Over a year ago, in my essay here titled Chutzpah Watch, I noted how, when Robert Spencer exacerbated his slight against his ex-friend-and-colleague, Andrew Bostom,
"...nobody notices when Spencer reaches calmly out from beyond the grave of his collegial friendship with Andrew Bostom to twist the knife in his corpse."
At the time, Spencer's egregious posthumous backstab involved an article at Jihad Watch where he praised a new book on Islamic anti-Semitism by a Martin Gilbert while, in the same breath, claiming that
"...there has not been any serious scholarly study focused wholly and exclusively on Islamic antisemitism as such..."
-- obviously and pointedly ignoring Bostom's The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism (which previously, before he and Andy had fallen out due to some mysterious back-room squabble privy only to members of the Gentlemen's Club, Spencer had touted as the greatest thing since sliced cheese).
Well, over a year later, Spencer felt, I guess, like reaching out from beyond the grave yet again to take a little dig with his spade at the settled earth of their dead friendship under which Bostom was supposed to be resting in peace.
In the context of a Jihad Watch article (The truth is spreading) in which Spencer proclaims that the anti-Islam (sorry -- the "anti-Jihad") movement is showing real signs of spreading and progressing, evidenced mainly by other people borrowing terms Spencer over the years has coined by which to refer to the problem of Islam, Spencer sees fit to write, no doubt not without a grin broadening his robust beard:
The professor of medicine and sometime anti-jihad researcher Andrew Bostom makes frequent use of another term I coined: "Islamorealism."
4 comments:
What grave? Both these men are still alive
Nobody,
As I indicated in the second paragraph of this essay, quoting from my previous essay "Chutzpah Watch":
"...nobody notices when Spencer reaches calmly out from beyond the grave of his collegial friendship with Andrew Bostom to twist the knife in his corpse."
The "grave" refers to the death of their friendship and professional relationship (only the latter being of relevance to the rest of us) -- a death that seems to be the result of a rather unilateral stabbing by Spencer; though one can never be sure of the goings-on in the velvety back rooms of the Gentlemen's Club.
Interesting.
When I saw that comment by Spencer referring to Bostom as a physician, I didn't read it as a dig, though of course it may have been. When I read it it seemed to indicate the possible beginnings of a thawing between the two men. It seemed as if Spencer was proud that Bostom had adopted the expression. But it's possible Spencer was merely letting be known who was the source of the expression (not Bostom).
Traeh,
During all the previous instances in years past when Spencer was praising Bostom, he never to my knowledge identified him first and foremost as a "physician". That indicates an implication that Bostom is only moonlighting as an anti-Jihad person; it's just a hobby. His main occupation, apparently, is setting broken legs, examining CT scan films, and prescribing anti-depressants and hypothyroid medications.
The confirmation of that indication is the subtle twist of the dagger with the qualifier "sometime" when describing Bostom as an "anti-Jihad researcher". Even "researcher" implies a hint of mockery, further delimiting his role in the grand movement in which Spencer is jet-setting all over the world and meeting with people and engaging in various colloquia, as well as spearheading the forefront of anti-Jihad activism with his SIOA.
Also, you are not taking into account the previous slights Spencer has leveled at Bostom, which I document in the linked articles (and when going to the JW essays in question, one wants to read the comments sections, where Spencer, uncharacteristically these days, swooped in like a hawk to "clarify").
Post a Comment