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Jihad Watch

URL	http://jihadwatch.org/
Commercial?	no
Type of site	News and commentary
Registration	Proxy, Inc. 501 (c) 3 organization
Available language(s)	English
Owner	Robert Spencer
Created by	Robert Spencer and Hugh Fitzgerald
Launched	September 23, 2003
Revenue	donations
Current status	active

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

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.^[5] Opponents, who say that Spencer deliberately portrays Islam and Muslims in a negative light, have called it Islamophobic. Spencer has rejected the criticism.

The site features commentary from both Spencer and contributor Hugh Fitzgerald. The latter is referred to as "Jihad Watch Vice President."^[6] The author of the Al Qaeda Reader, Raymond Ibrahim, is also a regular contributor.

Jihad Watch was launched in October 2003. Jihad Watch also contributes to The Intelligence Summit, which tracks current jihadist activity worldwide.^[7] The project is affiliated with the David Horowitz Freedom Center, but is run independently by Spencer.^[8]

Dhimmi Watch

Dhimmi Watch was a blog on the Jihad Watch site, also maintained by Spencer. Spencer has defined its purpose to bring public attention to the following:

• Religious minorities in Muslim countries today;
• The status of women under Sharia provisions;
• Slavery in Muslim countries today
• The role of jihad and dhimmitude ideology in global terrorism today;
• Instances of academic and journalistic dhimmitude.

Articles posted to Dhimmi Watch are archived by several news-gathering agencies and advocacy groups tracking these issues.^[9][10][11]

As of March 2009, Dhimmi Watch was merged into the Jihadwatch blog.

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." ^[12] Guardian writer Brian Whitaker describes Jihad Watch as a "notoriously Islamophobic website",^[13] while other critics such as Dinesh D'Souza,^[14] Karen Armstrong,^[15] and Cathy Young,^[16] point 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.^[17][18] In response to criticism, Spencer states that he vehemently rejects the "Islamophobe" label, "which is only a tool used by Islamic apologists to silence criticism".^[19]

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, in her book Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West, wrote that Spencer uses his blog JihadWatch 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.^[20]

Response to criticisms

Spencer has responded to accusations that Jihad Watch is Islamophobic. He described the criticism as "A tool used by Islamic apologists to silence criticism." He states 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?"^[21]

See also

References

External links

• Jihad Watch
• Dhimmi Watch