Robert B. Spencer: Difference between revisions

Robert Spencer
Robert Spencer
	Spencer in 2020
Born	Robert Bruce Spencer; February 27, 1962 (age 62)
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (MA)
Occupations	Author; blogger;
Years active	2002–present
Organizations	David Horowitz Freedom Center; Stop Islamization of America;
Known for	Anti-Muslim views, Jihad Watch, books

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Robert Bruce Spencer (born February 27, 1962)^[1]^[2] is an American anti-Muslim^[15] author and blogger, and one of the key figures of the counter-jihad movement.^[16]^[17] Spencer founded and has directed the blog Jihad Watch since 2003. In 2010 he co-founded the organization Stop Islamization of America with Pamela Geller.^[18]

Three of Spencer's books reached The New York Times Best Seller list.^[2] Reports that two of Spencer's books were listed in FBI training materials and that he had given seminars to various law enforcement units in the United States stirred controversy.^[10]^[19] In 2013, the UK Home Office barred Spencer from travel to the United Kingdom for three to five years for "making statements that may foster hatred that might lead to inter-community violence".^[11] He has frequently appeared on Fox News.^[20]

Background

Spencer was baptized in the Greek Orthodox Church and joined the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in 1984.^[21]^[22] Spencer has stated that, under the reign of President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, his grandparents were forced to emigrate from an area that is now part of Turkey because they were Christians.^[23] Spencer's father worked for Voice of America during the Cold War, and in his younger days, Spencer himself worked at Revolution Books, a Maoist bookstore in New York City founded by Robert Avakian.^[24]

Spencer received an M.A. in 1986 in religious studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His masters thesis was on monophysitism and the history of the Catholic Church.^[25]

Spencer has been harshly criticized by several clerics of the Roman Catholic Church because of his views on Islam.^[22] In 2016, as a result of "personal reflection and historical study", Spencer returned to the Greek Orthodox Church.^[26]

Activities and writings

Spencer has been studying Islamic theology, law, and history since 1980, but his publications on Islam and Muslims have not undergone academic peer review. They have been published by publishing houses that specialize in the writings of political conservatives, mostly Regnery Publishing or Bombardier Books.^[27]^[28] He worked in think tanks for more than 20 years,^[24] and in 2002–2003 was an adjunct fellow with the Free Congress Foundation.^[29]

A 2010 investigative report by The Tennessean described Spencer as one of several individuals who "cash in on spreading hate and fear about Islam." The Tennessean investigation concluded: "IRS filings from 2008 show that Robert Spencer earned $132,537 from the David Horowitz Freedom Center."^[30]^[31] In addition to being the editor for the David Horowitz Freedom Center's Jihad Watch blog, Spencer has also written for Breitbart News,^[32] and has been a columnist for Human Events, PJ Media and FrontPage Magazine.^[2]^[33]

Spencer co-founded the anti-Muslim group Stop Islamization of America (also known as the American Freedom Defense Initiative) with Pamela Geller in 2010. The organization is designated as a "hate group" by the Anti-Defamation League^[34] and the Southern Poverty Law Center.^[35]^[36]^[37] Together with Geller he led a campaign to stop the building of Park51, an Islamic community center near the World Trade Center, which they referred to as the "Ground Zero Mosque",^[5] claiming that imam Feisal Abdul Rauf planned to build a "victory mosque" to celebrate the destruction of the World Trade Center in the September 11 attacks.^[2]

Ban from entering the UK

On June 26, 2013, both Spencer and Pamela Geller were banned from entering the UK.^[11] They were due to speak at an English Defence League march in Woolwich, south London, where Drummer Lee Rigby was killed by an Islamist. Home Secretary Theresa May informed Spencer and Geller that their presence in the UK would "not be conducive to the public good".^[38] A letter from the UK Home Office stated that this decision is based on Spencer's statement that Islam "is a religion or a belief system that mandates warfare against unbelievers for the purpose of establishing a societal model that is absolutely incompatible with Western society. ...Because of media and general government unwillingness to face the sources of Islamic terrorism, these things remain largely unknown."^[39] The decision was to stand for between three and five years. The ban followed a concerted campaign by the UK anti-racism organization Hope not Hate,^[40] which said it had collected 26,000 signatures for a petition to the Home Secretary.^[41] Spencer and Geller contested the ban, but in 2015 the British Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal, arguing that "this was a public order case where the police had advised that significant public disorder and serious violence might ensue from the proposed visit."^[42]^[43]

The ban was criticized by author Douglas Murray. He has stated his belief that because Islamic supremacist hate preachers were and are still allowed to enter the UK, and because what Geller and Spencer say is much less objectionable than the views and statements of extremist Muslim clerics such as Muhammad al-Arefe (who was allowed to enter the UK shortly before Spencer and Geller were banned), the ban is unjust.^[44] Spencer responded to the ban by stating that the UK had become a "de facto Islamic state".^[2]

The government of Pakistan previously banned Spencer's book, The Truth About Muhammad, in 2007, citing "objectionable material" as the cause.^[45] His book Onward Muslim Soldiers was banned in Malaysia the same year.^[46]

Speaking engagements

Spencer as guest of a webinar by the Middle East Forum in 2020

Spencer spoke at Truman State University in April 2017 despite protests and a petition against him, having been invited by the Young America's Foundation.^[47] He spoke at the University of Buffalo in May the same year, where he was shouted down and heckled.^[48] He also spoke at Gettysburg College two days later; 375 alumni urged the college president Janet Morgan Riggs to cancel the speech, but the event went on as planned.^[49] Spencer said, "There is one kind of diversity that is not valued generally in an academic setting and that is intellectual diversity."^[50] Spencer spoke at Stanford University in November 2017, during which many students walked out.^[51]

Spencer has claimed that "a young Icelandic Leftist" poisoned him in 2017 in Reykjavik, Iceland, after a speaking event where he warned Icelanders of the dangers of "the impact of Islam" on Icelandic society.^[52]^[53] A medical report indicated he had been given MDMA and amphetamines.^[54]

Spencer became a senior fellow of Frank Gaffney's Center for Security Policy in 2020, after years of consultations with the group. He is also a frequent guest on Gaffney's Secure Freedom Radio and Securing America TV.^[2]

Influence and criticism

Spencer is known for his anti-Muslim views. He comments on radical Islam, Islamic extremism, Islamic terrorism, and Islamic supremacism.^[55] His main thesis is that Islam is an inherently violent religion, and that extremists who commit acts of terror are simply following Islam's most authentic version.^[2] According to author Todd H. Green, Spencer's commentary on Islam has been regarded as "hav[ing] made a huge impact on the misinformation about Islam that circulates so freely on the Internet, in the media, and in political circles."^[56]

Spencer's 2008 book Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs has been seen to have developed one of the most important ideas of the counter-jihad, namely the "stealth jihad" idea that "terrorists aren't America's real Muslim problem", writing that "distracted by foreign wars and the prospect of domestic terror attacks, Americans pay little heed to the true agents of intolerance in their midst", namely the Muslim Brotherhood and its alleged American offshoots such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC).^[57]

The perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, Anders Behring Breivik, cited Robert Spencer 64 times in his manifesto and wrote of him: "About Islam I recommend essentially everything written by Robert Spencer."^[5]^[58] Spencer condemned Breivik and said he was unfairly blamed by the media for the attack,^[12]^[59] likening it to Charles Manson drawing inspiration from The Beatles.^[2] Breivik has later admitted that he has been a neo-Nazi since the early 1990s, who only in later years exploited counter-jihad writings.^[60]

In July 2011, Wired magazine reported that two of Spencer's books were listed in FBI training materials. Both The Truth About Muhammad and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam were recommended for agents hoping to better understand Islam.^[19] His books were later dropped from federal training programs.^[2]

Bibliography

Empire of God: How the Byzantines Saved Civilization. Bombardier. 2023. ISBN 978-1637587423.
The Sumter Gambit: How the Left Is Trying to Foment a Civil War. Bombardier. 2023. ISBN 978-1637585320.
The Critical Qur'an: Explained from Key Islamic Commentaries and Contemporary Historical Research. Bombardier. 2022. ISBN 978-1642939491.
Who Lost Afghanistan?. Center for Security Policy. 2022. ISBN 979-8849452913.
The Church and the Pope: The Case for Orthodoxy. Uncut Mountain. 2022. ISBN 978-1639410057.
Islamophobia and the Threat to Free Speech. Center for Security Policy. 2021. ISBN 979-8528301945.
Rating America's Presidents: An America-First Look at Who Is Best, Who Is Overrated, and Who Was An Absolute Disaster. Bombardier. 2020. ISBN 978-1642935356.
The Palestinian Delusion: The Catastrophic History of the Middle East Peace Process. Bombardier. 2019. ISBN 978-1642932546.
The History of Jihad: From Muhammad to ISIS. Bombardier. 2018. ISBN 9781682616598.
Confessions of an Islamophobe. Bombardier. 2017. ISBN 978-1682614914.
The Complete Infidel's Guide to Free Speech (and Its Enemies). Regnery. 2017. ISBN 978-1621576273.
The Complete Infidels' Guide to Iran. Regnery. 2016. ISBN 978-1621575160.
The Complete Infidel's Guide to ISIS. Regnery. 2015. ISBN 978-1-62157-453-8.
The Arab Winter Comes to America: The Truth about the War We're In. Regnery. 2014. ISBN 978-1-62157-204-6.
Not Peace But a Sword: The Great Chasm Between Christianity and Islam. Catholic Answers. 2013. ISBN 978-1938983283.
Did Muhammad Exist?: An Inquiry Into Islam's Obscure Origins. ISI Books. 2012. ISBN 978-1-61017-061-1.
The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America (with Pamela Geller). Threshold Editions. 2010. ISBN 978-1-4391-8930-6.
The Complete Infidels' Guide to the Koran. Regnery. 2009. ISBN 978-1-59698-104-1.
Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs. Regnery. 2008. ISBN 978-1-59698-556-8.
Religion of Peace?: Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn't. Regnery. 2007. ISBN 978-1-59698-515-5.
The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion. Regnery. 2006. ISBN 1-59698-028-1.
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (And the Crusades). Regnery. 2005. ISBN 0-89526-013-1.
The Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims. Prometheus. 2005. ISBN 1-59102-249-5.
Onward Muslim Soldiers: How Jihad Still Threatens America and the West. Regnery. 2003. ISBN 0-89526-100-6.
Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics: 100 questions and answers (with Daniel Ali). Ascension. 2003. ISBN 978-0-9659228-5-2.
Islam Unveiled: Disturbing Questions About the World's Fastest Growing Faith. Encounter. 2002. ISBN 978-1-893554-58-0.

