Attempts to Ban Robert Spencer From Catholic Forums

Jihad Watch - The attempt to get me barred from polite society continues. Leftists and Islamic supremacists are intent on ruling what I say out of acceptable public discourse. And they may well succeed -- after all, their spiritual kin, the Soviets and the German National Socialists, had great success for extended periods in restricting the circle of acceptable public discourse solely to what they deemed acceptable. And like the Soviets and the Nazis, their campaign is a war against the truth, and so it cannot proceed by means of rational discussion or debate, or by refuting its opponents' claims; instead, it must rely on pejorative labels, tendentious labels, and demonization of the foe. Michael Sean Winters offers a prime example in the National Catholic Reporter, a far-left organ that has long determined to force the Catholic Church to discard positions it has held for two millennia in order to bow to the spirit of this age.

"Who Should Be Barred From Catholic Forums?," by Michael Sean Winters in the National Catholic Reporter, August 8:

Controversial anti-Muslim speaker and blogger Robert Spencer is slated to participate in a debate at Eastern Michigan University. The debate is being conducted by Al Kresta, the Catholic radio host of "Kresta in the Afternoon," which is distributed on Ave Maria Radio and EWTN. Earlier this year, two bishops, Robert McManus of Worcester, Mass., and Jaime Soto of Sacramento, Calif., canceled appearances by Spencer on Catholic premises because of his anti-Muslim bigotry.

"Anti-Muslim" is the ultimate smear term. Oppose jihad violence and Islamic supremacism and you're "anti-Muslim." But again: calling me "anti-Muslim" is like calling an opponent of the Nazis "anti-German." Standing for the freedom of speech, the freedom of conscience, and the equality of rights of all people before the law gets you this kind of defamation these days.

Neither McManus nor Soto canceled my appearances because of my supposed "anti-Muslim bigotry."

McManus issued a lengthy statement about the cancellation. In it, he never accuses me of bigotry. He says: "Mr. Spencer’s talk about extreme, militant Islamists and the atrocities that they have
perpetrated globally might undercut the positive achievements that we Catholics have attained in our inter-religious dialogue with devout Muslims and possibly generate suspicion and even fear of people who practice piously the religion of Islam." It is hard for me to understand the value of engaging in "inter-religious dialogue" while avoiding the unpleasant issues that made that dialogue necessary in the first place. Moreover, it seems odd that people say that we should not discuss the problem of spousal abuse because it may generate suspicion and fear of good-hearted and gentle husbands. But in any case, McManus never said that what I say is false, or hateful, or anti-Muslim, or bigoted. He just said that if we discuss these things, Muslims might be offended, and some people might become afraid of peaceful Muslims. I disagree, but those aren't charges of "anti-Muslim bigotry."   More