American Library Association Panelists Refuse to Appear with Robert Spencer

US News | Sun, Jul 12, 2009 at 3:22:05 pm PDT

An American Library Association panel discussion on Islam has been canceled, after three of the four panelists refused to participate with anti-Islam blogger Robert Spencer.

On July 7th, a group of nine members sent the ALA an open letter regarding Robert Spencer’s participation. This led to the withdrawal of Dr. Marcia Hermansen, a professor of Islamic Studies at Loyola University, neuropsychologist Dr. Alia Ammar, and Dr. Esmail Koushanpour of Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago.

Spencer, meanwhile, blames me for it, in a bizarre 2300-word rant that’s nearly incoherent with rage and venom.

Here’s the latest statement from the organization behind the Islam panel.