References

^ @jihadwatchRS (February 27, 2023). "Very grateful to all who are wishing me happy birthday, may God bless you all, and thanks..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "Robert Spencer". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
^ Ernst, Carl W., ed. (2013). Islamophobia in America: The Anatomy of Intolerance. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 4, 125–126, 163. doi:10.1057/9781137290076. ISBN 978-1-137-32188-6. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2022 – via Google Books. Anti-Muslim activists like Terry Jones, Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, the Bible Believers, and the Westboro Baptist Church are drawn to Dearborn because they see it as an abomination, as a dangerous exception to the American norm. In fact, Dearborn is proof that an alternative American reality, one in which Islam is normal and Muslims enjoy political support, is possible and will become increasingly common in future.
^ Mariuma, Yarden (2014). "Taqiyya as Polemic, Law and Knowledge: Following an Islamic Legal Term through the Worlds of Islamic Scholars, Ethnographers, Polemicists and Military Men" (PDF). The Muslim World. 104 (1–2). Hartford International University: 89. doi:10.1111/muwo.12047. ISSN 1478-1913. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 20, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022. A concept whose meaning has varied significantly among Islamic sects, scholars, countries, and political regimes, it nevertheless is one of the key terms used by recent anti-Muslim polemicists such as Robert Spencer or Daniel Pipes, and has been used by US Prosecutors to explain terrorist behavior.
^ ^a ^b ^c Beirich, Heidi (2013). "Hate Across the Waters: The Role of American Extremists in Fostering an International White Consciousness". In Wodak, Ruth; KhosraviNik, Majid; Mral, Brigitte (eds.). Right-Wing Populism in Europe. Bloomsbury. pp. 90–92. doi:10.5040/9781472544940.ch-006. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2019. But the primary sources for the anti-Muslim propaganda that had helped give voice to Breivik's manifesto were American. The anti-Muslim author Robert Spencer, who runs the Jihad Watch website, was cited by Breivik 64 times in his manifesto and excerpted extensively. 'About Islam I recommend essentially everything written by Robert Spencer', Breivik wrote, adding that Spencer should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (Lenz 2011).
^ Mohideen, H.; Mohideen, S. (June 30, 2008). "The Language of Islamophobia in Internet Articles". Intellectual Discourse. 16 (1). International Islamic University Malaysia: 76. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2022. Robert Spencer, a prolific Islamophobic writer, has gravely offended Muslims by describing the Holy Qur'ān as the jihadists Mein Kampf, the book which embodies Hitler's fascist philosophy.
^ Guimond, Amy Melissa (May 20, 2017). "Islamophobia and the Talking Heads". Converting to Islam: Understanding the Experiences of White American Females. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 61. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-54250-8_3. ISBN 978-3-319-54250-8. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2022. Robert Spencer, a well-known Islamophobe, published five anti-Muslim books in the years following September 11 and, in the 7 years after the launch of his Islamophobic website, was earning an annual salary of $140,000.00 off of the profiteering of Islamophobic sentiments through his instant bestsellers.
^ Cole, Darnell; Ahmadi, Shafiqa; Sanchez, Mabel E. (November 1, 2020). "Examining Muslim Student Experiences With Campus Insensitivity, Coercion, and Negative Interworldview Engagement". Journal of College and Character. 21 (4). Routledge: 302. doi:10.1080/2194587X.2020.1822880. ISSN 2194-587X. S2CID 227249730. Archived from the original on February 21, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2022. Campus-supported events like the anti-Muslim speaker Robert Spencer, invited by the Stanford College Republicans, have also been linked to increases in discrimination and harassment aimed at Muslim students. Spencer is the director of the Muslim-bashing website Jihad Watch and the co-founder of Stop Islamization of America and the American Freedom Defense Initiative, which are both classified as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
^ Bail, Christopher (December 21, 2014). Terrified: How Anti-Muslim Fringe Organizations Became Mainstream. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691173634. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2022. Anti-Muslim bloggers Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller founded SIOA to protest the construction of the so-called Ground Zero Mosque, as the next section of this chapter describes. Yet even before this high-profile controversy, Spencer and Geller received modest notoriety for their anti-Muslim views.
^ ^a ^b "Anti-Muslim speakers still popular in law enforcement training". The Washington Post. March 12, 2014. Archived from the original on March 18, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c "US bloggers banned from entering UK". BBC. June 26, 2013. Archived from the original on June 27, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
^ ^a ^b Shane, Scott (August 3, 2011). "To Fight Radical Islam, U.S. Wants Muslim Allies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
^ Noble, Jason. "Iowa's congressional delegation responds to Trump immigration order". Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
^ Isaacs, Arnold (August 9, 2018). "American Islamophobia's Fake Facts". Salon. Archived from the original on August 8, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
^ Sources describing Spencer as anti-Muslim or Islamophobic: ^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14]
^ Carter, Alexander J. (2019). Cumulative Extremism: A Comparative Historical Analysis. Routledge. p. 190. ISBN 9780429594526.
^ Berntzen, Lars Erik (2019). Liberal Roots of Far Right Activism: The Anti-Islamic Movement in the 21st Century. Routledge. p. 87. ISBN 9781000707960.
^ Jeffrey Kaplan; Heléne Lööw; Leena Malkki (2017). Lone Wolf and Autonomous Cell Terrorism. Taylor & Francis. p. 214. ISBN 978-1-317-53042-8.
^ ^a ^b Ackerman, Spencer (July 27, 2011). "FBI 'Islam 101' Guide Depicted Muslims as 7th-Century Simpletons". Wired. Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
^ "Meet The Extremists Who Lead Fox's Conversation About Islam". Media Matters. January 13, 2015. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
^ Spencer, Robert (October 26, 2010). "Pope must condemn demonizing of Israel". Spero News. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
^ ^a ^b Jeffrey Rubin (October 25, 2018). "Robert Spencer and the Religion of Terror". Crisis Magazine. Archived from the original on October 25, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
^ "Robert Spencer Jihad Watch, Director Q & A with Brian Lamb". C-SPAN. August 20, 2006. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
^ ^a ^b Mark Jacobson (August 22, 2010). "Muhammad Comes to Manhattan". New York. Archived from the original on August 26, 2010. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
^ "The monophysite in the mirror, by Robert Bruce Spencer". Davis Library Thesis, Religion, 1986. UNC-CH Libraries. 1986. Archived from the original on March 1, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
^ Robert Spencer [@jihadwatchRS] (June 8, 2020). "I did return to Orthodoxy, yes, but as the result of personal reflection and historical study.]" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ "Let's talk about Robert Spencer". November 9, 2017. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
^ "Marines gather to honor, celebrate". Trib.com. October 26, 2005. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
^ Robert Spencer (December 19, 2008). "A Tribute: Paul Weyrich Has Died". Catholic Online. Archived from the original on March 9, 2009. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
^ "Anti-Muslim crusaders make millions spreading fear". The Tennessean. October 24, 2010. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
^ "David Horowitz Freedom Center's IRS Form 990" (PDF). The Tennessean. June 3, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
^ Othen, Christopher (August 15, 2018). Soldiers of a Different God: How the Counter-Jihad Movement Created Mayhem, Murder and the Trump Presidency. Amberley. p. 275. ISBN 9781445678009.
^ "Robert Spencer". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
^ "Backgrounder: Stop Islamization of America (SIOA)" Archived May 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Extremism. Anti-Defamation League. March 25, 2011 [August 26, 2010]. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
^ Lach, Eric (March 1, 2011). "Pam Geller On 'Hate Group' Label: 'A Badge of Honor'". Talking Points Memo. Archived from the original on March 13, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
^ "Pamela Geller & Stop Islamization of America". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on June 25, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
^ Steinback, Robert (Summer 2011). "Jihad Against Islam". Intelligence Report, Issue #142. Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
^ Rawlinson, Kevin (June 26, 2013). "Anti-Ground Zero Mosque campaigners Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer barred from entering Britain to speak at an EDL rally". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on June 27, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
^ The Speech that Got Robert Spencer Banned From the UK. YouTube. June 27, 2013. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
^ "Anti-Muslim pair banned from UK". Daily Express. UK. June 26, 2013. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
^ Lowles, Nick. "Geller and Spencer Banned". Hope not Hate. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
^ "Geller & Anor, R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWCA Civ 45 (05 February 2015)". British and Irish Legal Information Institute. Archived from the original on July 9, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
^ English, Rosalind (February 15, 2015). "Critics of Islam prevented from entering UK to attend Lee Rigby rally". UK Human Rights Blog. 1 Crown Office Row. Archived from the original on January 21, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
^ "A gross double standard over hate speech". The Spectator. UK. June 27, 2013. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
^ "Pakistan: Book Closed on Muhammad". National Review. January 9, 2007. Archived from the original on June 12, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
^ "Ministry Bans 14 Books". BERNAMA. July 12, 2007. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
^ "Truman State grapples with controversial anti-Muslim speaker". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. April 11, 2017. Archived from the original on April 24, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
^ "No violence, but UB speaker greeted with tension, heckling". The Buffalo News. May 2, 2017. Archived from the original on May 2, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
^ "Open letter from 375 alums urges President Riggs to cancel Robert Spencer's speech". The Gettysburgian. May 1, 2017. Archived from the original on May 3, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
^ Pontz, Benjamin (May 3, 2017). "Robert Spencer's speech at Gettysburg College engages students in civil discourse". The Gettysburgian. Archived from the original on May 4, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
^ "Stanford Students Walk Out, Protest During Robert Spencer Speaking Event". NBC Bay Area. November 15, 2017. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
^ "Controversial US author Robert Spencer claims he was poisoned by "leftist" while in Iceland". Iceland Magazine. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
^ "Islamophobe Robert Spencer Claims Young Leftist Poisoned Him". May 16, 2017. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
^ "Spencer var byrluð e-tafla: Sjáðu læknaskýrsluna". DV (in Icelandic). May 16, 2017.
^ Deland, Mats (2014). In the Tracks of Breivik: Far Right Networks in Northern and Eastern Europe. Berlin Wien: Lit Verlag. p. 162. ISBN 978-3-643-90542-0.
^ Green, Todd H. (2019). The Fear of Islam, Second Edition: An Introduction to Islamophobia in the West. Fortress Press. p. 206. ISBN 978-1-5064-5045-2.
^ Beauchamp, Zack (February 13, 2017). "Trump's counter-jihad". Vox. Archived from the original on June 8, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
^ Gardell, Mattias (January 1, 2014). "Crusader Dreams: Oslo 22/7, Islamophobia, and the Quest for a Monocultural Europe". Terrorism and Political Violence. 26 (1): 129–155. doi:10.1080/09546553.2014.849930. ISSN 0954-6553. S2CID 144489939.
^ Shane, Scott (July 24, 2011). "Killings in Norway Spotlight Anti-Muslim Thought in U.S." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on September 18, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
^ "Breivik: - Jeg leste Hitlers Mein Kampf da jeg var 14 år". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). March 16, 2016.

External links

Robert Spencer on Twitter
Appearances on C-SPAN

[1] @jihadwatchRS (February 27, 2023). "Very grateful to all who are wishing me happy birthday, may God bless you all, and thanks..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[splc-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "Robert Spencer". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved March 3, 2024.

[Ernst-book-Islamophobia-in-America-3] Ernst, Carl W., ed. (2013). Islamophobia in America: The Anatomy of Intolerance. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 4, 125–126, 163. doi:10.1057/9781137290076. ISBN 978-1-137-32188-6. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2022 – via Google Books. Anti-Muslim activists like Terry Jones, Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, the Bible Believers, and the Westboro Baptist Church are drawn to Dearborn because they see it as an abomination, as a dangerous exception to the American norm. In fact, Dearborn is proof that an alternative American reality, one in which Islam is normal and Muslims enjoy political support, is possible and will become increasingly common in future.

[4] Mariuma, Yarden (2014). "Taqiyya as Polemic, Law and Knowledge: Following an Islamic Legal Term through the Worlds of Islamic Scholars, Ethnographers, Polemicists and Military Men" (PDF). The Muslim World. 104 (1–2). Hartford International University: 89. doi:10.1111/muwo.12047. ISSN 1478-1913. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 20, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022. A concept whose meaning has varied significantly among Islamic sects, scholars, countries, and political regimes, it nevertheless is one of the key terms used by recent anti-Muslim polemicists such as Robert Spencer or Daniel Pipes, and has been used by US Prosecutors to explain terrorist behavior.

[:0-5] Beirich, Heidi (2013). "Hate Across the Waters: The Role of American Extremists in Fostering an International White Consciousness". In Wodak, Ruth; KhosraviNik, Majid; Mral, Brigitte (eds.). Right-Wing Populism in Europe. Bloomsbury. pp. 90–92. doi:10.5040/9781472544940.ch-006. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2019. But the primary sources for the anti-Muslim propaganda that had helped give voice to Breivik's manifesto were American. The anti-Muslim author Robert Spencer, who runs the Jihad Watch website, was cited by Breivik 64 times in his manifesto and excerpted extensively. 'About Islam I recommend essentially everything written by Robert Spencer', Breivik wrote, adding that Spencer should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (Lenz 2011).

[6] Mohideen, H.; Mohideen, S. (June 30, 2008). "The Language of Islamophobia in Internet Articles". Intellectual Discourse. 16 (1). International Islamic University Malaysia: 76. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2022. Robert Spencer, a prolific Islamophobic writer, has gravely offended Muslims by describing the Holy Qur'ān as the jihadists Mein Kampf, the book which embodies Hitler's fascist philosophy.

[7] Guimond, Amy Melissa (May 20, 2017). "Islamophobia and the Talking Heads". Converting to Islam: Understanding the Experiences of White American Females. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 61. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-54250-8_3. ISBN 978-3-319-54250-8. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2022. Robert Spencer, a well-known Islamophobe, published five anti-Muslim books in the years following September 11 and, in the 7 years after the launch of his Islamophobic website, was earning an annual salary of $140,000.00 off of the profiteering of Islamophobic sentiments through his instant bestsellers.

[8] Cole, Darnell; Ahmadi, Shafiqa; Sanchez, Mabel E. (November 1, 2020). "Examining Muslim Student Experiences With Campus Insensitivity, Coercion, and Negative Interworldview Engagement". Journal of College and Character. 21 (4). Routledge: 302. doi:10.1080/2194587X.2020.1822880. ISSN 2194-587X. S2CID 227249730. Archived from the original on February 21, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2022. Campus-supported events like the anti-Muslim speaker Robert Spencer, invited by the Stanford College Republicans, have also been linked to increases in discrimination and harassment aimed at Muslim students. Spencer is the director of the Muslim-bashing website Jihad Watch and the co-founder of Stop Islamization of America and the American Freedom Defense Initiative, which are both classified as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

[bail-9] Bail, Christopher (December 21, 2014). Terrified: How Anti-Muslim Fringe Organizations Became Mainstream. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691173634. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2022. Anti-Muslim bloggers Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller founded SIOA to protest the construction of the so-called Ground Zero Mosque, as the next section of this chapter describes. Yet even before this high-profile controversy, Spencer and Geller received modest notoriety for their anti-Muslim views.

[Anti-Muslim-speakers-Washingtonpost-10] "Anti-Muslim speakers still popular in law enforcement training". The Washington Post. March 12, 2014. Archived from the original on March 18, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2017.

[BBC-US-bloggers-banned-from-UK-11] "US bloggers banned from entering UK". BBC. June 26, 2013. Archived from the original on June 27, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.

[:2-12] Shane, Scott (August 3, 2011). "To Fight Radical Islam, U.S. Wants Muslim Allies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2019.

[13] Noble, Jason. "Iowa's congressional delegation responds to Trump immigration order". Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2019.

[Isaacs-Unz-American-Islamophobia-14] Isaacs, Arnold (August 9, 2018). "American Islamophobia's Fake Facts". Salon. Archived from the original on August 8, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021.

[anti-Muslim-15] Sources describing Spencer as anti-Muslim or Islamophobic: ^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14]

[16] Carter, Alexander J. (2019). Cumulative Extremism: A Comparative Historical Analysis. Routledge. p. 190. ISBN 9780429594526.

[17] Berntzen, Lars Erik (2019). Liberal Roots of Far Right Activism: The Anti-Islamic Movement in the 21st Century. Routledge. p. 87. ISBN 9781000707960.

[KaplanLööw2017-18] Jeffrey Kaplan; Heléne Lööw; Leena Malkki (2017). Lone Wolf and Autonomous Cell Terrorism. Taylor & Francis. p. 214. ISBN 978-1-317-53042-8.

[:1-19] Ackerman, Spencer (July 27, 2011). "FBI 'Islam 101' Guide Depicted Muslims as 7th-Century Simpletons". Wired. Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.

[20] "Meet The Extremists Who Lead Fox's Conversation About Islam". Media Matters. January 13, 2015. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017.

[Spero_News-21] Spencer, Robert (October 26, 2010). "Pope must condemn demonizing of Israel". Spero News. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. Retrieved October 29, 2010.

[:3-22] Jeffrey Rubin (October 25, 2018). "Robert Spencer and the Religion of Terror". Crisis Magazine. Archived from the original on October 25, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2018.

[lamb-23] "Robert Spencer Jihad Watch, Director Q & A with Brian Lamb". C-SPAN. August 20, 2006. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2014.

[Muhammad_comes_to-24] Mark Jacobson (August 22, 2010). "Muhammad Comes to Manhattan". New York. Archived from the original on August 26, 2010. Retrieved November 1, 2010.

[UNC-25] "The monophysite in the mirror, by Robert Bruce Spencer". Davis Library Thesis, Religion, 1986. UNC-CH Libraries. 1986. Archived from the original on March 1, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2013.

[26] Robert Spencer [@jihadwatchRS] (June 8, 2020). "I did return to Orthodoxy, yes, but as the result of personal reflection and historical study.]" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[Let's_talk_about_Robert_Spencer-27] "Let's talk about Robert Spencer". November 9, 2017. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.

[28] "Marines gather to honor, celebrate". Trib.com. October 26, 2005. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2010.

[tribute-29] Robert Spencer (December 19, 2008). "A Tribute: Paul Weyrich Has Died". Catholic Online. Archived from the original on March 9, 2009. Retrieved December 16, 2010.

[30] "Anti-Muslim crusaders make millions spreading fear". The Tennessean. October 24, 2010. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved November 4, 2010.

[31] "David Horowitz Freedom Center's IRS Form 990" (PDF). The Tennessean. June 3, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2011.

[32] Othen, Christopher (August 15, 2018). Soldiers of a Different God: How the Counter-Jihad Movement Created Mayhem, Murder and the Trump Presidency. Amberley. p. 275. ISBN 9781445678009.

[spencer-33] "Robert Spencer". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved August 26, 2023.

[34] "Backgrounder: Stop Islamization of America (SIOA)" Archived May 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Extremism. Anti-Defamation League. March 25, 2011 [August 26, 2010]. Retrieved February 16, 2012.

[35] Lach, Eric (March 1, 2011). "Pam Geller On 'Hate Group' Label: 'A Badge of Honor'". Talking Points Memo. Archived from the original on March 13, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2012.

[36] "Pamela Geller & Stop Islamization of America". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on June 25, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2011.

[37] Steinback, Robert (Summer 2011). "Jihad Against Islam". Intelligence Report, Issue #142. Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2011.

[38] Rawlinson, Kevin (June 26, 2013). "Anti-Ground Zero Mosque campaigners Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer barred from entering Britain to speak at an EDL rally". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on June 27, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.

[39] The Speech that Got Robert Spencer Banned From the UK. YouTube. June 27, 2013. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2016.

[40] "Anti-Muslim pair banned from UK". Daily Express. UK. June 26, 2013. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.

[41] Lowles, Nick. "Geller and Spencer Banned". Hope not Hate. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.

[42] "Geller & Anor, R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWCA Civ 45 (05 February 2015)". British and Irish Legal Information Institute. Archived from the original on July 9, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2017.

[UK_Human_Rights_Blog-43] English, Rosalind (February 15, 2015). "Critics of Islam prevented from entering UK to attend Lee Rigby rally". UK Human Rights Blog. 1 Crown Office Row. Archived from the original on January 21, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2017.

[44] "A gross double standard over hate speech". The Spectator. UK. June 27, 2013. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2017.

[45] "Pakistan: Book Closed on Muhammad". National Review. January 9, 2007. Archived from the original on June 12, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.

[BERNAMA-46] "Ministry Bans 14 Books". BERNAMA. July 12, 2007. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.

[47] "Truman State grapples with controversial anti-Muslim speaker". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. April 11, 2017. Archived from the original on April 24, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.

[48] "No violence, but UB speaker greeted with tension, heckling". The Buffalo News. May 2, 2017. Archived from the original on May 2, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.

[49] "Open letter from 375 alums urges President Riggs to cancel Robert Spencer's speech". The Gettysburgian. May 1, 2017. Archived from the original on May 3, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.

[50] Pontz, Benjamin (May 3, 2017). "Robert Spencer's speech at Gettysburg College engages students in civil discourse". The Gettysburgian. Archived from the original on May 4, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2017.

[51] "Stanford Students Walk Out, Protest During Robert Spencer Speaking Event". NBC Bay Area. November 15, 2017. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.

[52] "Controversial US author Robert Spencer claims he was poisoned by "leftist" while in Iceland". Iceland Magazine. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2019.

[53] "Islamophobe Robert Spencer Claims Young Leftist Poisoned Him". May 16, 2017. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019.

[54] "Spencer var byrluð e-tafla: Sjáðu læknaskýrsluna". DV (in Icelandic). May 16, 2017.

[Deland_2014_p._162-55] Deland, Mats (2014). In the Tracks of Breivik: Far Right Networks in Northern and Eastern Europe. Berlin Wien: Lit Verlag. p. 162. ISBN 978-3-643-90542-0.

[56] Green, Todd H. (2019). The Fear of Islam, Second Edition: An Introduction to Islamophobia in the West. Fortress Press. p. 206. ISBN 978-1-5064-5045-2.

[57] Beauchamp, Zack (February 13, 2017). "Trump's counter-jihad". Vox. Archived from the original on June 8, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2022.

[58] Gardell, Mattias (January 1, 2014). "Crusader Dreams: Oslo 22/7, Islamophobia, and the Quest for a Monocultural Europe". Terrorism and Political Violence. 26 (1): 129–155. doi:10.1080/09546553.2014.849930. ISSN 0954-6553. S2CID 144489939.

[59] Shane, Scott (July 24, 2011). "Killings in Norway Spotlight Anti-Muslim Thought in U.S." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on September 18, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2019.

[60] "Breivik: - Jeg leste Hitlers Mein Kampf da jeg var 14 år". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). March 16, 2016.

