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Jihad Watch

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Jihad Watch
File:Titlelogo-reg.png
Type of site
News and commentary
Available inEnglish
OwnerRobert Spencer
Created byRobert Spencer and Hugh Fitzgerald
Revenuedonations
URLjihadwatch.org
Commercialno
Registration501(c)(3) organization

Jihad Watch is a blog directed by American author Robert Spencer.[1][2][3][4]

Jihad Watch was launched in October 2003. Jihad Watch also contributes to The Intelligence Summit, which tracks current jihadist activity worldwide.[5] The project is affiliated with the David Horowitz Freedom Center, but is run independently by Spencer.[6]

Opponents, who say that Spencer deliberately portrays Islam and Muslims in a negative light, have called it "Islamophobic".[7] Spencer has rejected the criticism.[8]

Objective

According to Spencer, Jihad Watch aims to bring to public attention the role of jihad theology and ideology in the modern world, by documenting the parts they and Islam play in contemporary conflicts.[9]

Contributors, surveillance work, and positions

The site features commentary from among others Spencer and contributor Hugh Fitzgerald, Vice President of Jihad Watch.[10]

Abdel Bari Atwan, the editor-in chief of the London-based pan-Arab newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi, wrote that

Most of the effective surveillance work tracking jihadi sites is being done not by the FBI or MI6, but by private groups. The best-known and most successful of those are Haganah ... SITE ... and Jihad Watch.[11]

Jihad Watch (or Spencer, as director of Jihad Watch) has been quoted in, among other publications, The New York Times,[12][13] The New York Daily News,[14] The Christian Science Monitor,[15] USA Today,[16] The Daily Mail,[17] The Weekly Standard,[18] and the Toronto Sun.[19]

Jihad Watch has also said that the English Defence League (EDL) "deserve the support of all free people" and described its opponents in Unite Against Fascism as "fascist."[20] Jihad Watch is promoted on the EDL homepage.[21]

Dhimmi Watch

Dhimmi Watch was a blog on the Jihad Watch site, also maintained by Spencer. Spencer described its purpose as being to bring to public attention:

Articles posted to Dhimmi Watch were archived by several news-gathering agencies and advocacy groups tracking these issues.[22][23][24] As of March 2009, Dhimmi Watch was merged into Jihad Watch.

Criticism

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called Jihad Watch an "Internet hate site" and claimed it is "notorious for its depiction of Islam as an inherently violent faith that is a threat to world peace."[25] Guardian writer Brian Whitaker described Jihad Watch as a "notoriously Islamophobic website",[7] while other critics such as Dinesh D'Souza,[26] Karen Armstrong,[27] and Cathy Young,[28] pointed to what they see as "deliberate mischaracterizations" of Islam and Muslims by Spencer as inherently violent and therefore prone to terrorism. Various attempts to block the site based on allegations of "hate speech" have been mostly unsuccessful.[29][30]

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, in her book Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West, wrote that Spencer uses Jihad Watch to spread misinformation and hatred of Islam. She added that he presents a skewed, one-sided, and inflammatory story that only helps to sow the seed of civilizational conflict.[31]

Response to criticism

Spencer has responded to accusations that Jihad Watch is Islamophobic by declaring the term "Islamophobe" a label, "a tool used by Islamic apologists to silence criticism."[8] He says that his work is

dedicated to identifying the causes of jihad terrorism, which of course lead straight back into the Islamic texts. I have therefore called for reform of those texts... I have dedicated Jihad Watch to defending equality of rights and freedom of conscience for all people. That's Islamophobic? Then is the fault in the phobe, or in the Islam?[8]

Funding

Jihad watch has been funded by a variety of neo-conservative individuals and foundations,like Bradley Foundation and Joyce Chernick,wife of Aubrey Chernick,who led the effort to pull together $3.5 million in venture capital to start Pajamas Media, a conservative blog network that made its name partly with hawkish pro-Israel commentary and recently has kept up a steady stream of anti-Park51 mosque postings.[32]Ken Vogel of Politico wrote that

