ROBERT SPENCER
Some people believe that Islam is peace. Robert Spencer is not so sure. Nor is he sure that those who are typically called "Muslim fundamentalists" or "Islamic extremists" are not the true representatives of Muhammad’s vision. Very often, he said, the extremists’ position "is what the texts support. The extremists have ample support and a long tradition to fall back on."
What do these extremists such as Osama bin Laden desire? "The metaphysical dream of the extremists is the conversion of the world to Islam and giving non-Muslims the traditional three options-conversion, death, or subjugation. . .," said Spencer.
For example, he said, some Muslim leaders have explained to Westerners that jihad, or "holy war," is not necessarily a physical war. That is merely "lesser jihad," and the "greater jihad" is the spiritual struggle to submit oneself totally to Allah. The fact is, said Spencer, the concept of jihad as a physical war is the original, and "the Sufis later developed the concept of greater jihad."
Spencer has written Islam Unveiled: Disturbing Questions About the World’s Fastest Growing Faith (Encounter, 2002), now in its third printing. "I’ve been studying Islam for many years, ever since I was in college," he said. "I met men from Saudi Arabia. . . . They told me I had to read the Koran. They were forthrightly trying to convert me to Islam. I found the Koran very interesting because it is very divergent. It is hardly united on anything other than there is one God."
Spencer, who has a master’s degree in religious studies, is a board member of the Christian-Islamic Forum and an adjunct fellow of the Free Congress Foundation. The Christian-Islamic Forum was founded by a former Muslim, Daniel Ali, who became a Roman Catholic, said Spencer. "We want real dialogue, not what goes under the name of dialogue," he said. Spencer’s forthcoming book, The Challenge of Islam: A Catholic Perspective, is co-authored with Ali.
Spencer noted that people who call themselves Muslims are a greatly subdivided group, just as those who call themselves Christians are. "You have a clash of civilizations within Islam," he said. "You have hundreds of millions of people under the influence of Western secular culture. You can find Muslims who say democracy is enjoined by Islam."
Then there are those extremists who want to establish strict Islamic world rule governed by sharia, Islamic law based on the Koran and other sources, such as the many hadith, or sayings, of Muhammad. "I have 18 volumes of hadith," said Spencer. "There are lots of them. There are six collections that are generally considered reliable."
There are many disagreements among different Islamic camps. For example, Shias, such as those in Iran, accept temporary marriage, in which a man can "marry" a woman for an evening. Sunnis frown on such a practice. Wrote Spencer in "Women and Islam," an essay published by Free Congress: "Mention the status of women in Islam and Muslims get nervous-and with good reason. The treatment of women in Islamic countries is consistently shocking to modern Westerners across the political spectrum."
Spencer notes the following verse (Sura 4:34) from the Koran: "Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them."
Spencer also explains that under traditional sharia, four male witnesses are required to substantiate an allegation of rape. "Consequently, it is almost impossible to prove rape in lands that follow the dictates of the sharia (Islamic law)," he writes. "Men can commit rape with impunity: as long as they deny the charge and there are no witnesses, they will get off scot-free: the victim’s testimony is inadmissible."
Spencer said that those who complain about any critique of Islam have, at best, an unrealistic viewpoint, especially given the large amount of Muslim immigration to the West and the violent nature of so many Islamic groups. "Are we going to rule out all criticism of these people until we’re all dead?" he asked. "It is possible there will be Muslim majorities in the Netherlands and France in this century."
He also noted that Western leftists make the problem worse by attacking Western civilization and promoting multiculturalism. "Sometimes, children become fiercer than their [immigrant] parents because of multiculturalism promoted in schools," he said. "They tell them to go back to their roots."
Spencer may be reached at the Free Congress Foundation, 717 2nd St. N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002. (202-204-5344; fax: 202-544-2819; e-mail: [email protected]; website: www.freecongress.org).
