Today there was to have been a panel discussion on "The Perspective on Islam" at the American Library Association's (ALA) annual conference in Chicago. It appears, from what I can gather, that a couple Muslim panelists got up in arms because Robert Spencer, an anti-Islamist (not anti-Islam), was also scheduled to speak.
The Council of American Islamic Relations, an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas infrastructure in America, got involved and demanded Spencer be removed (i.e., sharia law means no criticism of Islam or Islamism allowed and we demand this from non-Muslim critics in America). CAIR, as most of you know, was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation Hamas terror-funding trial.
Three panelists dropped out and the session was canceled by ALA President Jim Rettig who issued a statement which was posted on Library Journal on July 11th:
...“This year, more than 100 member driven committees that represent a variety of backgrounds and viewpoints coordinated and planned 250 programs that focused on various issues including this program on Islam," Rettig said. "The withdrawal of three panelists resulted in the cancelation of a panel discussion entitled Perspectives on Islam: Beyond the Stereotyping, sponsored by the ALA’s Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT)."
An additional post on July 11th at Library Journal titled Organization Behind Islam Panel Issues Statement:
"...Myra Appel, chair of the Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Roundtable (EMIERT), has released a public statement (below) regarding the recent cancellation of the ALA panel "Perspectives on Islam."
Neither Appel’s statement nor the earlier response from ALA President Jim Rettig address the Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR-Chicago) claim that none of the panelists were informed of Spencer’s participation. But on his Jihad Watch web site, the man at the heart of this controversy, Robert Spencer, contests CAIR’s claim, publishing as evidence a month-old email from Appel informing the panelists of his involvement...
Before the session was cancelled, Robert Spencer wrote Hamas-linked CAIR defames me again, tries to block my ALA appearance, takes material from libelblogger Charles Johnson of LGF where he listed several examples of what he claims was Johnson's tarnishment of his credibility. Johnson has not responded.
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Also see
Robert Spencer's latest statement issued 7/11: ALA & Panelists Cave Into Pressure From Terror-Linked Group
