Sunday, December 30, 2007

Falsehood and provocation

Robert Spencer

People say false things about me rather frequently -- attributing to me statements I have never made, and positions I have never held. I suspect that this is because it is easier to dismiss a straw man than to deal with what I actually say. Usually these are better off ignored, but when they start spreading and people start asking me about them, then I think it is better to clarify them. And so it has been brought to my attention that a man who has published a deeply flawed work about Muhammad and Islam, in a consideration of how many active jihadists there are, says this: "Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch is on another planet with his estimate of as many as 650 million jihadists - one in every two Muslims."

Have I ever actually made such an estimate? No, I have not. If I had done so, I really would be on "another planet." What I have done, and what this individual has apparently misunderstood, is state that jihadists enjoy the support of, in some areas, up to half of the Muslims. This is borne out by the recent poll in which 46% of Muslims in Pakistan expressed a favorable view of Osama bin Laden, and by the Al-Jazeera poll that put that support among Muslims worldwide at just under 50%. Does this mean that 50% of Muslims are or ever will be active jihadists? No, of course not, and I have never said it did, anywhere, at any time, in any forum.

2. A person who has used the names "Idontlikemuslims" and "osgood bombay" has posted genocidal comments here, and ones asserting that every single Muslim is the enemy. We do not hold either position here, but are working in the defense of human rights. This person has been banned by IP and by user name, but neither method is foolproof. Such comments, of course, only play into the hands of those who oppose our resistance to the global jihad and Islamic supremacism. And the only people talking about genocide, concentration camps and the like are those who oppose the anti-jihad resistance, and who use such charges to try to discredit us.

All that leads me to believe that "Osgood Bombay" is a provocateur, who is trying to discredit the site by leaving such comments here so that they can be used by our enemies. It has happened before.

So I ask everyone who reads this site regularly: if you see comments that use abusive language for Muslims or anyone, and which advocate genocide or incarceration, or which say that each and every Muslim is the enemy, or something similar, please write to me using the Contact Us box at left (scroll down) and let me know where it is -- I will remove it. Comments are unmoderated; I don't have time to read them all myself, and don't have the money to hire someone to do so. So any help you all can give is much appreciated.

No comments: