Excerpt:
The American Library Association has canceled a panel discussion on Islam planned for its annual conference over the weekend, after three speakers withdrew in protest at the inclusion of the fourth, a controversial critic of the Muslim religion.
The critic, Robert Spencer, who runs the blog site JihadWatch.org, told The Washington Times that he learned of the decision to cancel Sunday's panel - "Perspectives on Islam: Beyond the Stereotyping" - in an e-mail message Saturday morning from Myra Appel, the event organizer.
"With the withdrawal of three of the four panelists, we cannot provide a fair and equitable forum to explore the diversity of opinions that the panel would have offered," said Ms. Appel in a statement provided by ALA staff.