Polemics Hurts Counter Terrorism
Reader comment on item: Daniel Pipes and Robert Spencer Lecture

Submitted by Concerned Muslim Citizen (United States), Apr 29, 2009 at 21:53

As a concerned Muslim citizen, a student of Islamic studies, and someone who has personally experienced radical Islam, I have to take Mr. Spencer to task.

Mr. Spencer crudely attacks Islam as a whole and, in doing so, actually helps the radical Islamists in their goal further alienate Western Muslim communities. For example, Adam Gadhan mentioned Spencer by name and used him to strengthen his anti-Western narrative. CAIR, the Hamas front, also singles out Spencer to bolster their conspiratorial discourse. They hold him up as an example and say, "See? Didn't we tell you the West is against Islam?"

Mr. Spencer fails to acknowledge that a peaceful, modern Islam exists. This is well-documented in studies on Islamic modernism. Yet, Spencer pretty much fails to acknowledge anything good about Islamic tradition. He is consistently unfair and biased in his presentation of Islamic history and scriptures. ...

How is Mr. Spencer any different from those Islamist ideologues who twist the Torah, Talmud and Jewish history to "prove" the inherent evil of Judaism? Does not Hamas do to the Talmud what Spencer does to the Quran and Hadith?

... It is abundantly clear that empowering moderate Muslims like Dr. Zuhdi Jasser is essential to our success. As a Muslim and patriotic American citizen, I advise anyone serious about counter terrorism to avoid Spencer's discourse as it has been shown to inflame, not help.

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