any student "will understand any given passage, and what its import might be for non-Muslims." Spencer stresses that you need a Quran for this study (and in his introduction, linked through jihadwatch.org, gives not only recommendations on the best English translation, but also hyperlinks to Quranic texts along the way).
For an average person like me, this is almost too easy. I can learn in Sura 3 not only the well-recited shame Allah casts on Christians and Jews who refuse to convert to Islam; I can learn the context preceding it, as Muhammad recasts the entire pedigree of Jesus. Who wouldn't want to be armed with such a study when faced everywhere in Christendom—and at the behest of leading scholars from Biola to Yale and in between—with the potent axiom that we Christians and Muslims worship the same God? In fact, this guided reading makes clear, our differences are past striking.
Our common workaday ignorance of Islam is shameful. Consider (a) "the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost," (b) our war in the heart of Islamic civilization has cost us half a trillion dollars, not to mention thousands of lives, and (c) Muslims the world over too are grappling with the violent nature of their religion.
Even Spencer, who has studied the Quran for 30 years, says he has learned something from the project: "That the jihadists are even more Quran-centric than I had previously thought, and that we continue to ignore what the Quran has to tell us about what they're doing and why only at our own peril."
Posted by Robert at March 28, 2008 2:20 PM
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Regarding Bhutto's Reconciliation: as Hugh noted in an earlier thread, it is likely that the book was written not by Bhutto herself, but rather by a professional writer who could have been one of the persons mentioned in the Acknowledgements section.
Posted by: US_infidel![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/nav-commenters.gif)
at March 28, 2008 2:32 PM
".....with the potent axiom that we Christians and Muslims worship the same God? In fact, this guided reading makes clear, our differences are past striking"....from headline.
Along those lines....
Allah Is Not The God of The Bible:
http://www.kingmessiahproject.com/is_allah_not_God.html
at March 28, 2008 2:46 PM
Please excuse me, I haven't been able to get a post displayed ...this is a test....
Posted by: b4lucy at March 28, 2008 2:50 PM
US_infidel:
As I myself have written here before, Bhutto's ghostwriter is well known: it was Mark Siegel, whom I've mentioned here several times in connection with this book. However, the fact that a ghostwriter was used does not absolve the putative author from responsibility for the book's contents, and it does appear that Bhutto approved this book before her death.
Cordially
Robert Spencer
at March 28, 2008 2:51 PM
Hmmm...I must have done something in error...it worked this time....
Anyway, as for what the Islamo-degenerates want, they have made plain that our complete submission is their goal..What will make them cease fighting is exactly that, our complete submission and their control of the world in all aspects of life.. A Sixth century society just doesn't cut it for civilized people, so it seems a fight to the finish is the logical conclusion...I think that complete annihilation of their fanatic mind set is the only answer.. The Japanese and the Nazis were just as fanatical and it required a total victory over their war culture to assure our survival, and theirs.. Since we have lived through that history, it would seem that we should know exactly how to proceed...praise OUR Lord, and pass the ammunition..
Posted by: b4lucy at March 28, 2008 3:12 PM
Jihad Watch director who is "at-times soft-spoken," - contrast this with RageBoy.
at March 28, 2008 3:17 PM
Hey Robert , I have noticed off lately that the number of visitors on your hate-site has reduced , business is down ehh ?
Writers such as your self and Hugh Fitzgerald are basically low grade writers who have tried to gain in on the 'Rushidie-effect'
You see Salman Rushdie was a mister nobody , he was an ugly balding troll that wrote low grade literature here and there his claim to fame is that he insulted Islam.
And so it has been that people like Mr Sepncer and Hugh and Company have tried to cash in on this effect. They know about muslim sentiments and play on those, the reactions they get out of those insults gets them the fame and money they need from the jews who control the media tch tch tch
There is ofcourse a sizable number of people who will pay to hear/read such bile against Islam after all clowns like Micheal Savage attract a whooping 8 million listeners to his hate talk on radio.
If it were up to me I would vote Robert for the next US President.
You know why ? because people like Robert are exactly the numb nuts that will bring down America
Bush has done his part now it Roberts turn
Posted by: PakRocks at March 28, 2008 3:33 PM
That post offends me.
