52: Confessions of An Islamophobe—Robert Spencer

Is the threat of terrorism from the Islamic world a clear and present danger? Is there a way to broach this uncomfortable topic in a balanced and charitable way? Is it Islamophobic to even pose these questions? Author and founder of Jihad Watch, Robert Spencer has been writing and speaking about the foundational documents of Islam, the Qur’an and the Hadith, for over 15 years. It doesn’t matter that his books, 17 in all so far, carefully distinguish between Muslims who do not follow the literal sense of the Qu’ran and those who do. He still gets repeatedly branded as a hate-monger and, the shame label du jour, “Islamophobe.” Spencer has finally embraced that label, with key caveats, in the title of his new book, Confessions of An Islamophobe. which is part memoir, and part catalogue of real-world applications of Islamic texts and traditions. There are few topics that are subject to more confusion and fuzzy thinking than Islam’s relationship to modern liberal democracies, the explicit teachings of its holy books, and the relationship between Christianity and Islam. For his troubles in writing about jihad-inspired attacks throughout the UK, Spencer is still banned in the UK (by then-Home Secretary now Prime Minister Theresa May) and remains a persona non grata in many circles. One word very rarely used against him is wrong. (I believe he did make one error of fact in our interview, although of the benign variety, in saying that Israel is the only place in the Middle East where Christians are increasing in number.) There is an Advent tie-in here, straight from Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s 1951 classic The World’s First Love.The chapter, “Mary and the Moslems,” is worth the book price. Prophetic insights into how our Lady of Fatima has a role to play in the conversion of Muslims to Christ. In his latest book, Spencer meticulously outlines the various groups who are under special threat today by the Sharia-minded ethos, from women and homosexuals, to Jews and Christians. In this candid interview, you will discover: How to respond when people claim that the Catholic Church officially teaches that Islam is a religion of peace The rationale the jihadis give for their violence How the far Left and militant Islam are strange bedfellows How to talk about Islamic-inspired evil while respecting and speaking with ordinary Muslims who also abhor that evil Why the West needs a serious, loud, and urgent wake-up call to what’s coming next. Question of the Week:  How much has political correctness undermined our willingness to talk candidly about Islamic terrorism?