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@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 | name               = Robert Spencer
 | honorific_suffix   =
-| image              = Robert Spencer.jpg
+| image              = Robert Spencer 2020.png
 | alt                =
-| caption            =
+| caption            = Spencer in 2020
-| birth_name         =
+| birth_name         = Robert Bruce Spencer
-| birth_date         = {{birth year and age|1962}}
+| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1962|2|27}}
 | birth_place        =
 | monuments          =
@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 | other_names        =
 | citizenship        =
-| alma_mater         = [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]], (M.A. 1986, Religious Studies)
+| alma_mater         = [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]])
-| occupation         = Author, blogger
+| occupation         = {{hlist|Author|blogger}}
 | years_active       = 2002–present
 | employer           =
-| organization       = [[David Horowitz Freedom Center]]
+| organization       = {{hlist|[[David Horowitz Freedom Center]]|[[Stop Islamization of America]]}}
-| known_for          = [[Islamophobia|Anti-Muslim views]], books and ''[[Jihad Watch]]'' blog
+| known_for          = [[Islamophobia|Anti-Muslim]] views, ''[[Jihad Watch]]'', books
 }}
+'''Robert Bruce Spencer''' (born February 27, 1962)<ref>{{cite twitter|title=Very grateful to all who are wishing me happy birthday, may God bless you all, and thanks...|date=February 27, 2023|user=jihadwatchRS|number=1630266440002711552}}</ref><ref name="splc">{{Cite web|title=Robert Spencer|url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/robert-spencer|access-date=March 3, 2024|work=Southern Poverty Law Center}}</ref> is an American [[Islamophobia|anti-Muslim]]{{refn|name=anti-Muslim|Sources describing Spencer as ''anti-Muslim'' or ''Islamophobic'': <ref name="Ernst-book-Islamophobia-in-America">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kc-ceS7md6cC|url-access=limited|via=[[Google Books]]|title=Islamophobia in America: The Anatomy of Intolerance|year=2013|pages=4, 125–126, 163|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|doi=10.1057/9781137290076|isbn=978-1-137-32188-6|accessdate=20 February 2022|language=en|editor1-last=Ernst|editor1-first=Carl W.|editor-link=Carl W. Ernst|quote=Anti-Muslim activists like Terry Jones, Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, the Bible Believers, and the Westboro Baptist Church are drawn to Dearborn because they see it as an abomination, as a dangerous exception to the American norm. In fact, Dearborn is proof that an alternative American reality, one in which Islam is normal and Muslims enjoy political support, is possible and will become increasingly common in future.|archive-date=April 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408192936/https://books.google.com/books?id=Kc-ceS7md6cC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mariuma |first1=Yarden |title=Taqiyya as Polemic, Law and Knowledge: Following an Islamic Legal Term through the Worlds of Islamic Scholars, Ethnographers, Polemicists and Military Men |journal=The Muslim World |date=2014 |volume=104 |issue=1–2 |page=89 |doi=10.1111/muwo.12047 |access-date=20 February 2022 |publisher=[[Hartford International University]] |language=en |issn=1478-1913 |url=https://sarinusseibeh.com/files/courses/cornell/TaqiyyaasPolemicLawandKnowledge.pdf |quote=A concept whose meaning has varied significantly among Islamic sects, scholars, countries, and political regimes, it nevertheless is one of the key terms used by recent anti-Muslim polemicists such as Robert Spencer or Daniel Pipes, and has been used by US Prosecutors to explain terrorist behavior. |archive-date=February 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220231509/https://sarinusseibeh.com/files/courses/cornell/TaqiyyaasPolemicLawandKnowledge.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/right-wing-populism-in-europe-politics-and-discourse/|chapter-url=https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/right-wing-populism-in-europe-politics-and-discourse/ch6-hate-across-the-waters|first=Heidi|last=Beirich|editor1-first=Ruth|editor1-last=Wodak|editor1-link=Ruth Wodak|editor2-first=Majid|editor2-last=KhosraviNik|editor2-link=Majid KhosraviNik|editor3-first=Brigitte|editor3-last=Mral|editor3-link=Brigitte Mral|chapter=Hate Across the Waters: The Role of American Extremists in Fostering an International White Consciousness|title=Right-Wing Populism in Europe|doi=10.5040/9781472544940.ch-006|doi-access=free|year=2013|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]]|pages=90–92|language=en|access-date=July 12, 2019|quote=But the primary sources for the anti-Muslim propaganda that had helped give voice to Breivik's manifesto were American. The anti-Muslim author Robert Spencer, who runs the Jihad Watch website, was cited by Breivik 64 times in his manifesto and excerpted extensively. ‘About Islam I recommend essentially everything written by Robert Spencer', Breivik wrote, adding that Spencer should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (Lenz 2011).|archive-date=June 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625003811/https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/right-wing-populism-in-europe-politics-and-discourse/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mohideen |first1=H. |last2=Mohideen |first2=S. |title=The Language of Islamophobia in Internet Articles |journal=Intellectual Discourse |url=https://journals.iium.edu.my/intdiscourse/index.php/id/article/download/31/26 |access-date=20 February 2022 |date=30 June 2008 |volume=16 |issue=1 |page=76 |publisher=[[International Islamic University Malaysia]] |language=en |quote=Robert Spencer, a prolific Islamophobic writer, has gravely offended Muslims by describing the Holy Qur'ān as the jihadists ''Mein Kampf'', the book which embodies Hitler's fascist philosophy. |archive-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408193231/https://journals.iium.edu.my/intdiscourse/index.php/id/article/download/31/26 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Guimond |first1=Amy Melissa |title=Converting to Islam: Understanding the Experiences of White American Females |date=20 May 2017 |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |isbn=978-3-319-54250-8 |pages=61 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JNgoDwAAQBAJ |access-date=21 February 2022 |language=en |chapter=Islamophobia and the Talking Heads |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-54250-8_3 |chapter-url-access=subscription |url-access=limited |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-54250-8_3 |quote=Robert Spencer, a well-known Islamophobe, published five anti-Muslim books in the years following September 11 and, in the 7 years after the launch of his Islamophobic website, was earning an annual salary of $140,000.00 off of the profiteering of Islamophobic sentiments through his instant bestsellers. |archive-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408193309/https://books.google.com/books?id=JNgoDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cole |first1=Darnell |last2=Ahmadi |first2=Shafiqa |last3=Sanchez |first3=Mabel E. |title=Examining Muslim Student Experiences With Campus Insensitivity, Coercion, and Negative Interworldview Engagement |journal=Journal of College and Character |publisher=[[Routledge]] |date=1 November 2020 |volume=21 |issue=4 |page=302 |doi=10.1080/2194587X.2020.1822880 |s2cid=227249730 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/2194587X.2020.1822880 |access-date=21 February 2022 |issn=2194-587X |url-access=subscription |quote=Campus-supported events like the anti-Muslim speaker Robert Spencer, invited by the Stanford College Republicans, have also been linked to increases in discrimination and harassment aimed at Muslim students. Spencer is the director of the Muslim-bashing website Jihad Watch and the co-founder of Stop Islamization of America and the American Freedom Defense Initiative, which are both classified as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). |archive-date=February 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221001426/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/2194587X.2020.1822880 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="bail">{{Cite book|last=Bail|first=Christopher|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kl-BAAAQBAJ|title=Terrified: How Anti-Muslim Fringe Organizations Became Mainstream|date=21 December 2014|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=9780691173634|language=en|quote=Anti-Muslim bloggers Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller founded SIOA to protest the construction of the so-called Ground Zero Mosque, as the next section of this chapter describes. Yet even before this high-profile controversy, Spencer and Geller received modest notoriety for their anti-Muslim views.|access-date=21 February 2022|url-access=limited|archive-date=April 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408193508/https://books.google.com/books?id=5kl-BAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Anti-Muslim-speakers-Washingtonpost"/><ref name="BBC-US-bloggers-banned-from-UK"/><ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/us/04extreme.html|title=To Fight Radical Islam, U.S. Wants Muslim Allies|last=Shane|first=Scott|date=August 3, 2011|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=April 21, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002193127/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/us/04extreme.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/29/iowas-congressional-delegation-responds-trump-immigration-order/97221888/|first=Jason|last=Noble|title=Iowa's congressional delegation responds to Trump immigration order|website=[[Des Moines Register]]|language=en|access-date=July 12, 2019|archive-date=March 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323184708/https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/29/iowas-congressional-delegation-responds-trump-immigration-order/97221888/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Isaacs-Unz-American-Islamophobia">{{cite web |last1=Isaacs |first1=Arnold |title=American Islamophobia's Fake Facts |url=https://www.salon.com/2018/08/09/american-islamophobias-fake-facts |website=[[Salon.com|Salon]] |access-date=August 8, 2021 |date=August 9, 2018 |archive-date=August 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210808204318/https://www.salon.com/2018/08/09/american-islamophobias-fake-facts/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}} author and blogger, and one of the key figures of the [[counter-jihad]] movement.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j0LBDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22robert+spencer%22+%22counter-jihad%22&pg=PT190|title=Cumulative Extremism: A Comparative Historical Analysis|first=Alexander J.|last=Carter|page=190|year=2019|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9780429594526}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jfa2DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22robert+spencer%22+%22counter-jihad%22&pg=PT87|title=Liberal Roots of Far Right Activism: The Anti-Islamic Movement in the 21st Century|first=Lars Erik|last=Berntzen|page=87|year=2019|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781000707960}}</ref> Spencer founded and has directed the blog ''[[Jihad Watch]]'' since 2003. In 2010 he co-founded the organization [[Stop Islamization of America]] with [[Pamela Geller]].<ref name="KaplanLööw2017">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mxE4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT214|title=Lone Wolf and Autonomous Cell Terrorism|author1=Jeffrey Kaplan|author2=Heléne Lööw|author3=Leena Malkki|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2017|isbn=978-1-317-53042-8|page=214}}</ref>
+Three of Spencer's books reached [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' Best Seller list]].<ref name="splc" /> Reports that two of Spencer's books were listed in [[FBI]] training materials and that he had given seminars to various law enforcement units in the United States stirred controversy.<ref name="Anti-Muslim-speakers-Washingtonpost">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/anti-muslim-speakers-still-popular-in-law-enforcement-training/2014/03/12/bc8d8e30-aa1c-11e3-8a7b-c1c684e2671f_story.html|title=Anti-Muslim speakers still popular in law enforcement training|date=March 12, 2014|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318114828/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/anti-muslim-speakers-still-popular-in-law-enforcement-training/2014/03/12/bc8d8e30-aa1c-11e3-8a7b-c1c684e2671f_story.html|archive-date=March 18, 2017|url-status=live|access-date=September 10, 2017}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> In 2013, the [[UK Home Office]] barred Spencer from travel to the United Kingdom for three to five years for "making statements  that may foster hatred that might lead to inter-community violence".<ref name="BBC-US-bloggers-banned-from-UK"/> He has frequently appeared on [[Fox News]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/01/13/meet-the-extremists-who-lead-foxs-conversation/202119|title=Meet The Extremists Who Lead Fox's Conversation About Islam|date=January 13, 2015|work=[[Media Matters]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080539/https://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/01/13/meet-the-extremists-who-lead-foxs-conversation/202119|archive-date=February 11, 2017|url-status=live|access-date=February 10, 2017}}</ref>
