Hey, thanks, Newsmax. This shows that some people value getting the truth about the jihad threat that the U.S. government and mainstream media are determined to obscure.
“Newsmax’s Top 50 Conservative Blogs of 2015,” by Theodore Kettle, Newsmax, March 24, 2015 (thanks to Mike):
15. Jihad Watch – Robert Spencer must travel with a bodyguard, and only friends are told in what part of the country he resides. Not only does his Jihad Watch unveil the Islamic theology and ideology behind terrorist activities, but it continually exposes how secular liberal elites in the West excuse Islamism for multiculturalism’s sake. Of Graeme Wood’s lengthy bombshell article in the The Atlantic’s March issue arguing that ISIS “is Islamic. Very Islamic,” Spencer wrote: “It may (may) represent a crack in the edifice, a blade of grass poking through the concrete, a tardy surrender of at least one bastion of politically correct wishful thinking to the overwhelming force of reality. We shall see.”
Also, coming in at #29 (should be #1) is my colleague Pamela Geller’s Atlas Shrugs:
29. Atlas Shrugs – The Islamophobia hunters at the politically correct Southern Poverty Law Center concede that Pamela Geller has “sultry Hollywood sex appeal and a sassy, scythe-like wit — a personable Ann Coulter and articulate Sarah Palin rolled into one.” Atlas Shrugs readers get Geller’s analysis of Islamist terrorism with no candy coating. “Rappers in Germany, doctors in Glasgow, chemical engineering students in Canada, heart surgeons in Saudi Arabia, university students in Britain, imams in America, herdsmen in Nigeria and so forth — what brings these wildly different people together? Jihad,” Geller declared after ISIS’s recent videotaped mass execution of Coptic Christians on a Mediterranean beach in Libya went public. “No matter what the background, upbringing, schooling, wealth or poverty, color, what have you, it doesn’t matter. The understanding of Islam and jihad is the same, and it is the motive, the incitement to this monstrous war on the West and the East and all points in between.”
awake says
This is indeed, very good news. Congrats to Robert and Pamela! Lan astaslem!
D says
Pamella Geller and Spencer have been and continue to be the brightest light shining in the darkest corners. What Hannity and FOX reveal today she cried out years ago,
abad says
Congratulations and keep up the excellent work!
jihad3tracker says
Personally — I (and probably a definite majority of Jihad Watch readers) would vote for Robert and Pam as CO-HOLDERS OF THE NUMBER ONE RANKING . . . ABSOLUTELY FIRST.
For two paramount reasons . . .
1. Their blogs have the highest percentage of fact versus opinions of any “conservative” website.
2. They have as central purpose to educate on America’s greatest threat to survival : jihad and sharia.
wlc12 says
Congratulations!!! So glad we have you so we know what is REALLY going on in the world..
cs says
“15. Jihad Watch – Robert Spencer must travel with a bodyguard, and only friends are told in what part of the country he resides. Not only does his Jihad Watch unveil the Islamic theology and ideology behind terrorist activities, but it continually exposes how secular liberal elites in the West excuse Islamism for multiculturalism’s sake.”
That is only for the strong. Only the tenacious brave and resolute is capable of doing. Congratulations Robert.
Darren says
Congrats, Hopefully it’s number one some day.
mariam rove says
Excellent work Robert!!! M
gravenimage says
Congratulations, Robert and Pamela! This is not just a personal achievement on your parts, but means that the truth about the threat of Jihad is starting to reach a wide audience.
At the same time, how crazy is it that this site is specifically considered conservative?
The fact is that there is very little that is political on Jihad Watch in the narrow “side of the aisle” sense.
That opposing violent Jihad and brutal Shari’ah law—including safeguarding the rights of women, artists, and gay people—is now as a matter of course deemed specifically conservative is part of the problem.
This should be a concern of *all* Americans—all Westerners—not just political conservatives.
That being said, Jihad Watch and Atlas Shrugs are in generally excellent company on this list.
Also included are Michelle Malkin’s and Diana West’s sites—while they do not exclusively write about Jihad, it is a frequent topic. This is also true of Capitalism Magazine, which did not make the list, but is definitely conservative and often covers stories about Jihad.
citycat says
One of the four meanings of conservative is-
“purposely low for the sake of caution”
gravenimage says
Quite true, citycat. Clearly, this is meant in the political sense, though.
There is nothing wrong with being conservative, and I identify as conservative on many matters.