Posted by: Stinkyinfidel at March 28, 2008 3:42 PM
Another Muslim without a single substantive argument. I guess the irony of proving Robert's point over and over, and over, and over over, is lost on these people. Too much kissing of the cousins perhaps?
Pakistan might collapse this week. Terrorst thugs whip the Pakistan army like mules.
Posted by: Beagle at March 28, 2008 3:44 PM
Oh, Robert is doing his part alright, PakRocks, but not to bring down America.
How about answering him on some substantial point?
All of us here would be fascinated to see that.
at March 28, 2008 3:44 PM
Hey Beagle hows the 'gas' price down at the station ? 3.5 $ a gallon too much for your trailor ?
I read a lot of you screaming Muslims out of America
Well hear this from a Pakistani also
Shut down your Embassy and GET OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!
We never had bombs going off like this in our country, such things didnt happen, it's only after 9/11 that they stated happening
Its your intelegenge agencies that are funding terrorism in our country and we will kick them all out soon enough
Terrorism is just an excuse that you have used to get a foot hold net to China.
Your economy will coplase soon Insha Allah it will.
Then 'ya all' can live happliy ever after in your trailors and we wont have anything to do with you and you wont have anything to do with us
at March 28, 2008 4:00 PM
Welocme PakRocks. I am nabi ZK, nabi to the mohametan trolls, and even pseudo-mohametan trolls also too even. Looks like nabi ZK is your nabi. Feel free to ask me anything. You can bear your soul to nabi ZK. nabi ZK will make it all better.
nabi ZK
...Oh goody!...another mohametan troll. this is great...fitna the movie has them comming out in droves...
Posted by: zonie kafir at March 28, 2008 4:02 PM
PakRocks,
"I have noticed off lately that the number of visitors on your hate-site has reduced , business is down ehh ?"
Hahahahaha! What a Joke!
Lets see, in the last few days alone, one posting on Fitna gathered 67 comments, another 256 comments, a posting about "Jihad Watch Contest" received 187 comments, another about a Brooklynn Anti-American website garnered 32 comments. All within the last few days.
Right. I can see that the popularity of this website is going down.
I also noticed you had nothing worthwhile to add to the comments. Just typical incoherent Moslem hate rantings.
at March 28, 2008 4:08 PM
I don't come here to read execrable posts like "PakRocks" has put up. The only thing that they illuminate is the paucity of self-awareness and the resplendent Islamic imperialism which has blighted the world since the 7th century.
at March 28, 2008 4:12 PM
We don't have to guess where you pack your rocks for storage. Easy storage for easy access - but your aim is lousy. Funny little troll with nothing to say, but who comes bearing rocks as gifts. Nice!
Posted by: champ at March 28, 2008 4:13 PM
You know its funny that people are saying that I havent added anything 'worthwhile' , whats so 'worthwhile' that this site has added ? What pearls of wisdom are burried in this site ?
This site is all about hate , whats more to it ? can you all hate-filled people enlighten me on this , what's it that you want 'answered' ?
Posted by: PakRocks at March 28, 2008 4:15 PM
PR. Your country, Najistan, is the state which attacked us on 9/11, albeit through proxies. We shall be happy to leave Najistan if your government wishes AGAIN to provide safe haven to our enemies and asks us to leave. But that is the day you all die. Are you sure you want your government to declare war on the Uniter States of America?
nabi ZK
...besides, it's our $ which has kept you afloat so far...a stupid waste in the opinion of nabi ZK...but there is still time to correct this gross error...
Posted by: zonie kafir at March 28, 2008 4:16 PM
Makes me wish there was some sort of ignore feature like in vBulletin forums.
Posted by: Stinkyinfidel at March 28, 2008 4:17 PM
PakRocks...Naseem, is that you?
at March 28, 2008 4:22 PM
Trolls like pakrocks are always welcome.
They remind us of the essential weakness of our enemies, not least their intellectual weakness (give a list of powerful muslim countries or muslim nobel prize winners).
Pakistan is a basketcase on the verge of collapse.
As for the sudden love for China, it will be interesting how long this lasts once the treatment of muslims in Xinjiang becomes more widely known.
