The objective of this libelous new report from the hard-Left money-making and incitement machine the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is made plain within it: “Before you book a spokesperson from an anti-Muslim extremist group or quote them in a story, research their background — detailed in this in-depth guide to 15 of the most visible anti-Muslim activists— and consider the consequences of giving them a platform.” They wish to silence those who speak honestly about the nature and magnitude of the jihad threat, blaming us for a supposed rise in “Islamophobia.” If they really want to stamp out suspicion of Islam, of course, they will move against not us, but the likes of Omar Mateen, Syed Rizwan Farook, Tashfeen Malik, Nidal Malik Hasan, Mohammed Abdulazeez, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and the myriad other Muslims who commit violence in the name of Islam and justify it by reference to Islamic teachings.
The SPLC doesn’t do that because its objective is not really to stop “Islamophobia” at all, but to create the illusion of a powerful and moneyed network of “Islamophobes,” who can only be stopped if you write a check to the SPLC. That’s what this is really all about. In constructing this illusory edifice, the SPLC labels me and fourteen others “anti-Muslim extremists.” We are, of course, no more “anti-Muslim” than foes of the Nazis were anti-German, but note the word “extremists.” That’s the mainstream media and Obama administration’s term of choice for jihad terrorists. In what way are we “extremists”? Has anyone on the SPLC’s hit list (and given the SPLC’s track record of inciting violence against its targets, that is exactly what it is) ever blown anything or anyone up? Beheaded anyone? Boasted of our imminent conquest of any territory and the massacre of or enslavement of its people? No, all we have done is speak critically about jihad terror and Sharia oppression. The SPLC is trying to further the libel that we are the other side of the coin, the non-Muslim bin Ladens and Awlakis. Until we commit any terror attacks or conspire with others to do so, however, the SPLC’s libel is only that: a libel.
It’s also passingly ironic that the SPLC list includes several people who are doubtless horrified to be in this company, as they have endeavored for years to distinguish their message from that of those whom they themselves would smear as “Islamophobes.” But their temporizing and pandering didn’t work: they ended up on the Index of Prohibited Thinkers anyway, as will, ultimately, anyone who dares to note that Islam just might have something to do with the acts of murder committed in its name and in accord with its teachings.
The entry on me is accompanied by a nifty watercolor, but otherwise has little to recommend it, other than as an example of the Left’s strange tendency to present true statements as if they were self-evidently false, without bothering to explain why. Apparently the SPLC knows its supporters and is aware that it doesn’t need to bother with troublesome things like, you know, facts.
Nonetheless, I have replied in detail here so that the record, for anyone who is fair-minded, is clear. Much more below.
“Field Guide to Anti-Muslim Extremists,” SPLC, October 25, 2016:
Robert Spencer — Jihad Watch* // American Freedom Defense Initiative* // Stop Islamization of America*
Robert Spencer is commonly referred to as one of the few real intellectuals in the anti-Muslim movement, and it is true that he is the author of more than a dozen books, two of which made the New York Times Best Seller List. But Spencer is entirely self-taught in the study of Islam,
An odd objection. One cannot be both “self-taught” and a “real intellectual”? In any case, it’s false: I am indeed mostly self-taught in the study of Islam, and make no secret of or apologies for it; every day’s headlines proves me correct. Nonetheless, the fact is that I did first read the Qur’an and began studying Islam in earnest while at the University of North Carolina, in courses taught by Professor Gordon Newby, author of A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam, who was coming over from Duke to teach courses about Islam, and Professor David Halperin of UNC.
he has partnered with a woman known as one of the least reasoned enemies of Islam in the country, and he is given to the same kinds of extravagant, and often provably false, claims that characterize most Muslim-bashers.
“Provably false”? Really? Where? When? By whom? Certainly not by the SPLC, either in this hit piece or any other.
Spencer has complained of “Shariah enclaves” and predicted that they will grow across America;
Some news articles from just the past few weeks:
Sweden: Police admit losing control of 55 no-go zones
France: Police need extra protection when entering Muslim no-go zones
Germany: Police “sick” of citizens’ no-go zone fears
There are plenty more where those came from.
referred to Barack Obama as “the first Muslim president”;
This one epitomizes the dishonesty of the SPLC. The quote comes from an article I wrote in 2007 discussing how Obama was not a Muslim, stating that his obvious affinity for Islam and the Muslim world could make him into “our first Muslim president” the way Bill Clinton was called “our first black president.” After eight years of Obama, I’d say I was proven correct in rather spectacular fashion.
claimed that Islam “mandates warfare against unbelievers” and said that “traditional Islam is not moderate or peaceful”;
As it obviously does; see here.
and even suggested that the media may be getting money to depict Muslims in a positive light.