I was just pointing out how mad it is that defending against the horror of Jihad and Shari’ah is considered a partisan issue in the West—and yet, it often is.
wallace says
Well done Robert and Pam, will be number 1 @ 2 as more people wake up and see the truth.
cathy says
Excellent website…. Jihad Watch #1 website..to me…Robert Spencer….Pamela Geller….Counter Jihad.Report and Understanding the Threat, Gates of Vienna, David Horowitz, Glazov Gang…. Thank you for getting this information out while we still have this freedom.
Tom says
This could not be more deserved. A look at Alexa rankings shows there is still much more to be done, but the impact is far beyond the numbers. My prediction is that despite the increased attention to electoral politics. Jihadwatch will break into the top 10 next year. A consequence of this influence is that Robert Spencer is being embraced as the definitive authority on Islam for right-minded and increasingly concerned majority. Much to the Chagrin of the apologists and dissembling left, their false narrative is being shattered by the pithy truth available daily at Jihadwatch.
Note that Robert’s European numbers, and influence, is even greater in Canada and front line European countries. A truly remarkable achievement for an English language web site! I am thrilled that my small efforts to introduce family and friends to Jihadwatch may have contributed to this success.
The Doctor says
מזל טוב
Mazel tov!
Congratulations!
Henry says
Jihad Watch, and Atlas Shrugs leading the way on truthful reporting on the Jihad threat. Both are indispensable, reliable news sources in our household. Congratulations, and thank you, you do us all a great service, the recognition is well deserved!
marc says
Congratulations, while you are the top listed blog whose focus is Islamic and sharia threats, it concerns me that what should be a priority for conservatives comes in at number 15, of course it should be number one, and as the leader of your field, that’s where Jihad Watch should be. 🙂
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
How were these rankings determined?
http://www.newsmax.com/TheWire/conservative-blogs-newsmax-list/2015/03/24/id/634218/
says only, “Here are the top 50 conservative blogs:”, with no description (number of readers?) the ranking algorithm. As far as I can see, the rankings are the personal opinion of the article’s author, Theodore Kettle.
And on what basis is Jihad Watch considered a “conservative” website? Aren’t liberals allowed to agree with the Jihad Watch view of Islam?
awake says
Name one liberal blog, celebrity or politician that self-identifies as anti-jihad as opposed to shouters of Islamophobia or in complete denial of Islam?
Bill Maher doesn’t count, as even a blind squirrel will find an acorn now and again, and he is officially a persona-non-grata for most if not all on the left on this issue.
Champ says
Exactly, Awake! ..great comment.
mariam rove says
First of all I am sure they did their research and came up with this. second, when was the last time you met a liberal who opposed Islam? You are in lala land. M
Zimriel says
The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain hosts plenty of leftists who used to be Muslim and now gather to oppose Islam. I haven’t met any in person, to my knowledge, but they’re pretty vocal.
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
Hello, Miriam Rove.
I am not sure that what you wrote is meant as a reply to what I wrote, but let’s assume it is.
You say, “I am sure they [who? someone besides the writer Theodore Kettle?] did their research and came up with this [ranking of conservative blogs].” I am not sure. What research did they do? Readership size? Word count? Opinions are nice, but the judgment criteria have not been described.
You ask for a liberal who opposes Islam. Here’s one:
http://iwantanewleft.typepad.com/
And try looking up “Bruce Bawer”. You’re welcome.
But that was not my question. My question was: What justifies classifying Jihad Watch as a “conservative” blog? I can’t figure it out. Jihad Watch deals with Islam, not political theory.
awake says
Bruce Bawer is hardly a liberal in the modern sense of the word, at least according to his own words.
http://www.brucebawer.com/biog.htm
And the “iwantanewleft” blog has nothing but links to conservative sources.
Based on that, you essentially answered your own question by failing to be able to answer mine. Criticism of Islam, and the linking of Muslim jihad to Islam, is exclusively a conservative position currently.
Deal with it.
gravenimage says
It also works the other way around, Awake. Geert Wilders is a a liberal—almost a socialist—on fiscal matters, but he is considered a “far-right wing conservative” because he warns about Islam.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a black African feminist—but she, too, is considered a “far-right wing conservative” for the same reason.
There are many others.
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
Thank you, awake, for finding the webpage
http://www.brucebawer.com/biog.htm ;
Its last two paragraphs are informative.
