Robert B. Spencer
Robert Spencer (born February 27, 1962) is an American author and blogger known for his strong anti-Muslim views. He started the blog Jihad Watch in 2003 and has written many books on Islam. In 2010 he co-founded the Stop Islamization of America group with Pamela Geller.
Three of Spencer’s books have made The New York Times Best Seller list. His work has been controversial: there were reports that some of his books appeared in FBI training materials, and he has spoken to various law enforcement groups. He has also been a frequent guest on Fox News.
Spencer was raised in the Greek Orthodox Church and, in 1984, joined the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. In 2016 he returned to the Greek Orthodox Church. He studied Islam for many years and earned an M.A. in religious studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1986. His master’s thesis was about monophysitism and the history of the Catholic Church. His Islam-related writings have not gone through academic peer review, and they have mostly appeared with conservative publishers.
Early in his career he worked in think tanks and was an adjunct fellow at the Free Congress Foundation in 2002–2003. The Tennessean described him in 2010 as someone who “cash[es] in on spreading hate and fear about Islam,” noting that he earned money from the David Horowitz Freedom Center. He has edited Jihad Watch, written for Breitbart News, and been a columnist for Human Events, PJ Media, and FrontPage Magazine.
The Stop Islamization of America group he co-founded is considered a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Spencer and Geller led a campaign against Park51, the proposed Islamic community center near the World Trade Center, which they called the “Ground Zero Mosque.”
In 2013 the UK banned Spencer from entering the country for three to five years, saying his statements could foster hatred and violence. The decision was upheld by the Court of Appeals in 2015. Spencer has criticized the ban, saying the UK had become a de facto Islamic state.
His books have been banned in some countries; Pakistan blocked The Truth About Muhammad in 2007 for “objectionable material,” and Malaysia banned Onward Muslim Soldiers the same year. He has spoken at several universities in the United States, sometimes drawing protests and walkouts.
In 2017, Spencer spoke at Truman State University, the University of Buffalo, Gettysburg College, and Stanford University, often amid protests. He has said that there is a lack of intellectual diversity on campuses when it comes to his views. He also reported a serious incident in Iceland where he said a leftist assailant attacked him after a talk.
Since 2020 Spencer has been a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy and appears on its media programs. He argues that Islam is inherently violent and that some radicals are following its core teachings. His work has influenced debates about Islam in media and politics, and he has been both cited by supporters and criticized by scholars and religious leaders for spreading misinformation about Islam.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 11:42 (CET).