-'''Robert Bruce Spencer''' (born 1962)<ref name="splc">{{Cite web|title=Robert Spencer|url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/robert-spencer|access-date=2020-08-25|website=Southern Poverty Law Center|language=en|archive-date=June 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601140218/https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/robert-spencer|url-status=live}}</ref> is an American anti-Muslim{{refn|name=anti-Muslim|<ref name="Ernst-book-Islamophobia-in-America">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kc-ceS7md6cC|url-access=limited|via=[[Google Books]]|title=Islamophobia in America: The Anatomy of Intolerance|year=2013|pages=4, 125–126, 163|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|doi=10.1057/9781137290076|isbn=978-1-137-32188-6|accessdate=20 February 2022|language=en|editor1-last=Ernst|editor1-first=Carl W.|editor-link=Carl W. Ernst|archive-date=April 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408192936/https://books.google.com/books?id=Kc-ceS7md6cC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mariuma |first1=Yarden |title=Taqiyya as Polemic, Law and Knowledge: Following an Islamic Legal Term through the Worlds of Islamic Scholars, Ethnographers, Polemicists and Military Men |journal=The Muslim World |date=2014 |volume=104 |issue=1–2 |page=89 |doi=10.1111/muwo.12047 |access-date=20 February 2022 |publisher=[[Hartford International University]] |language=en |issn=1478-1913 |url=https://sarinusseibeh.com/files/courses/cornell/TaqiyyaasPolemicLawandKnowledge.pdf |archive-date=February 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220231509/https://sarinusseibeh.com/files/courses/cornell/TaqiyyaasPolemicLawandKnowledge.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/right-wing-populism-in-europe-politics-and-discourse/|chapter-url=https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/right-wing-populism-in-europe-politics-and-discourse/ch6-hate-across-the-waters|first=Heidi|last=Beirich|editor1-first=Ruth|editor1-last=Wodak|editor1-link=Ruth Wodak|editor2-first=Majid|editor2-last=KhosraviNik|editor2-link=Majid KhosraviNik|editor3-first=Brigitte|editor3-last=Mral|editor3-link=Brigitte Mral|chapter=Hate Across the Waters: The Role of American Extremists in Fostering an International White Consciousness|title=Right-Wing Populism in Europe|doi=10.5040/9781472544940.ch-006|doi-access=free|year=2013|website=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]]|pages=90–92|language=en|access-date=July 12, 2019|archive-date=June 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625003811/https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/right-wing-populism-in-europe-politics-and-discourse/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mohideen |first1=H. |last2=Mohideen |first2=S. |title=The Language of Islamophobia in Internet Articles |journal=Intellectual Discourse |url=https://journals.iium.edu.my/intdiscourse/index.php/id/article/download/31/26 |access-date=20 February 2022 |date=30 June 2008 |volume=16 |issue=1 |page=76 |publisher=[[International Islamic University Malaysia]] |language=en|archive-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408193231/https://journals.iium.edu.my/intdiscourse/index.php/id/article/download/31/26 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Guimond |first1=Amy Melissa |title=Converting to Islam: Understanding the Experiences of White American Females |date=20 May 2017 |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |isbn=978-3-319-54250-8 |pages=61 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JNgoDwAAQBAJ |access-date=21 February 2022 |language=en |chapter=Islamophobia and the Talking Heads |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-54250-8_3 |chapter-url-access=subscription |url-access=limited |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-54250-8_3 |archive-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408193309/https://books.google.com/books?id=JNgoDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cole |first1=Darnell |last2=Ahmadi |first2=Shafiqa |last3=Sanchez |first3=Mabel E. |title=Examining Muslim Student Experiences With Campus Insensitivity, Coercion, and Negative Interworldview Engagement |journal=Journal of College and Character |publisher=[[Routledge]] |date=1 November 2020 |volume=21 |issue=4 |page=302 |doi=10.1080/2194587X.2020.1822880 |s2cid=227249730 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/2194587X.2020.1822880 |access-date=21 February 2022 |issn=2194-587X |url-access=subscription |archive-date=February 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221001426/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/2194587X.2020.1822880 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="bail">{{Cite book|last=Bail|first=Christopher|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kl-BAAAQBAJ|title=Terrified: How Anti-Muslim Fringe Organizations Became Mainstream|date=21 December 2014|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=9780691173634|language=en|access-date=21 February 2022|url-access=limited|archive-date=April 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408193508/https://books.google.com/books?id=5kl-BAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Anti-Muslim-speakers-Washingtonpost"/><ref name="BBC-US-bloggers-banned-from-UK"/><ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/us/04extreme.html|title=To Fight Radical Islam, U.S. Wants Muslim Allies|last=Shane|first=Scott|date=August 3, 2011|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=April 21, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002193127/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/us/04extreme.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/29/iowas-congressional-delegation-responds-trump-immigration-order/97221888/|first=Jason|last=Noble|title=Iowa's congressional delegation responds to Trump immigration order|website=[[Des Moines Register]]|language=en|access-date=July 12, 2019|archive-date=March 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323184708/https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/29/iowas-congressional-delegation-responds-trump-immigration-order/97221888/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Isaacs-Unz-American-Islamophobia">{{cite web |last1=Isaacs |first1=Arnold |title=American Islamophobia's Fake Facts |url=https://www.salon.com/2018/08/09/american-islamophobias-fake-facts |website=[[Salon.com|Salon]] |access-date=August 8, 2021 |date=August 9, 2018 |archive-date=August 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210808204318/https://www.salon.com/2018/08/09/american-islamophobias-fake-facts/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}} author and blogger, and one of the key figures of the [[counter-jihad movement]]. His published books include [[New York Times Best Seller list|''New York Times'' bestsellers]].
-Spencer founded and has directed the blog ''[[Jihad Watch]]'' since 2003. In 2010 he co-founded the organization [[Stop Islamization of America]] with [[Pamela Geller]].<ref name="KaplanLööw2017">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mxE4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT214|title=Lone Wolf and Autonomous Cell Terrorism|author1=Jeffrey Kaplan|author2=Heléne Lööw|author3=Leena Malkki|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2017|isbn=978-1-317-53042-8|page=214}}</ref> Reports that two of Spencer's books were listed in [[FBI]] training materials and that he had given seminars to various law enforcement units in the United States stirred controversy.<ref name="Anti-Muslim-speakers-Washingtonpost">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/anti-muslim-speakers-still-popular-in-law-enforcement-training/2014/03/12/bc8d8e30-aa1c-11e3-8a7b-c1c684e2671f_story.html|title=Anti-Muslim speakers still popular in law enforcement training|date=March 12, 2014|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318114828/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/anti-muslim-speakers-still-popular-in-law-enforcement-training/2014/03/12/bc8d8e30-aa1c-11e3-8a7b-c1c684e2671f_story.html|archive-date=March 18, 2017|url-status=live|access-date=September 10, 2017}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> He has frequently appeared on [[Fox News]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/01/13/meet-the-extremists-who-lead-foxs-conversation/202119|title=Meet The Extremists Who Lead Fox's Conversation About Islam|date=January 13, 2015|work=[[Media Matters]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080539/https://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/01/13/meet-the-extremists-who-lead-foxs-conversation/202119|archive-date=February 11, 2017|url-status=live|access-date=February 10, 2017}}</ref> In 2013, the [[UK Home Office]] barred Spencer from travel to the United Kingdom for three to five years for "making statements  that may foster hatred that might lead to inter-community violence".<ref name="BBC-US-bloggers-banned-from-UK"/>
 ==Background==
-Spencer was baptized in the [[Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch|Greek Orthodox Church]] and joined the [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church]] in 1984.<ref name="Spero News">{{cite news|url=http://www.speroforum.com/a/42470/Pope-must-condemn-demonizing-of-Israel|title=Pope must condemn demonizing of Israel|last=Spencer|first=Robert|date=October 26, 2010|work=Spero News|access-date=October 29, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029001117/http://www.speroforum.com/a/42470/Pope-must-condemn-demonizing-of-Israel|archive-date=October 29, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> Spencer has stated that, under the reign of President [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]], his grandparents were [[Persecution of Christians|forced to emigrate]] from an area that is now part of [[Turkey]] because they were [[Christians]].<ref name="lamb">{{cite web|url=http://www.c-span.org/video/?193778-1/qa-robert-spencer|date=August 20, 2006|title=Robert Spencer Jihad Watch, Director Q & A with Brian Lamb|publisher=[[C-SPAN]]|access-date=November 30, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109043825/http://www.c-span.org/video/?193778-1%2Fqa-robert-spencer|archive-date=November 9, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Spencer's father worked for [[Voice of America]] during the [[Cold War]], and in his younger days, Spencer himself worked at Revolution Books, a [[Maoist]] bookstore in [[New York City]] founded by [[Robert Avakian]].<ref name="Muhammad comes to">{{cite web|url=http://nymag.com/news/features/67635/index2.html|title=Muhammad Comes to Manhattan|work=New York|author=Mark Jacobson|date=August 22, 2010|access-date=November 1, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826065300/http://nymag.com/news/features/67635/index2.html|archive-date=August 26, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>
+Spencer was baptized in the [[Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch|Greek Orthodox Church]] and joined the [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church]] in 1984.<ref name="Spero News">{{cite news|url=http://www.speroforum.com/a/42470/Pope-must-condemn-demonizing-of-Israel|title=Pope must condemn demonizing of Israel|last=Spencer|first=Robert|date=October 26, 2010|work=Spero News|access-date=October 29, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029001117/http://www.speroforum.com/a/42470/Pope-must-condemn-demonizing-of-Israel|archive-date=October 29, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> Spencer has stated that, under the reign of President [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]], his grandparents were [[Population exchange between Greece and Turkey|forced to emigrate]] from an area that is now part of [[Turkey]] because they were Christians.<ref name="lamb">{{cite web|url=http://www.c-span.org/video/?193778-1/qa-robert-spencer|date=August 20, 2006|title=Robert Spencer Jihad Watch, Director Q & A with Brian Lamb|publisher=[[C-SPAN]]|access-date=November 30, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109043825/http://www.c-span.org/video/?193778-1%2Fqa-robert-spencer|archive-date=November 9, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Spencer's father worked for [[Voice of America]] during the [[Cold War]], and in his younger days, Spencer himself worked at Revolution Books, a [[Maoist]] bookstore in [[New York City]] founded by [[Robert Avakian]].<ref name="Muhammad comes to">{{cite web|url=http://nymag.com/news/features/67635/index2.html|title=Muhammad Comes to Manhattan|work=New York|author=Mark Jacobson|date=August 22, 2010|access-date=November 1, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826065300/http://nymag.com/news/features/67635/index2.html|archive-date=August 26, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>
 Spencer received an M.A. in 1986 in [[religious studies]] from the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]]. His masters thesis was on [[monophysitism]] and the [[history of the Catholic Church]].<ref name=UNC>{{cite web|url=http://webcat.lib.unc.edu/record=b2172870~S1|publisher=UNC-CH Libraries|work=Davis Library Thesis, Religion, 1986|title=The monophysite in the mirror, by Robert Bruce Spencer|access-date=March 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301144945/http://webcat.lib.unc.edu/record=b2172870~S1|archive-date=March 1, 2017|url-status=live|year=1986}}</ref>
-Spencer has been harshly criticized by several clergies of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] because of his views on Islam.<ref name=":3">{{cite web|url=https://www.crisismagazine.com/2018/robert-spencer-and-the-religion-of-terror|title=Robert Spencer and the Religion of Terror|work=Crisis Magazine|author=Jeffrey Rubin|date=October 25, 2018|access-date=October 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025120653/https://www.crisismagazine.com/2018/robert-spencer-and-the-religion-of-terror|archive-date=October 25, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2016, as a result of "personal reflection and historical study", Spencer returned to the Greek Orthodox Church.<ref>{{Cite tweet |user=jihadwatchRS |author=Robert Spencer |number=1269903323764850688 |date = 8 June 2020 |title=I did return to Orthodoxy, yes, but as the result of personal reflection and historical study.]}}</ref>
+Spencer has been harshly criticized by several clerics of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] because of his views on Islam.<ref name=":3">{{cite web|url=https://www.crisismagazine.com/2018/robert-spencer-and-the-religion-of-terror|title=Robert Spencer and the Religion of Terror|work=Crisis Magazine|author=Jeffrey Rubin|date=October 25, 2018|access-date=October 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025120653/https://www.crisismagazine.com/2018/robert-spencer-and-the-religion-of-terror|archive-date=October 25, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2016, as a result of "personal reflection and historical study", Spencer returned to the Greek Orthodox Church.<ref>{{Cite tweet |user=jihadwatchRS |author=Robert Spencer |number=1269903323764850688 |date = 8 June 2020 |title=I did return to Orthodoxy, yes, but as the result of personal reflection and historical study.]}}</ref>