Posted by: Big Luke at March 28, 2008 4:34 PM
...what's it that you want 'answered'?
We don't want words. At one time you could have given us Bin Laden and friends. But no more. You are now clearly on radar.
nabi ZK
Posted by: zonie kafir at March 28, 2008 5:54 PM
Haven't seen any Naseem posts for a while - correct me if I'm wrong. But she graces SonsofApesandPigs with her presence. Probably likes the name better.
La donne e mobile.
at March 28, 2008 6:05 PM
Um.. that should probably be 'donna'.
Posted by: Silvester at March 28, 2008 6:06 PM
I don't know if "PakRocks", but I heard that the Lahore kite festival is a spectacle to behold, with only a few deaths each year.
in all fairness to "PakRocks" let's be honest. This is a hate site. I for one hate Islamic jihad, derived from that hate-filled war doctrine, the Qur'an. I also hate the Muslims worldwide who use that text and their god to legitimize their violent acts against non-Muslims (and even other Muslims) to achieve their sociopolitical agenda.
I hate it so much, I feel the need to spread the news everywhere I can. Spread the news about why I and others should hate the ideology of hate and war and discrimination and subjugation. I need to shout from the mountaintops that I hate the portions of the ideology of Islam that suppress free thought, free speech and ultimately, free will.
Hate, hate, hate! Damn straight I hate Islamic jihad.
There "pakRocks", do you feel vindicated now?
Posted by: awake at March 28, 2008 6:52 PM
This site is all about hate , whats more to it ? can you all hate-filled people enlighten me on this , what's it that you want 'answered' ?
Posted by: PakRocks
____
First of all, it's always so amusing to watch an Islamist freak out when they stumble across someplace or someone who isn't blinded or fooled by the Muslim apologist bullshit, but instead is accurately educating and enlightening non-Muslims about the violence, prejudice, and hate that seeps from the Koran. You can almost smell their fear as non-Muslims, ever so slowly, are catching on to the fact that Islam is not a religion at all, but a supremacist ideology disguised as a religion. They all know that once the balance tips, their 'religion' is doomed.
Secondly, PakRocks, what is so very ironically delicious about your post above is that this site does nothing more than reiterate, reproduce, and detail EXACTLY what your co-Islamists and jihadists say themselves. Robert Spencer is only repeating their Koran inspired hate in order to educate us all about the enemy we face. We here at JW understand that you must understand your enemy and his beliefs in order to destroy him.
I can smell your fear from here, and I revel in it.
*grin*
Posted by: JenBee at March 28, 2008 7:02 PM
Pakrocks,
Funny you mention oil today. Allah loves America!
Posted by: Beagle at March 28, 2008 9:39 PM
This site is all about hate , whats more to it ? can you all hate-filled people enlighten me on this , what's it that you want 'answered' ?
Posted by: PakRocks at March 28, 2008 4:15 PM
The topic discussed here is islam, a synonym for hate. One can discuss hate without being "hate-filled" but I wouldn't expect a Pakistani muslim to understand that or anything else that requires simple logic to comprehend. Go pitch a fit in a public place; burn some effigies; scream "death to the rest of the world"; and by all means, become so enraged that the veins bulge on your forehead. Allah loves that.
Posted by: Susanp at March 29, 2008 12:25 AM
"We can't defeat an enemy when we don't even know why he is fighting, what he wants, or what will bring him to stop fighting"
I disagree...entirely. Death answers all those questions quite readily. I mean...who cares why a man, now dead, was trying to kill you, or for what purpose. He was your enemy, you killed him. End of story.
And for our new Muslim Troll who apparently packs rocks somewhere. (Damn...I thought it was three pebbles, and I thought they were supposed to wipe with them somehow, not pack them)...let me put what I have to say to you, in a language that you are clearly familiar with,...Woof woof...bow wow...bark...bark...
Get it?
I feel silly for barking back at a barking dog, but sometimes it must be done.
Islam...the fastest shrinking religion in the world.
Well...the fastest shrinking government in the guise of a religion in the world.
Posted by: Alaskan at March 29, 2008 4:41 AM
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