This Open Letter appeared as a full-page ad in the Stanford Daily today.
An Open Letter to the Stanford Community
As I prepare to visit your beautiful campus on Tuesday evening, I invite you to consider the way Stanford welcomes different perspectives these days.
The staff of the Freshman Sophomore College dormitory has told students to report other students who put up posters advertising my event to university authorities. In no fewer than eight hit pieces that have been published (so far) in the Stanford Daily attacking me, it has been claimed that I “give license” to the “oppression” of Jews, and that Muslims at Stanford are endangered by my work. It has been charged that I have incited a mass murderer and approve of restricting the right to vote. My work has been characterized, without any specific examples, of being not only inaccurate, but also inflammatory, offensive, hateful, and dishonest.
All this and more is designed solely to discredit me and to warn members of the Stanford community not to listen to what I have to say.
Here’s some perspective on the attacks that have appeared in the Stanford Daily. Student Siena Fay writes of me: “He believes Islam is ‘the only religion in the world that has a developed doctrine, theology and legal system that mandates violence against unbelievers and mandates that Muslims must wage war in order to establish the hegemony of the Islamic social order all over the world,’ as he stated in an interview on C-SPAN in 2006. Funny; I don’t recall Malala Yousafzai advocating for violence and world domination. Must have missed that headline.”
Unfortunately, Malala Yousafzai is not the touchstone of what Islam is and isn’t, or of whether or not it teaches violence. Let’s look at the facts:
In 2017 alone, there have been 1,805 Islamic jihad attacks in 58 countries, in which 12,752 people were killed and 12,852 injured.
The perpetrators of such attacks justify them and try to make recruits among peaceful Muslims by appealing to the texts and teachings of Islam, including teachings of the Qur’an such as “kill them wherever you find them (2:191 and 4:89); “kill the idolaters wherever you find them” (9:5): “when you meet the unbelievers, strike the necks” (47:4), and many more.
The attackers do not believe they are taking these passages and others like them out of context or misreading them, for the principal schools of Sunni jurisprudence (madhahib) all mandate violence against unbelievers. (The Shi’a do as well.) A Shafi’i manual of Islamic law that was certified in 1991 by the clerics at Al-Azhar, one of the leading authorities in Sunni Islam, as conforming to “the practice and faith of the orthodox Sunni community,” defines jihad (Arabic for “struggle”) as “to war against non-Muslims” (o9.0). The Hanafis, Malikis, and Hanbalis all teach similar things.
Today there are numerous Muslim clerics who echo these calls to wage war against unbelievers. An imam in Riverside, California, Ammar Shahin, was recently caught on video praying that Allah would destroy and annihilate the Jews, down to the last one. Two imams in Canada recently preached the same thing.
Yes, not all Muslims, or even a majority, are terrorists. But to take the stance that there is no problem regarding jihad terrorists’ use of Islamic texts and teachings, and that the greater problem is “Islamophobia,” is to turn from reality to fantasy. And to do that is a betrayal of the academic mission in itself.
The term “Islamophobia” was coined by the Muslim Brotherhood in order to silence critics of Islamic jihadism and terror. It is the heart of the relentless smear campaign that has been directed at me by some Stanford students, aided and abetted by some administrators, since my appearance was announced. The outrage over my appearance is immense, and politically motivated. Yet when Mads Gilbert, a supporter of the 9/11 jihad attacks in which 3,000 people were murdered, spoke at Stanford in 2015, there was no similar indignation or attempt to silence him in advance.
Clearly, a large portion of the Stanford community believes “Islamophobia” is a bigger problem than jihad terror. Can we have a civil discussion about this?
One of the slanders leveled against me in the Stanford Daily is that the Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik quoted me extensively in his manifesto because he included the script of a documentary film about Islam in which I appear. Osama bin Laden praised Noam Chomsky. Does that make Noam Chomsky a terrorist?
The Stanford Daily article also makes the charge that I have no Ph.D. in Islamic studies, and therefore know nothing. Stanford students should be aware at this point in their college careers that a degree is no guarantee of expertise, and a lack of one is no proof that one has no knowledge of a subject. My work stands or falls on the evidence I present. Do Stanford students and faculty have the ability any more to weigh evidence or the courage to defend the intellectual process by which divergent ideas are assessed?
