On my page Just what is it about Islam? I recently posted a disclaimer concerning a misrepresentation of me made on a forum to which I am not a member nor had previously visited. I discovered it by tracking back on a link that appeared in my Journal statistics. It was probably the result of an unfortunate misunderstanding on the part of an otherwise well-meaning person who posted there and I am sure it was not intended to cause any mischief. However, some false claims were made of me that I have never made of myself. It is not particularly pleasant to find oneself criticized for things one has never said nor done, and I wanted to set the record straight on Judah’s Journal so that readers know what is the truth and what is not. It does highlight the need to take care when making statements about others, and being sure that one has understood and can substantiate any claims that are made.

One of the authors I have referenced in my comments on Islam is Robert Spencer. He is committed to exposing the facts about Islam and the prophet of Islam. However, in doing so, he receives considerable flak from Muslims who resent what he writes and accuse him of disseminating lies based on hatred and fear. It is important for the reader to regard critically all such protests that set about trying to discount this kind of information. Many who protest are Muslims who want to present a nicer side to Islam. They themselves may truly and wholeheartedly believe their version of Islam to be the truth, but it is a version that is at variance with the facts highlighted by these authors noted here and on websites beyond this one. Some of these Muslims have adopted a “moderate version” of Islam and claim that the “radicalized” Islam of the Middle East is not true Islam. However, there is much to be said about this position as the “moderate” believers do little (if anything) to defy their own Muslim brotherhood whose beliefs and behaviours are such a cause for concern, and much else is also denied in the face of objective reality. The claim that these authors are spreading lies and have an agenda based on hatred and unrealistic fear is unfounded. Objective reality demonstrates very clearly that reasonable fear of Islam is not unrealistic and that the facts are proven truthful, substantiated both by world events and Muslims themselves. One must really question the agenda of those “moderate” Muslims who deny that it is the case and insist upon a benign interpretation of Islam instead.

In Robert Spencer’s latest book, The Truth about Muhammad, he discusses why the truth about the prophet of Islam really matters. Was Muhammad a figure of compassion and peace, or was he a violent and evil murderer, warmonger and paedophile? Spencer discusses this issue by drawing on information from solely Muslim sources, and he says that it matters greatly because…

- for if he was indeed a man of peace, one may reasonably hope that his example would become the linchpin of reform efforts in the Islamic world that would eventually roll back the influence of jihad terrorists. If he really championed democracy and equality of the sexes, one could profitably invoke his example among Muslims, who revere him as the highest example of human behavior, to work for these ideals in the Islamic world. But if the jihad terrorists are correct in invoking his example to justify their deeds, then Islamic reformers will need to initiate a respectful but searching re-evaluation of the place Muhammad occupies within Islam - a vastly more difficult undertaking.

This post is not intended as a complete review of Robert Spencer’s newly published book, but it is possible that I will publish my review of it here very soon. Meanwhile, it needs to be said that the truthful portrayal of Muhammad is the critical measure of Islam and whether it can be regarded as the religion of peace and tolerance as claimed by “moderate” Muslims who constantly criticize and discount the exposure of Islam by writers such as Spencer, or as the religion of violent hatred and intolerance which is evidenced by world events and what we so often read in the Qur’an and the Hadith.