Actually, I did not answer my own question
(What makes Jihad Watch “conservative”?)
by failing to answer to your satisfaction your
question (actually, your imperative:
“Name one liberal blog, celebrity or
politician that self-identifies as anti-jihad”).
But obedient to your wishes, I am dealing with it.
BlueRaven says
Well deserved ! Congratulations. I hope you will be number ONE and stay there.
duh_swami says
Congratulations…it’s a great thing to be recognized as valuable.
I have been posting here since the beginning of time and I never knew this was a ‘conservative’ web site. I didn’t know I was coming here for a daily dose of heavy duty conservatism. Well, it doesn’t seem to have hurt me any, but I do detect a few more grey hairs in my beard…
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
I know what you mean. But over the last few years increasingly conservatism has become the umbrella under which the bold telling of the truth is parked, fairly or unfairly. I take the former.
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
Ha. I remember at time back in the mid-2000s when posts linking Islam with causal connections in socialism and globalism were deleted here, on the reasonable theory that they were off topic. JSLA, wherever he is now, and a few others along with me made such posts. Eventually, Spencer and Fitzgerald, to their credit, recognized the intimate linkage Sharia and Leftism, and indeed began making such linkages themselves, especially as regarded limits on the freedom of speech.
Congrats to Jihadwatch and Spencer on being 15th. My only quibble is why isn’t JW number one?
Here are some principles that globo-socialists (aka Democrats, RINOs, Christian Democrats, etc.) share with the Ayatollahs, Grand Muftis, Sheiks and Imams:
1) Centralization of power
2) Dilution of the property rights
3) Subordination of national considerations to that of supranational entities (e.g., the OIC)
4) Limits on speech under the guise of preserving order by chastizing and even outlawing hate speech
5) Open manipulation of reportage in regulated and nonregulated media.
voegelinian says
” I remember at time back in the mid-2000s when posts linking Islam with causal connections in socialism and globalism were deleted here, on the reasonable theory that they were off topic. JSLA, wherever he is now, and a few others along with me made such posts. Eventually, Spencer and Fitzgerald, to their credit, recognized the intimate linkage Sharia and Leftism, and indeed began making such linkages themselves”
While I don’t and never have been preoccupied with “globalism” as some kind of conspiracy, I too early on in the first couple of years I was commenting on Jihad Watch (circa 2004) was concerned that Leftism was the main explanation for the Problem2 of the Problem1 (where P1 is Islam, and P2 is the persisting Western myopia to P1); and I too recall Messrs. Spencer and Fitzgerald seeming for a while incognizant of this (and the latter more than once chastisizing me for harping on my “hobbyhorse” about it). Then, at some point (don’t recall the exact year), I started seeing Spencer make frequent references to “Leftists” as P2. However, around that time I had begun to change my view on this, after noticing, time and time again, conservatives parroting and regurgitating pretty much the same memes. Given this additional data about P2, there were (and remain) only two explanations:
1) The problem is much deeper and broader than “Leftism” and pertains to some point of view which not only both “right” and “left” share, but is also shared by “centrists” as well as that under-appreciated sociopolitical demographic I have termed the “comfortably apolitical” (they just live their lives and don’t think too much about issues and positions – a demographic I think far more common in the modern West than in any other culture).
2) Or, those “conservatives” who parrot & regurgitate the constellation of memes which exert Islamopologist effects are not “really” conservative after all, they are “RINOs”.
I never liked that second explanation; it strikes me as facile and often partisan. Blogger Lawrence Auster indulged in that analysis the most I have ever seen, ferreting out the “false conservative” in places one would never expect, and a bit too sweepingly to be credible. At any rate, I opted for Door #1 and over time I realized a new term had to be coined to explain why so many non-Leftists throughout the West were parroting & regurgitating the Islamopologist memes: thus was born PC MC (Politically Correct Multi-Culturalist). I didn’t invent the term of course, but I think I did pioneer its use in this way. Aside from the gold standard of this problem – George “Islam is a great religion of peace” Bush – the straw that proved to be the one to break the camel’s back for me was my slowly dawning realization that most of the acolytes of the conservative philosopher Eric Voegelin – most of them solid, stolid, traditional conservatives – whenever the topic of Islam came up, would parrot & regurgitate the memes I would soon label “PC MC”. No way in hell these guys were “Leftists” or even “RINOs”. So how is it that they have this curious twitch or reflex to defend Islam and Muslims? That question in general (for it is a much broader phenomenon throughout the West than just the Voegelinian Society) was to preoccupy me for years (and still does), and has figured in dozens of essays I have published over the years on my blog looking at it from different angles.