Each of the eight articles attacking me in the Stanford Daily have been filled with outlandish charges and misrepresentation of my work and the positions I hold. Specific rebuttals of the many false charges that have been leveled against me can be found at my website, jihadwatch.org.
The attempt to silence through slander a divergent viewpoint should have no place in a university like Stanford. A university should be a place where ideas, however unpopular, are considered on the basis of reason and evidence, and accepted or dismissed only on that basis. I invite Stanford students, faculty and administrators to have that kind of discussion with me on Tuesday evening. It will be interesting to see what kind of reception I am given. I hope those who attend will hear me out and then engage in a civil and mutually respectful discussion with me about these critical issues.
Cordially,
Robert Spencer
Tjhawk says
Clear, concise and well reasoned!! Lacking in bu!!$h;t.
They’ll never understand it.
vlparker says
How true.
St. Manuel II Palaiologos says
That’s all students are taught nowadays.
PorkToiletPaper says
They understand perfectly. It’s all by design.
maghan says
And the juvenile fools claim that Mr. Spencer is not an expert on Islam because he lacks a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies. Why are those people so illogically stupid? Self styled Caliph, Dr. Al Baghdadi of ISIS, that murderous and horrifically wicked literal expression of Islam, has a Ph.D. in Islamic studies. Yet the quasi-illiterate Stanford anti-Spencer mob would denounce him as not fully understanding the so-called “religion of peace”. Do those silly young fools know how to sit down for many hours reading the Quran and the Hadith? Or reading what the great intellectuals of the past have written about Islam?
For starters, have these young dummies ever read Alexis de Tocqueville’s analysis of Islam?
Those noisy Stanford children should just run off to change their diapers. Why suffer fools gladly?
Terry Gain says
These poor students haven’t t the intelligence to have an open mind. Those who show up and listen to Spencer are about to have their minds blown. How they react will show whether they belong in a University.
Martin N says
Yup. He’s no emoting enough… perhaps a pink pussy hat as he presents his points should offset that, plus a few shouts and screams at the sky.
Lydia says
I second that.
Lydia says
From TJhawk specifically.
( :
Troybeam says
What Spencer fails in my review on his comment of this : Yes, not all Muslims, or even a majority, are terrorists. Problem: Under sharia law all Muslims must perform Jihad: be it the fighter and or the supporter: how does any person know if the quiet Muslim is not a supporter but a fighter, simply put you don’t know. Read Reliance of the Traveller:Islamic Sacred Law aka sharia law, chapter o9.0 titled Jihad.
Personally, with knowing this about jihad and who fights who supports, no one can really know who’s who, So Mr. Spencer, a question for you: why do you not mention this in your writings.
Krazy Kafir says
Wonderful letter, but alas, the left wing commies, and the Islamists at Stanford, will hold firm to their deeply ingrained fascist ideologies.
Jim says
The letter is to the middle. The communist bloc of students will never change.
Voytek Gagalka says
The letter is to everybody. And believe me, even if they will deny it, they are reading it, eagerly. Proof of that is their very reaction and going absolutely out-of-proportion ballistic. They could deny its impact, but they can’t sleep at night. And good!
gravenimage says
True, Jim. While the letter is to everyone–as noted–it is unlikely to reach the hard-core Leftist Fascists–but there are other, quieter, more thoughtful students who may start to think on reading such a letter. I hope as many of them as possible attend Robert Spencer’s lecture tonight.
Christopher Mantei says
Excellent.
garbut says
Ask them why they love being fascists.
MFritz says
They didn’t care before, they didn’t listen before, they didn’t think before.
Why should they do now?
Ever since I saw those STUPID women do the “pussy marches” and – under their cheers – the hate mongering Ashley Judd quoted this non-talented child’s theater play to insult Trump – while Weinstein sexually MOLESTED her and others FOR YEARS – my belief in the “educated” class is shattered.