Though it was not listed on the public tax reports filed by Horowitz's Freedom Center, POLITICO has confirmed that the lion's share of the $920,000 it provided over the past three years to Jihad Watch came from Chernick, whose husband, Aubrey Chernick, has a net worth of $750 million,[33] as a result of his 2004 sale to IBM of a software company he created, and a security consulting firm he now owns.[34]
The David Horowitz Freedom Center had a budget of $4.5 million last year, according to its tax filings,[35] of which $290,000 came from the conservative Bradley Foundation, which also gave $75,000 to the Center for Security Policy last year. Horowitz has received an average of $461,000 a year in salary and benefits over the past three years, while Spencer has pulled in an average of $140,000, according to the center's IRS filings.[36][37]

See also

References

  1. ^ ROBERT SPENCER Page at Jihadwatch.
  2. ^ Glenn Beck Transcript, CNN, August 10, 2006
  3. ^ Glenn Beck Transcript, CNN, October 23, 2006
  4. ^ Invitation to author upsets Muslims[dead link], Indianapolis Star, March 18, 2007
  5. ^ Contributors The Intelligence Summit.
  6. ^ Robert Spencer Joins the David Horowitz Freedom Center, FrontPage Magazine, September 6, 2006
  7. ^ a b Drawn conclusions, The Guardian, February 7, 2006
  8. ^ a b c "Wikipedia and Robert Spencer". Retrieved March 25, 2008.
  9. ^ "Jihad Watch". Jihad Watch. March 28, 2010. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  10. ^ "Hugh Fitzgerald: Ten Things to Think When Thinking of Muslim "Moderates"". Jihad Watch. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  11. ^ The secret history of al Qaeda – Google Books
  12. ^ Lichtblau, Eric (April 2, 2009). "After Attacks, Supporters Rally Around Choice for Top Administration Legal Job". The New York Times.
  13. ^ [1]
  14. ^ "ECHOES OF '04. Blasts recall 3–11 train carnage in Madrid". New York: Nydailynews.com. July 8, 2005. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  15. ^ "Shooting of two soldiers in Little Rock puts focus on 'lone wolf' Islamic extremists / The Christian Science Monitor". CSMonitor.com. June 11, 2009. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  16. ^ By Oren DorellUSA TODAY  (November 30, 2009). "Usatoday.Com". Usatoday.Com. Retrieved April 1, 2010.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  17. ^ "The surprising truth about Rage Boy, America's hated poster-boy of Islamic radicalism | Mail Online". London: Dailymail.co.uk. November 11, 2007. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  18. ^ October 31, 2007 12:53 AM (October 31, 2007). "Daily Blog Buzz: HAPPY HALLOWEEN!". The Weekly Standard. Retrieved April 1, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ By Lee-Anne Goodman, THE CANADIAN PRESS (November 5, 2009). "Muslims brace for backlash after gunman ID'ed | World | News". Toronto Sun. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  20. ^ UK: Fascist "anti-fascists" attack anti-jihad demonstrators. "UK: Fascist "anti-fascists" attack anti-jihad demonstrators". Jihadwatch.org. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  21. ^ "EDL". English Defence League. Retrieved March 31, 2010.
  22. ^ "Monitoring Middle East Studies on Campus". Campus Watch. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  23. ^ "Watch: Covering the War on Terror". Ss790.fusionbot.com. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  24. ^ "Hindu Voice". Hindu Voice. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  25. ^ CA Synagogue That Hosted Islamophobe Urged to Invite Muslim Speaker, November 8, 2005 archived version retrieved May 15, 2008
  26. ^ Dinesh D'Souza (March 2, 2007). "Letting Bin Laden Define Islam".
  27. ^ "Balancing the Prophet". Financial Times.
  28. ^ "The Jihad Against Muslims".
  29. ^ Unblock Jihad Watch!. "Unblock Jihad Watch!". Jihadwatch.org. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  30. ^ "Banning Jihad Watch". Humanevents.com. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  31. ^ Benazir Bhutto, Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West, Harper, 2008, p.245-6
  32. ^ http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/41767.html
  33. ^ http://www.labusinessjournal.com/news/2010/may/24/50-wealthiest-angelenos-aubrey-chernick/
  34. ^ http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/41767.html
  35. ^ http://www.politico.com/static/PPM170_100823_horowitzcenter.html
  36. ^ http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/41767.html
  37. ^ http://www.islamophobia-watch.com/islamophobia-watch/2010/9/5/who-funds-the-islamophobes.html
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