-==Activities==
+==Activities and writings==
-Spencer has been studying Islamic theology, law, and history since 1980, but his publications on Islam and Muslims have not undergone academic [[peer review]]. They have been published by publishing houses that specialize in the writings of political conservatives, mostly [[Regnery Publishing]] or [[Bombardier Books]].<ref name="Let’s talk about Robert Spencer">{{Cite web|title=Let's talk about Robert Spencer|date=November 9, 2017|url=https://www.stanforddaily.com/2017/11/09/lets-talk-about-robert-spencer/|access-date=December 14, 2021|archive-date=December 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214233618/https://www.stanforddaily.com/2017/11/09/lets-talk-about-robert-spencer/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://trib.com/news/local/article_2428fa7c-c843-561b-80ac-b243218b92be.html |title=Marines gather to honor, celebrate |publisher=Trib.com |date=October 26, 2005 |access-date=November 1, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908021137/http://trib.com/news/local/article_2428fa7c-c843-561b-80ac-b243218b92be.html |archive-date=September 8, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> He worked in think tanks for more than 20 years,<ref name="Muhammad comes to"/> and in 2002–2003 was an adjunct fellow with the [[Free Congress Research and Education Foundation|Free Congress Foundation]].<ref name="tribute">{{cite web|url=http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=31171|title=A Tribute: Paul Weyrich Has Died|date=December 19, 2008|access-date=December 16, 2010|author=Robert Spencer|publisher=Catholic Online|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309161405/http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=31171|archive-date=March 9, 2009}}</ref>
+Spencer has been studying Islamic theology, law, and history since 1980, but his publications on Islam and Muslims have not undergone academic [[peer review]]. They have been published by publishing houses that specialize in the writings of political conservatives, mostly [[Regnery Publishing]] or [[Bombardier Books]].<ref name="Let's talk about Robert Spencer">{{Cite web|title=Let's talk about Robert Spencer|date=November 9, 2017|url=https://www.stanforddaily.com/2017/11/09/lets-talk-about-robert-spencer/|access-date=December 14, 2021|archive-date=December 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214233618/https://www.stanforddaily.com/2017/11/09/lets-talk-about-robert-spencer/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://trib.com/news/local/article_2428fa7c-c843-561b-80ac-b243218b92be.html |title=Marines gather to honor, celebrate |publisher=Trib.com |date=October 26, 2005 |access-date=November 1, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908021137/http://trib.com/news/local/article_2428fa7c-c843-561b-80ac-b243218b92be.html |archive-date=September 8, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> He worked in think tanks for more than 20 years,<ref name="Muhammad comes to"/> and in 2002–2003 was an adjunct fellow with the [[Free Congress Research and Education Foundation|Free Congress Foundation]].<ref name="tribute">{{cite web|url=http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=31171|title=A Tribute: Paul Weyrich Has Died|date=December 19, 2008|access-date=December 16, 2010|author=Robert Spencer|publisher=Catholic Online|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309161405/http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=31171|archive-date=March 9, 2009}}</ref>
-A 2010 investigative report by ''[[The Tennessean]]'' described Spencer as one of several individuals who "cash in on spreading hate and fear about Islam." The ''Tennessean'' investigation concluded: "IRS filings from 2008 show that Robert Spencer earned $132,537 from the [[David Horowitz Freedom Center]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101024/NEWS01/10240374/Anti-Muslim-crusaders-make-millions-spreading-fear|title=Anti-Muslim crusaders make millions spreading fear|website=[[The Tennessean]]|date=October 24, 2010|access-date=November 4, 2010|archive-date=February 3, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.ph/20130203123032/http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101024/NEWS01/10240374/Anti-Muslim-crusaders-make-millions-spreading-fear?nclick_check=1|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tennessean.com/assets/pdf/DN1658821023.PDF|title=David Horowitz Freedom Center's IRS Form 990|website=[[The Tennessean]]|date=June 3, 2009|access-date=April 24, 2011}}</ref> Spencer has also written for ''[[Breitbart News]]''.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bq-IDwAAQBAJ|title=Soldiers of a Different God: How the Counter-Jihad Movement Created Mayhem, Murder and the Trump Presidency|date=15 August 2018|work=Amberley Publishing|isbn=9781445678009 |last1=Othen |first1=Christopher |page=275|publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited }}</ref>
+A 2010 investigative report by ''[[The Tennessean]]'' described Spencer as one of several individuals who "cash in on spreading hate and fear about Islam." The ''Tennessean'' investigation concluded: "IRS filings from 2008 show that Robert Spencer earned $132,537 from the [[David Horowitz Freedom Center]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101024/NEWS01/10240374/Anti-Muslim-crusaders-make-millions-spreading-fear|title=Anti-Muslim crusaders make millions spreading fear|website=[[The Tennessean]]|date=October 24, 2010|access-date=November 4, 2010|archive-date=February 3, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130203123032/http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101024/NEWS01/10240374/Anti-Muslim-crusaders-make-millions-spreading-fear?nclick_check=1|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tennessean.com/assets/pdf/DN1658821023.PDF|title=David Horowitz Freedom Center's IRS Form 990|website=[[The Tennessean]]|date=June 3, 2009|access-date=April 24, 2011}}</ref> In addition to being the editor for the David Horowitz Freedom Center's ''Jihad Watch'' blog, Spencer has also written for ''[[Breitbart News]]'',<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bq-IDwAAQBAJ|title=Soldiers of a Different God: How the Counter-Jihad Movement Created Mayhem, Murder and the Trump Presidency|date=15 August 2018|isbn=9781445678009 |last1=Othen |first1=Christopher |page=275|publisher=Amberley }}</ref> and has been a columnist for ''[[Human Events]]'', ''[[PJ Media]]'' and ''[[FrontPage Magazine]]''.<ref name="splc"/><ref name="spencer">{{cite web|url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Robert-Spencer/70779919|title=Robert Spencer|work=Simon & Schuster|accessdate=August 26, 2023}}</ref>
-Spencer co-founded the anti-Muslim{{refn|<ref name="Anti-Muslim-speakers-Washingtonpost"/><ref name="Isaacs-Unz-American-Islamophobia"/><ref name="Ernst-book-Islamophobia-in-America"/><ref name="BBC-US-bloggers-banned-from-UK" />}} group [[Stop Islamization of America]] (also known as the American Freedom Defense Initiative) with Pamela Geller in 2010. The organization is designated as a "hate group" by the [[Anti-Defamation League]]<ref>[http://www.adl.org/main_Extremism/sioa.htm "Backgrounder: Stop Islamization of America (SIOA)"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502054200/http://www.adl.org/main_Extremism/sioa.htm |date=May 2, 2012 }}. ''Extremism''. [[Anti-Defamation League]]. March 25, 2011 [August 26, 2010]. Retrieved February 16, 2012.</ref> and the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Lach, Eric|date=March 1, 2011|work=[[Talking Points Memo]]|url=http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/pam_geller_on_splc_hate_group_label_badge_of_honor.php|title=Pam Geller On 'Hate Group' Label: 'A Badge of Honor'|access-date=February 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313082234/http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/pam_geller_on_splc_hate_group_label_badge_of_honor.php|archive-date=March 13, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Pamela Geller & Stop Islamization of America|url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/profiles/pamela-geller|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center|access-date=June 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110625194540/http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/profiles/pamela-geller|archive-date=June 25, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Steinback|first=Robert|title=Jihad Against Islam|url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2011/summer/jihad-against-islam|work=Intelligence Report, Issue #142|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center|access-date=June 27, 2011|date=Summer 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119075935/http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2011/summer/jihad-against-islam|archive-date=January 19, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Together with Geller he led a campaign to stop the building of [[Park51]], an Islamic community center near the World Trade Center, which they referred to as the "Ground Zero Mosque".<ref name=":0" />
+Spencer co-founded the anti-Muslim group [[Stop Islamization of America]] (also known as the American Freedom Defense Initiative) with Pamela Geller in 2010. The organization is designated as a "hate group" by the [[Anti-Defamation League]]<ref>[http://www.adl.org/main_Extremism/sioa.htm "Backgrounder: Stop Islamization of America (SIOA)"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502054200/http://www.adl.org/main_Extremism/sioa.htm |date=May 2, 2012 }}. ''Extremism''. [[Anti-Defamation League]]. March 25, 2011 [August 26, 2010]. Retrieved February 16, 2012.</ref> and the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Lach, Eric|date=March 1, 2011|work=[[Talking Points Memo]]|url=http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/pam_geller_on_splc_hate_group_label_badge_of_honor.php|title=Pam Geller On 'Hate Group' Label: 'A Badge of Honor'|access-date=February 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313082234/http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/pam_geller_on_splc_hate_group_label_badge_of_honor.php|archive-date=March 13, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Pamela Geller & Stop Islamization of America|url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/profiles/pamela-geller|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center|access-date=June 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110625194540/http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/profiles/pamela-geller|archive-date=June 25, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Steinback|first=Robert|title=Jihad Against Islam|url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2011/summer/jihad-against-islam|work=Intelligence Report, Issue #142|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center|access-date=June 27, 2011|date=Summer 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119075935/http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2011/summer/jihad-against-islam|archive-date=January 19, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Together with Geller he led a campaign to stop the building of [[Park51]], an Islamic community center near the World Trade Center, which they referred to as the "Ground Zero Mosque",<ref name=":0" /> claiming that imam [[Feisal Abdul Rauf]] planned to build a "victory mosque" to celebrate the destruction of the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] in the [[September 11 attacks]].<ref name="splc"/>
+===Ban from entering the UK===
 On June 26, 2013, both Spencer and Pamela Geller were banned from entering the UK.<ref name="BBC-US-bloggers-banned-from-UK">{{cite news|title=US bloggers banned from entering UK|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23064355|access-date=June 27, 2013|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=June 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627011447/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23064355|archive-date=June 27, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> They were due to speak at an [[English Defence League]] march in [[Woolwich]], south London, where Drummer [[Murder of Lee Rigby|Lee Rigby was killed]] by an Islamist. Home Secretary [[Theresa May]] informed Spencer and Geller that their presence in the UK would "not be conducive to the public good".<ref>{{cite news|last=Rawlinson|first=Kevin|title=Anti-Ground Zero Mosque campaigners Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer barred from entering Britain to speak at an EDL rally|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/antiground-zero-mosque-campaigners-pamela-geller-and-robert-spencer-barred-from-entering-britain-to-speak-at-an-edl-rally-8675251.html|access-date=June 27, 2013|newspaper=The Independent|date=June 26, 2013|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627192049/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/antiground-zero-mosque-campaigners-pamela-geller-and-robert-spencer-barred-from-entering-britain-to-speak-at-an-edl-rally-8675251.html|archive-date=June 27, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> A letter from the UK Home Office stated that this decision is based on Spencer's statement that Islam "is a religion or a belief system that mandates warfare against unbelievers for the purpose of establishing a societal model that is absolutely incompatible with Western society. ...Because of media and general government unwillingness to face the sources of Islamic terrorism, these things remain largely unknown."<ref>{{cite video|title=The Speech that Got Robert Spencer Banned From the UK|publisher=[[YouTube]]|date=June 27, 2013|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHdUgc6gxDI|access-date=December 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202053606/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhdugc6gxdi|archive-date=February 2, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The decision<!