Nothing good will come from this generation of cretins. Not until ISIS or some other terrorist bastard puts the knife to their throat and they learn the lesson the hard way.
Bill says
“The Stanford Daily article also makes the charge that I have no Ph.D. in Islamic studies, and therefore know nothing.”
This was the most absurd of the criticisms that Mr. Spencer addressed in his letter. I wonder if Leland Stanford had a Ph.D? If not, how could he have possibly known anything of value?
These poor university bubble bound elites, programmed to believe such nonsense, only to someday be sent off to the real world with a false conviction in their own moral and intellectual superiority. You say they will learn the hard way when a terrorist puts a knife to their throats. I say that these bubble children, if they ever have the nerve to leave the comfort of their precious bubble, will learn the hard way in just about anything they encounter.
Darryl Kerney says
a wise friend of mine once summed it nicely i thought,
as they’re being beheaded,
they’ll blame the blade……
Adrian says
Amen to Robert’s letter!
i just sent 2 emails to Jane Shaw, Dean for Religious Life and Suzie Brubaker-Cole, Vice Provost for Student Affairs:
Dear Ms. Shaw,
You have obviously never read what Mr. Spencer writes or posts on Jihad Watch… To state he “has a track record of speech and actions that motivate hate towards Muslims” and that he “espouses views that may disparage people in our community” is flat out false.
Mr. Spencer always points to the very real ideological and dogmatic main central Islamic writings that justify and MANDATE violent and murderous jihad attacks by true Muslims. If you would open the Quran, ibn Ishaq or any sacred Hadith collection starting with Bukhari, you would find overwhelming examples of real-life immutable commands to all true believers. (Bad Xtians, bad Jews, bad Buddhists, bad Amish are bad because they go against the precepts and teachings of their religions. But Islam is the only “religion” where if you are a true follower of its core texts, you will be a bad person according to the rest of the world.)
To document this is not “hate.”
Actually, it seems you are the one indulging in blind “hate” toward Mr. Spencer, someone you know nothing about.
Sincerely,
Keys says
Adrian-
Excellent letter to these two women Stanford administrators. Hope they have the balls to be open to what you have said.
Custos Custodum says
Jane and Suzie have received your email which they both take very, very seriously.
They will respond as soon as they get new talking points from a George Soros “foundation” operative.
Adrian says
Custos Custodum, how right Thou art!
They will glance at my first sentence and throw in the trash… i have no hopes they will read any letters at all… because they already have all the solutions to the world’s problems.
Their answer will always be: “The vast majorities of Muslims are peaceful, therefore you must be hateful to bring up such unpleasantries like core texts of Islam.”
I feel it is a waste of time even trying to engage with such zombies… i mainly wrote my letter as an intellectual exercise…
Custos Custodum says
Not to be misunderstood – writing and publishing this letter to document the 1933-style treason against civilization by the “educated class” is a huge service to the West as a whole.
We are experiencing, once again “la trahison des clercs” – betrayal by the intellectuals of the very principles of rational inquiry and free speech they had so earnestly promised to protect.
John W says
“Clearly, a large portion of the Stanford community believes “Islamophobia” is a bigger problem than jihad terror. Can we have a civil discussion about this?”
It sure would be nice if this happens but unfortunately I’m not expecting it. You can present all your facts and talking points and rather than a point by point rebuttal all you will likely get is “you are an islamophobe, go away, we don’t want you here”.
MFritz says
For them it’s not about facts but about their feelings. Too bad reality doesn’t give a damn about your feelings.
Keys says
Yes, and for many “real” muslim scholars disparaging Mohammad or Allah, whether true or not, is blasphemy – punishable with death.
Georg says
“Clearly, a large portion of the Stanford community believes “Islamophobia” is a bigger problem than jihad terror. Can we have a civil discussion about this?”
Would be interested to hear from students their reaction to this question. There’s a saying, “The best revenge is living good.” Basically meaning, don’t bother with going out of one’s way to “get back” at an offender or obsess over them, but do what is right and good for oneself and it takes care of it all on multiple levels. Something similar seems to be the case with this kind of stuff — barring when there is out-and-out defamation or threats of violence. Compelling and sound argumentation remains the best vector for spreading what is true and moral. With that said, I can’t imagine how maddening this stuff must become.
Graeme Howarth says
Well done.
I think you’ve done all you can in extending the Olive branch.
Let’s see now if they’re really interested in the truth.
mariam rove says
Excellent letter! m
gravenimage says
Wonderful, measured and well-reasoned letter. I hope it makes some Stanford students think–and attend Robert Spencer’s appearance. It might put them on the path to perceiving the threat of Jihad, and the suicidal madness of trying to censor such warnings–even if the process is slow, this might sow the first seeds.
Custos Custodum says
There is definitely a desperate undertone to this concerted defamation campaign.
Hopefully, a few of the brighter and less dishonest Stanford students will start asking themselves some questions about the strange urgency and about the REAL motivation of the weird assortment of characters screaming tirelessly about “Islamophobia” and “hate speech”: the virtue signalling talking heads posing as “professors,” the semi-educated “administrators” mouthing pre-written platitudes, and of course the inevitable progressive rabbi delighting in the company of a behijabed propaganda harpy.
gravenimage says
I agree the response to Robert Spencer’s appearance is desperate–it is hysterical and unhinged.
RCCA says
Our media has done a good job fighting Islamophobia by not reporting on jihad activities around the world, and minimizing jihad activities in the US such as the Orlando massacre and the Ft. Hood attack, and obfuscating the terms “jihad” and “Allahu Akbar.” I read Jihadwatch to learn about this, not because I want to hate Muslims. I don’t hate all Muslims, why would I?
Too bad this problem is not going away. I’m not sure what the benefit of knowing is, but I believe the alternative is worse.
C T says
Because I have respect for and a desire for a happy life for Muslims generally, I applaud Spencer’s attempts to open the eyes of the rest of the world to the mental (and often physical) prison which is Sunni/Shia Islam. Muslims, unfortunate people, are born into their religion with no choice in the matter and told that God has ordered them killed if they apostasize (that means stop being Muslim). This is obvious to anyone who has cracked open the Hadith and read the mandated punishments for apostasy.
Westman says
“…when I took up my little sling and aimed at Communism, I also hit something else,” Chambers once wrote. “What I hit was the forces of that great socialist revolution, which, in the name of liberalism, spasmodically, incompletely, somewhat formlessly, always in the same direction, has been inching its ice cap over the nation for two decades. … [T]hough I knew it existed, I still had no adequate idea of its extent, the depth of its penetration or the fierce vindictiveness of its revolutionary temper, which is a reflex of its struggle to keep and advance its political power.” – Whittaker Chambers(book Witness)
Dum Spiro says
Very well stated (as usual), Robert.
If I could be at the event when you ask if there are any questions, comments or death fatwas, perhaps I would ask, “Who is qualified to diagnose “Islamophobia” in a person? Have there been any actual cases diagnosed by a medical professional? Or are they as elusive and nonexistent as actual diagnosed cases of “homophobia”?
Maybe Robert will answer that one while he waits for the first in-person question…
— Spero
Bill says
Unfortunately, at best, I believe that Mr. Spencer will be met with a significant number of fascists who will prevent him from speaking and force him off the stage. At worst, I expect the Leftifa to show up, commit acts of violence, blame Mr. Spencer, and then cause the event to be shut down. Stanford’s Board, Administration and Faculty will do nothing about it.
I would like to be proven wrong about this, but doubt that I will be.
Emilie Green says
That’s probably the closest they’re ever gonna get to the facts of Islam.
Andy says
Mr.Spencer is entering the lions den of Stanford University, I pray and hope that people will have an open heart and mind to listen to to the truth you have to say.
Numbers 6:24-26 – “ ‘ “The LORD bless you and keep you;NIV
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
and give you peace.
May The Lord Bless You
(A Judeo-Christian Blessing)
Andy says
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mApZWvZCZVk
Norger says
I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to face an openly hostile crowd (like he’s done many times) and not only “hold his own,” but make his points in convincing fashion. It’s a testament to Spencer’s effectiveness that his opponents are calling for a boycott; they are afraid of people even hearing what he has to say.
gravenimage says
+1
Terry Gain says
Thank you. God bless.
brane pilot says
One might as well appeal to having a ‘reasoned debate’ on a modern, Western Ivy League college campus, as having a ‘reasoned debate’ with a two year old toddler having a temper tantrum.
Political infantilism based upon primary school brainwashing has consumed our intellectual landscape. Mr. Spencer is a brave and patriotic dinosaur in a world where high treason and terrorism are considered fashionable and cool.
I hope he never gives up.
martha says
Regarding PhD and knowledge brings to mind one of the greatest lines in Rock and Roll lyrics. Steele Dan, ‘Are you realing in the years?”
“You’ve been telling me you’re a genius since you were seventeen.
In all the years I’ve known you i still don’t know what you mean.
The weekend at the college never turned out like you planned.
The things they pass for knowledge i don’t understand.”
PRCS says
Two things.
1. I hope the term “radical Islam” comes up and that it is quickly and eagerly quashed.
2. Re: this line from Robert’s otherwise fine letter:
“The term “Islamophobia” was coined by the Muslim Brotherhood in order to silence critics of Islamic jihadism and terror.”
Communism, Fascism, Socialism, and Nazism are stand alone ideologies. Jihad is a component of written, Orthodox Islam, and IMO, jihad is the appropriate word.
Terry Gain says
Great letter Mr. Spencer. Your ability to think and respond rationally to ignorant provocations is on a par with your knowledge of Islam. Best of luck tonight.
Dov Berrol says
Kol Hakavod, Mr. Robert Spencer! That’s Hebrew for “all the honour to you” or another way of saying “well done”! Your eloquence in fighting against jihadis with words and rational explanations is a blessing for all freedom-loving people around the world. A thousand thank yous for your courageous work in the defence of human life and freedom.
Mockingjay says
+1
Mockingjay says
Please, please be careful.
I am VERY worried things will get violent.
JawsV says
Absurd on its face that a PhD is required to understand Islam! That’s a real knee-slapper! I have BA and MA degrees and I understand Islam just fine, thank you! Anyone can comprehend “Kill the Infidels” Islam. In fact, “Fun with Dick and Jane” is more complicated! The Stanford snowflakes’ intellectual level resides with Dick and Jane.
blitz2b says
Dear Robert Spencer,
“…A prophet is not without honor save in his own country…”
These learned ignoramuses do not understand your worth. What is it that they are learning in these institutions if not critical thinking, reasoning through discourse, and the ability to understand freedom of expression even with those they disagree with?
We are truly living in an age of absurdity. It is hard to comprehend that students at universities would behave on such a manner that should be expected of illiterate and uninformed mobs in Islamic nations.
Keep up the good fight Mr.Spencer. God be with you…
nicholas william tesdorf says
Stanford University Staff and Students seem to be uninterested in, allergic to, and frightened of the Truth.
Infidel says
JEEZ Rob.. U are TOO DECENT for these libtards… TOO DECENT… But then that is why I really respect U…:-) 🙂
Angemon says
The usual sleight of hand: conflate islam with muslims, point to a muslims that (at least apparently) is not abiding by the islamic tenets that mandate them to wage war on the infidels and imply that al muslims are like that and therefore islam is a benign ideology. Grab a part and claim it represents the whole. Funny how that goes against the “islam is not a monolith” excuse, isn’t it?
Oh, by the way, Miss Fay: while Malala Yousafzai may not have advocated violence per se, she did came across as a mobster when she said that criticizing islam will encourage terrorists. You know, the tiny-minority-of-extremists-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-islam. Malala Yousafzai advocated violence? No one made such a claim – but I claim that her statements normalize islamic violence.
gravenimage says
Good point–even Malala Yousafzai is intent on preventing any criticism of Islam.
She also donated her Nobel Prize money to Hamas, which is hardly a peaceful orgnization.
martin says
An extremely reasonable and reasoned request to people with too little morality to even understand it.