The facts are once again deeply unfortunate for the SPLC: George Soros funded a report on “Islamophobia” on Twitter and gave $200,000 to the Center for American Progress for a defamatory report on alleged “Islamophobes.” He also spent $600,000 for favorable coverage of the Muslim migrant inundation, bought favorable coverage of the Iran deal, and bought “Islamophobia” propaganda after the San Bernardino jihad massacre.
Spencer started his own anti-Muslim website, Jihad Watch*, in 2003. In 2010, he co-founded both the American Freedom Defense Initiative* and Stop Islamization of America* with Pamela Geller. In 2013, he and Geller were banned from entering the United Kingdom for at least three years because the pair’s views “foster hatred which might lead to inter-community violence.” Spencer wrote a Nov. 8, 2011, article in Crisis magazine with a recommended reading list that included such white nationalist books as Jean Raspail’s 1973 Camp of the Saints, an intensely racist novel that depicts France overrun by swarthy hordes of non-white immigrants from India.
I didn’t compile that list and have never read Camp of the Saints — which is not to say that I accept the SPLC’s characterization of it or anything else. It’s ironic that the SPLC would write this while there is a massive problem with Muslim migration into Europe. I have, however, never framed it as a racial issue, which it is not, but have always spoken of it as a problem with bringing in jihadis and Sharia supremacists into Europe, as here.
In his Crisis article, Spencer described multiculturalism as a “heresy” that is intent on “denigrating and ultimately destroying the Judeo-Christian West.”
It isn’t?
IN HIS OWN WORDS
- Angered at news about the production of a new line of halal-certified soups, Spencer reacted on Oct. 5, 2010, with a blog post headlined, “Campbell’s Soup goes halal with approval from Hamas-linked ISNA.”
Follow the link. ISNA was providing the halal certification for Campbell’s. ISNA has admitted ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
- In a Jan. 14, 2006, post on Jihad Watch, Spencer wrote: “[T]raditional Islam itself is not moderate or peaceful. It is the only major world religion with a developed doctrine and tradition of warfare against unbelievers.”
Yep.
- After the Conservative Political Action Conference made it clear that it was not then welcoming anti-Muslim extremists like him, Spencer described the extremely conservative gathering as a “Shariah-compliant conference.” He was speaking to anti-LGBT radio host Bryan Fischer on March 14, 2013.
Sharia forbids criticism of Islam. So did CPAC. QED.
- On Sept. 16, 2011, Spencer told radio host Janet Mefferd that the term “Islamophobia” was created to criminalize criticism of Islam. Muslims “had a big public relations disaster on 9/11,” he said. “They’ve turned it around with amazing skill and I can’t help but think that maybe media is getting some money for this.” In the same interview, he said freedom of religion shouldn’t be “considered absolute” because Islam “impinges upon our freedoms.”
Islamic law forbids criticism of Islam, thus restricting the freedom of speech, and mandates discrimination against women and non-Muslims. These principles are incompatible with the U.S. Constitution. The freedom of religion is not a free pass to commit treason or subversion.
- Spencer linked “the left” to Islam in a Sept. 19, 2011, radio show. “[T]he left doesn’t really like America or Western civilization and so I think that they see in Islam another entity that doesn’t like Western civilization and so they see it, in it an ally, and that’s essentially what’s going on,” he said.
Yep. Just look at the SPLC and this report. If the SPLC achieves its objective, all voices of opposition to jihad terror will be silenced, and the jihad will be able to advance unhindered and unopposed.
- In a Jan. 9, 2015, appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity,” Spencer said a “core principle” of Islam is “the idea of emigrating to a new place to conquer and Islamize it, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing.” He said “Shariah enclaves” will “inevitably grow and continue to grow until, finally, that’s all there is.”
“And whoever emigrates for the cause of Allah will find on the earth many locations and abundance. And whoever leaves his home as an emigrant to Allah and His Messenger and then death overtakes him – his reward has already become incumbent upon Allah. And Allah is ever Forgiving and Merciful.” (Qur’an 4:100)
- Spencer claimed at a Feb. 15, 2010, event that it is “absurd” to think that “Islam is a religion of peace that’s been hijacked by a tiny minority.”
Yep.
- On the Feb. 25, 2003, edition of MSNBC’s “Nachman,” Spencer cited a cleric to assert that “80% of the mosques in the United States are actually controlled by extremists.”
Yep.