-- ", which they cannot appeal,"-it was appealed in 2015-see below--> was to stand for between three and five years. The ban followed a concerted campaign by the UK anti-racism organization [[Hope not Hate]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Anti-Muslim pair banned from UK|url=http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/410494/Anti-Muslim-pair-banned-from-UK|access-date=June 27, 2013|newspaper=Daily Express|location=UK|date=June 26, 2013|archive-date=June 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630215027/http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/410494/Anti-Muslim-pair-banned-from-UK|url-status=live}}</ref> which said it had collected 26,000 signatures for a petition to the Home Secretary.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lowles|first=Nick|title=Geller and Spencer Banned|url=http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/blog/article/2803/geller-and-spencer-banned|publisher=Hope not Hate|access-date=June 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630023715/http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/blog/article/2803/geller-and-spencer-banned|archive-date=June 30, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Spencer and Geller contested the ban, but in 2015 the [[British Court of Appeals]] dismissed the appeal, arguing  that "this was a public order case where the police had advised that significant public disorder and serious violence might ensue from the proposed visit."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cgi?doc=/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2015/45.html&query=geller&method=boolean | title=Geller & Anor, R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWCA Civ 45 (05 February 2015) | publisher=[[British and Irish Legal Information Institute]] | access-date=October 31, 2017 | archive-date=July 9, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709161147/http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cgi?doc=/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2015/45.html&query=geller&method=boolean | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="UK Human Rights Blog">{{cite web | url=https://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2015/02/15/critics-of-islam-prevented-from-entering-uk-to-attend-lee-rigby-rally/ | title=Critics of Islam prevented from entering UK to attend Lee Rigby rally | publisher=1 Crown Office Row | work=UK Human Rights Blog | date=February 15, 2015 | access-date=October 31, 2017 | author=English, Rosalind | archive-date=January 21, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121210006/https://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2015/02/15/critics-of-islam-prevented-from-entering-uk-to-attend-lee-rigby-rally/ | url-status=live }}</ref>
-The ban was criticized by author [[Douglas Murray (author)|Douglas Murray]]. He has stated his belief that because [[Islamist|Islamic supremacist]] hate preachers were and are still allowed to enter the UK, and because what Geller and Spencer say is much less objectionable than the views and statements of extremist Muslim clerics such as Muhammad al-Arefe (who was allowed to enter the UK shortly before Spencer and Geller were banned), the ban is unjust.<ref>{{cite news|title=A gross double standard over hate speech|url=http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2013/06/a-gross-double-standard-over-hate-speech/|access-date=February 8, 2017|newspaper=[[The Spectator]]|location=UK|date=June 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114143645/http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2013/06/a-gross-double-standard-over-hate-speech/|archive-date=November 14, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
+The ban was criticized by author [[Douglas Murray (author)|Douglas Murray]]. He has stated his belief that because [[Islamist|Islamic supremacist]] hate preachers were and are still allowed to enter the UK, and because what Geller and Spencer say is much less objectionable than the views and statements of extremist Muslim clerics such as Muhammad al-Arefe (who was allowed to enter the UK shortly before Spencer and Geller were banned), the ban is unjust.<ref>{{cite news|title=A gross double standard over hate speech|url=http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2013/06/a-gross-double-standard-over-hate-speech/|access-date=February 8, 2017|newspaper=[[The Spectator]]|location=UK|date=June 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114143645/http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2013/06/a-gross-double-standard-over-hate-speech/|archive-date=November 14, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Spencer responded to the ban by stating that the UK had become a "de facto Islamic state".<ref name="splc"/>
-The government of Pakistan banned Spencer's book, ''[[The Truth About Muhammad]]'', in 2016, citing "objectionable material" as the cause.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.nationalreview.com/phi-beta-cons/45068/pakistan-book-closed-muhammad-candace-de-russy |title= Pakistan: Book Closed on Muhammad |website= [[National Review]] |access-date= April 19, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150612204845/http://www.nationalreview.com/phi-beta-cons/45068/pakistan-book-closed-muhammad-candace-de-russy |archive-date= June 12, 2015 |url-status= live |date= January 9, 2007 }}</ref> His book ''[[Onward Muslim Soldiers]]'' was banned in Malaysia in 2007.<ref name="BERNAMA">{{cite news|title=Ministry Bans 14 Books|url=http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/printable.php?id=272915|newspaper=[[BERNAMA]]|date=July 12, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221210/http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/printable.php?id=272915|archive-date=March 3, 2016}}</ref>
+The government of Pakistan previously banned Spencer's book, ''[[The Truth About Muhammad]]'', in 2007, citing "objectionable material" as the cause.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.nationalreview.com/phi-beta-cons/45068/pakistan-book-closed-muhammad-candace-de-russy |title= Pakistan: Book Closed on Muhammad |website= [[National Review]] |access-date= April 19, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150612204845/http://www.nationalreview.com/phi-beta-cons/45068/pakistan-book-closed-muhammad-candace-de-russy |archive-date= June 12, 2015 |url-status= live |date= January 9, 2007 }}</ref> His book ''[[Onward Muslim Soldiers]]'' was banned in Malaysia the same year.<ref name="BERNAMA">{{cite news|title=Ministry Bans 14 Books|url=http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/printable.php?id=272915|newspaper=[[BERNAMA]]|date=July 12, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221210/http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/printable.php?id=272915|archive-date=March 3, 2016}}</ref>
+===Speaking engagements===
-On April 13, 2017, Spencer spoke at [[Truman State University]] despite protests and a petition against him. He was invited by the [[Young America's Foundation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/truman-state-grapples-with-controversial-anti-muslim-speaker/article_138f0acd-bd84-59e1-890e-d921a1ec6ee2.html|title=Truman State grapples with controversial anti-Muslim speaker|date=April 11, 2017 |publisher=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|access-date=May 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424121832/http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/truman-state-grapples-with-controversial-anti-muslim-speaker/article_138f0acd-bd84-59e1-890e-d921a1ec6ee2.html|archive-date=April 24, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> On May 1, 2017, Spencer spoke at the [[University of Buffalo]]. There he was shouted down and heckled.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://buffalonews.com/2017/05/01/controversial-speaker-ub-shouted-heckled/|title=No violence, but UB speaker greeted with tension, heckling|publisher=The Buffalo News|access-date=May 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170502134727/http://buffalonews.com/2017/05/01/controversial-speaker-ub-shouted-heckled/|archive-date=May 2, 2017|url-status=live|date=May 2, 2017}}</ref> On May 3, 2017, Spencer spoke at [[Gettysburg College]]; 375 alumni urged the college president [[Janet Morgan Riggs]] to cancel the speech, but the event went on as planned.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://gettysburgian.com/2017/05/open-letter-from-375-alums-urges-president-riggs-to-cancel-robert-spencers-speech/|title=Open letter from 375 alums urges President Riggs to cancel Robert Spencer's speech|date=May 1, 2017|newspaper=[[The Gettysburgian]]|access-date=May 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170503155217/http://gettysburgian.com/2017/05/open-letter-from-375-alums-urges-president-riggs-to-cancel-robert-spencers-speech/|archive-date=May 3, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Spencer said, "There is one kind of diversity that is not valued generally in an academic setting and that is intellectual diversity."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://gettysburgian.com/2017/05/robert-spencers-speech-at-gettysburg-college-engages-students-in-civil-discourse/|title=Robert Spencer's speech at Gettysburg College engages students in civil discourse|author=Pontz, Benjamin|date=May 3, 2017|newspaper=The Gettysburgian|access-date=May 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504173030/http://gettysburgian.com/2017/05/robert-spencers-speech-at-gettysburg-college-engages-students-in-civil-discourse/|archive-date=May 4, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> On November 14, 2017, Spencer spoke at [[Stanford University]]. Many students walked out during the event.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Stanford-Students-Walk-Out-Protest-During-Robert-Spencer-Speaking-Event-457635203.html|title=Stanford Students Walk Out, Protest During Robert Spencer Speaking Event|date=November 15, 2017 |publisher=NBC Bay Area|access-date=November 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117001808/https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Stanford-Students-Walk-Out-Protest-During-Robert-Spencer-Speaking-Event-457635203.html|archive-date=November 17, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
+[[File:"Is Islam Globally Waxing or Waning" with Robert Spencer - MEF Podcast Ep. 10.webm|thumb|Spencer as guest of a [[webinar]] by the [[Middle East Forum]] in 2020]]
+Spencer spoke at [[Truman State University]] in April 2017 despite protests and a petition against him, having been invited by the [[Young America's Foundation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/truman-state-grapples-with-controversial-anti-muslim-speaker/article_138f0acd-bd84-59e1-890e-d921a1ec6ee2.html|title=Truman State grapples with controversial anti-Muslim speaker|date=April 11, 2017 |publisher=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|access-date=May 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424121832/http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/truman-state-grapples-with-controversial-anti-muslim-speaker/article_138f0acd-bd84-59e1-890e-d921a1ec6ee2.html|archive-date=April 24, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> He spoke at the [[University of Buffalo]] in May the same year, where he was shouted down and heckled.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://buffalonews.com/2017/05/01/controversial-speaker-ub-shouted-heckled/|title=No violence, but UB speaker greeted with tension, heckling|publisher=The Buffalo News|access-date=May 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170502134727/http://buffalonews.com/2017/05/01/controversial-speaker-ub-shouted-heckled/|archive-date=May 2, 2017|url-status=live|date=May 2, 2017}}</ref> He also spoke at [[Gettysburg College]] two days later; 375 alumni urged the college president [[Janet Morgan Riggs]] to cancel the speech, but the event went on as planned.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://gettysburgian.com/2017/05/open-letter-from-375-alums-urges-president-riggs-to-cancel-robert-spencers-speech/|title=Open letter from 375 alums urges President Riggs to cancel Robert Spencer's speech|date=May 1, 2017|newspaper=[[The Gettysburgian]]|access-date=May 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170503155217/http://gettysburgian.com/2017/05/open-letter-from-375-alums-urges-president-riggs-to-cancel-robert-spencers-speech/|archive-date=May 3, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Spencer said, "There is one kind of diversity that is not valued generally in an academic setting and that is intellectual diversity."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://gettysburgian.com/2017/05/robert-spencers-speech-at-gettysburg-college-engages-students-in-civil-discourse/|title=Robert Spencer's speech at Gettysburg College engages students in civil discourse|author=Pontz, Benjamin|date=May 3, 2017|newspaper=The Gettysburgian|access-date=May 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504173030/http://gettysburgian.com/2017/05/robert-spencers-speech-at-gettysburg-college-engages-students-in-civil-discourse/|archive-date=May 4, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Spencer spoke at [[Stanford University]] in November 2017, during which many students walked out.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Stanford-Students-Walk-Out-Protest-During-Robert-Spencer-Speaking-Event-457635203.html|title=Stanford Students Walk Out, Protest During Robert Spencer Speaking Event|date=November 15, 2017 |publisher=NBC Bay Area|access-date=November 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117001808/https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Stanford-Students-Walk-Out-Protest-During-Robert-Spencer-Speaking-Event-457635203.html|archive-date=November 17, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
-Spencer has claimed that "a young Icelandic Leftist" poisoned him in 2017 in Reykjavik, Iceland.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://icelandmag.is/article/controversial-us-author-robert-spencer-claims-he-was-poisoned-leftist-while-iceland | title=Controversial US author Robert Spencer claims he was poisoned by "leftist" while in Iceland | access-date=December 19, 2019 | archive-date=October 24, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024113848/https://icelandmag.is/article/controversial-us-author-robert-spencer-claims-he-was-poisoned-leftist-while-iceland | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = https://grapevine.is/news/2017/05/16/islamophobe-robert-spencer-claims-young-leftist-poisoned-him/|title = Islamophobe Robert Spencer Claims Young Leftist Poisoned Him|date = May 16, 2017|access-date = December 19, 2019|archive-date = August 6, 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190806232556/https://grapevine.is/news/2017/05/16/islamophobe-robert-spencer-claims-young-leftist-poisoned-him/|url-status = live}}</ref>
+Spencer has claimed that "a young Icelandic Leftist" poisoned him in 2017 in Reykjavik, Iceland, after a speaking event where he warned Icelanders of the dangers of "the impact of Islam" on Icelandic society.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://icelandmag.is/article/controversial-us-author-robert-spencer-claims-he-was-poisoned-leftist-while-iceland | title=Controversial US author Robert Spencer claims he was poisoned by "leftist" while in Iceland | access-date=December 19, 2019 | archive-date=October 24, 2020 | work= Iceland Magazine| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024113848/https://icelandmag.is/article/controversial-us-author-robert-spencer-claims-he-was-poisoned-leftist-while-iceland | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = https://grapevine.is/news/2017/05/16/islamophobe-robert-spencer-claims-young-leftist-poisoned-him/|title = Islamophobe Robert Spencer Claims Young Leftist Poisoned Him|date = May 16, 2017|access-date = December 19, 2019|archive-date = August 6, 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190806232556/https://grapevine.is/news/2017/05/16/islamophobe-robert-spencer-claims-young-leftist-poisoned-him/|url-status = live}}</ref> A medical report indicated he had been given [[MDMA]] and [[amphetamines]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dv.is/frettir/2017/05/16/spencer-var-byrlud-e-tafla-sjadu-laeknaskyrsluna/|title=Spencer var byrluð e-tafla: Sjáðu læknaskýrsluna|date=May 16, 2017|work=DV|language=Icelandic}}</ref>
+Spencer became a senior fellow of [[Frank Gaffney]]'s [[Center for Security Policy]] in 2020, after years of consultations with the group. He is also a frequent guest on Gaffney's Secure Freedom Radio and Securing America TV.<ref name="splc"/>
 ==Influence and criticism==
-Spencer is known for his anti-Muslim views.<ref name="anti-Muslim" /> He comments on [[radical Islam]], [[Islamic extremism]], [[Islamic terrorism]], and [[Islamism|Islamic supremacism]].<ref name="Deland 2014 p. 162">{{cite book|title=In the Tracks of Breivik: Far Right Networks in Northern and Eastern Europe|last=Deland|first=Mats|publisher=Lit Verlag|year=2014|isbn=978-3-643-90542-0|location=Berlin Wien|page=162}}</ref> His main thesis is that [[Islam]] is an [[Islam and violence|inherently violent religion]], and that extremists who commit acts of terror are simply following Islam's most authentic version.<ref name="splc"/> According to author Todd H. Green, Spencer's commentary on Islam has been regarded as "hav[ing] made a huge impact on the misinformation about Islam that circulates so freely on the Internet, in the media, and in political circles."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Green|first=Todd H.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2sSHDwAAQBAJ|title=The Fear of Islam, Second Edition: An Introduction to Islamophobia in the West|publisher=Fortress Press|year=2019|isbn=978-1-5064-5045-2|pages=206|language=en}}</ref>
+Spencer is known for his anti-Muslim views. He comments on [[radical Islam]], [[Islamic extremism]], [[Islamic terrorism]], and [[Islamism|Islamic supremacism]].<ref name="Deland 2014 p. 162">{{cite book|title=In the Tracks of Breivik: Far Right Networks in Northern and Eastern Europe|last=Deland|first=Mats|publisher=Lit Verlag|year=2014|isbn=978-3-643-90542-0|location=Berlin Wien|page=162}}</ref> His main thesis is that [[Islam]] is an [[Islam and violence|inherently violent religion]], and that extremists who commit acts of terror are simply following Islam's most authentic version.<ref name="splc"/> According to author Todd H. Green, Spencer's commentary on Islam has been regarded as "hav[ing] made a huge impact on the misinformation about Islam that circulates so freely on the Internet, in the media, and in political circles."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Green|first=Todd H.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2sSHDwAAQBAJ|title=The Fear of Islam, Second Edition: An Introduction to Islamophobia in the West|publisher=Fortress Press|year=2019|isbn=978-1-5064-5045-2|pages=206|language=en}}</ref>
-Spencer's 2008 book ''Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs'' has been seen to have developed one of the most important ideas of the counter-jihad, namely the "stealth jihad" idea that "terrorists aren’t America’s real Muslim problem", writing that "distracted by foreign wars and the prospect of domestic terror attacks, Americans pay little heed to the true agents of intolerance in their midst", namely the [[Muslim Brotherhood]] and its alleged offshoots such as [[Council on American-Islamic Relations|CAIR]] and [[Muslim Public Affairs Council|MPAC]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/world/2017/2/13/14559822/trump-islam-muslims-islamophobia-sharia|title=Trump's counter-jihad|date=February 13, 2017|work=Vox|last=Beauchamp|first=Zack|access-date=November 30, 2022|archive-date=June 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608051716/https://www.vox.com/world/2017/2/13/14559822/trump-islam-muslims-islamophobia-sharia|url-status=live}}</ref>
+Spencer's 2008 book ''Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs'' has been seen to have developed one of the most important ideas of the counter-jihad, namely the "stealth jihad" idea that "terrorists aren't America's real Muslim problem", writing that "distracted by foreign wars and the prospect of domestic terror attacks, Americans pay little heed to the true agents of intolerance in their midst", namely the [[Muslim Brotherhood]] and its alleged American offshoots such as the [[Council on American-Islamic Relations]] (CAIR) and [[Muslim Public Affairs Council]] (MPAC).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/world/2017/2/13/14559822/trump-islam-muslims-islamophobia-sharia|title=Trump's counter-jihad|date=February 13, 2017|work=Vox|last=Beauchamp|first=Zack|access-date=November 30, 2022|archive-date=June 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608051716/https://www.vox.com/world/2017/2/13/14559822/trump-islam-muslims-islamophobia-sharia|url-status=live}}</ref>
+The perpetrator of the [[2011 Norway attacks]], [[Anders Behring Breivik]], cited Robert Spencer 64 times in his manifesto and wrote of him: "About Islam I recommend essentially everything written by Robert Spencer."<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gardell|first=Mattias|date=January 1, 2014|title=Crusader Dreams: Oslo 22/7, Islamophobia, and the Quest for a Monocultural Europe|journal=Terrorism and Political Violence|volume=26|issue=1|pages=129–155|doi=10.1080/09546553.2014.849930|s2cid=144489939|issn=0954-6553}}</ref> Spencer condemned Breivik and said he was unfairly blamed by the media for the attack,<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/25/us/25debate.html|title=Killings in Norway Spotlight Anti-Muslim Thought in U.S.|last=Shane|first=Scott|date=July 24, 2011|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 12, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 18, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918090725/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/25/us/25debate.html|url-status=live}}</ref> likening it to [[Charles Manson]] drawing inspiration from [[The Beatles]].<ref name="splc"/> Breivik has later admitted that he has been a neo-Nazi since the early 1990s, who only in later years exploited counter-jihad writings.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nettavisen.no/artikkel/breivik-jeg-leste-hitlers-mein-kampf-da-jeg-var-14-ar/s/12-95-3423203669|title=Breivik: - Jeg leste Hitlers Mein Kampf da jeg var 14 år |date=16 March 2016|work=Nettavisen|language=no}}</ref>
-In July 2011, ''[[Wired (Magazine)|Wired]]'' reported that two of Spencer's books were listed in [[FBI]] training materials. Both ''[[The Truth About Muhammad]]'' and ''The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam'' were recommended for agents hoping to better understand Islam.<ref name=":1">{{cite magazine|author=Ackerman, Spencer|date=July 27, 2011|magazine=[[Wired (Magazine)|Wired]]|url=https://www.wired.com/2011/07/fbi-islam-101-guide/|title=FBI 'Islam 101' Guide Depicted Muslims as 7th-Century Simpletons|access-date=November 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204011823/https://www.wired.com/2011/07/fbi-islam-101-guide/|archive-date=December 4, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
+In July 2011, ''[[Wired (Magazine)|Wired]]'' magazine reported that two of Spencer's books were listed in [[FBI]] training materials. Both ''[[The Truth About Muhammad]]'' and ''The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam'' were recommended for agents hoping to better understand Islam.<ref name=":1">{{cite magazine|author=Ackerman, Spencer|date=July 27, 2011|magazine=[[Wired (Magazine)|Wired]]|url=https://www.wired.com/2011/07/fbi-islam-101-guide/|title=FBI 'Islam 101' Guide Depicted Muslims as 7th-Century Simpletons|access-date=November 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204011823/https://www.wired.com/2011/07/fbi-islam-101-guide/|archive-date=December 4, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> His books were later dropped from federal training programs.<ref name="splc"/>
-The perpetrator of the [[2011 Norway attacks]], [[Anders Behring Breivik]], cited Robert Spencer 64 times in his manifesto and wrote of him: "About Islam I recommend essentially everything written by Robert Spencer."<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gardell|first=Mattias|date=January 1, 2014|title=Crusader Dreams: Oslo 22/7, Islamophobia, and the Quest for a Monocultural Europe|journal=Terrorism and Political Violence|volume=26|issue=1|pages=129–155|doi=10.1080/09546553.2014.849930|s2cid=144489939|issn=0954-6553}}</ref> Spencer condemned Breivik and said he was unfairly blamed by the media for the attack.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/25/us/25debate.html|title=Killings in Norway Spotlight Anti-Muslim Thought in U.S.|last=Shane|first=Scott|date=July 24, 2011|work=The New York Times|access-date=July 12, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 18, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918090725/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/25/us/25debate.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Breivik has later admitted that he has long been a neo-Nazi who only in later years exploited counter-jihad writings.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nettavisen.no/artikkel/breivik-jeg-leste-hitlers-mein-kampf-da-jeg-var-14-ar/s/12-95-3423203669|title=Breivik: - Jeg leste Hitlers Mein Kampf da jeg var 14 år |date=16 March 2016|work=Nettavisen|language=no}}</ref>
-Spencer released a book in 2021, ''Islamophobia and The Threat to Free Speech'', in which he argued that America and the larger Western world was primed and prepared to surrender its free speech under the threat of “Islamophobia”.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Robert Spencer's latest book, Islamophobia and the Threat to Free Speech, is now available|url=https://news-block.com/robert-spencers-latest-book-islamophobia-and-the-threat-to-free-speech-is-now-available/|url-status=dead|access-date=July 8, 2021|archive-date=October 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023014845/https://news-block.com/robert-spencers-latest-book-islamophobia-and-the-threat-to-free-speech-is-now-available/}}</ref>
 ==Bibliography==
+* {{cite book|title=Empire of God: How the Byzantines Saved Civilization|year=2023|publisher=Bombardier|isbn=978-1637587423}}
 * {{cite book|title=The Sumter Gambit: How the Left Is Trying to Foment a Civil War|year=2023|publisher=Bombardier|isbn=978-1637585320}}
 * {{cite book|title=The Critical Qur'an: Explained from Key Islamic Commentaries and Contemporary Historical Research|year=2022|publisher=Bombardier|isbn=978-1642939491}}
@@ Line 77: / Line 80: @@
 * {{cite book|title=The Arab Winter Comes to America: The Truth about the War We're In|year=2014|publisher=Regnery|isbn=978-1-62157-204-6}}
 * {{cite book|title=Not Peace But a Sword: The Great Chasm Between Christianity and Islam|publisher=Catholic Answers|year=2013|isbn=978-1938983283}}
-* {{cite book|title=Did Muhammad Exist?: An Inquiry Into Islam's Obscure Origins|publisher=ISI Books|year=2012|isbn=978-1-61017-061-1}}
+* {{cite book|title=[[Did Muhammad Exist?|Did Muhammad Exist?: An Inquiry Into Islam's Obscure Origins]]|publisher=ISI Books|year=2012|isbn=978-1-61017-061-1}}
 * {{cite book|title=The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America (with Pamela Geller) |publisher=Threshold Editions|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4391-8930-6}}
 * {{cite book|title=The Complete Infidels' Guide to the Koran|publisher= Regnery|year=2009|isbn=978-1-59698-104-1}}
@@ Line 93: / Line 96: @@
 ==External links==
+{{Commons}}
+*{{twitter|jihadwatchRS|Robert Spencer}}
 *{{C-SPAN|1003529}}
 {{Authority control}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Robert}}
+[[Category:Robert B. Spencer| ]]
 [[Category:1962 births]]
-[[Category:American bloggers]]
 [[Category:Living people]]
+[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
+[[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]]
+[[Category:American bloggers]]
+[[Category:American counter-jihad activists]]
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+[[Category:American male bloggers]]
+[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
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-[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
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-[[Category:Counter-jihad activists]]
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-[[Category:Middle Eastern Christians]]
-[[Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni]]
-[[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]]
 [[Category:Converts to Eastern Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy]]
 [[Category:Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Catholicism]]
+[[Category:FrontPage Magazine people]]
 [[Category:Greek Orthodox Christians from the United States]]
-[[Category:American male bloggers]]
+[[Category:Human Events people]]
+[[Category:Middle Eastern Christians]]
+[[Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni]]

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