Speaking of conservatives who are soft on Islam (and there are many), we see at #13 on the Newsmax top 50 is one titled “HQ: Ace of Spades”. I spent an intense, albeit brief, period of time vetting its comments community (which includes its owner) – a community which normally gets hundreds of comments. I wrote up my report & analysis on my blog, here:
http://hesperado.blogspot.com/2011/08/evidence-demonstrating-that-mainstream.html
As I wrote in that report:
When I entered that discussion thread and began to type unremarkably anti-Islam and anti-Muslim statements, I soon felt like I had plunged into a thread at the Daily Kos, or at Jon Stewart’s website, or the political forum on craigslist.org — places where rabid Leftists abound, swarm and swoop in on anyone who has the faintest odor of “bigotry”, “hate”, and “racism”.
Then, quite by accident, in pursuing some threads about the German airbus crash, I found a blog called “Independent Sentinel” which seemed to have collected all the pertinent information to date on it. Peppered through its article it had these remarks that sounded like the typical Mainstream PC MC – for example, characterizing Mannheim (the main source of the rumor that the co-pilot is a Muslim convert):
“Mannheimer is a writer for German-PI (Politically Incorrect) which is a right-wing blog.”
and:
“Find articles by writer Mannheimer at The Gates of Vienna. They are very right-wing and anti-Muslim.”
http://www.independentsentinel.com/about-that-german-news-report-that-germanwings-co-pilot-was-a-jihadi-muslim-convert/
These typically PC MC remarks made me curious about the owners of this “Independent Sentinel” blog, so I clicked on their “About” page. Here’s what their main author says:
We want to tell you the news that the mainstream doesn’t want you to know about.
I’m an ex-liberal and am amazed at all I didn’t know when I was a liberal, like: the Constitution isn’t a “living” document; giving out endless welfare checks is a bad idea; pity for prisoners is better spent on the victims of their crimes; guns aren’t evil but people are; free speech matters more than I knew which is why PC needs to be obliterated ASAP; women can be evil too; big government doesn’t do a good job; Kumbaya, We Are the World, It Takes a Village, and anything even remotely resembling those concepts are now out of my head unless I’m using them to make fun of somebody; sometimes war is necessary; socialism and communism have absolutely no redeeming qualities as systems of government; Carter wasn’t a good president and Reagan was, Green should go back to being a color.
How does that square with their demonization of Mannheim as “very right wing and anti-Muslim”? There is no way to square that, unless one says they are not “true” conservatives (which doesn’t seem likely, given the statements I quoted above, and there’s more where that came from on their blog) – or, unless one posits a broader more amorphous sociopolitico-cultural process whereby a certain worldview has become mainstream and dominant, embracing the vast majority, well beyond the sphere of mere “Leftists”.
Champ says
Congratulations, Robert!
torino390 says
seriously well done. I do try to spread the word. I often send links to this site and thereligionofpeace.com to people I know. I get all kinds of responses which if nothing else are entertaining sometimes… It’s fair to say I have lost a few ‘friends’ in the process, some people still prefer the ‘bury my head in the sand’ approach to the problem. I will persevere though, we all need to know this stuff, you do great work.
Draki says
Congratulations! Keep up the great blogging! You’re informing many readers and those readers can speak intelligently with others about the dangers of extremist islam.
Michael Copeland says
Wonderful: congratulations to Spencer and Geller.
Joe Shmo says
Well done Robert, this will help spread your message and people who find your site because of this will be glad to read it. The truth that is!
Parousia says
Congrats Rob n Pam.
Will spread the word
Bezelel says
Since Robert and Pamela aren’t actually competing with anyone for the 1st place, I have to agree the ranking reflects the author’s and audience’s understanding of the weight of the subject. The constant flow of quality information At JW and Shruggs in the context of current events, definitely need constant exposure to stay on the front burner since the left has been pushing on so many fronts.
Joseph says
Truth does prevail.
Congratulations!!
ApolloSpeaks says
ATLAS SHRUGS AND JIHAD WATCH
tied for #1st place in ApolloSpeaks’ Top 50 Conservative Blogs.
http://www.apollospeaks.com
ApolloSpeaks says
ATLAS SHRUGS AND JIHAD WATCH
tied for #1st place in ApolloSpeaks’ Top 50 Conservative Blogs
http://www.apollospeaks.com