The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on 31 January applauded a decision by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester, Mass., to rescind an invitation to Robert Spencer, the leader of a designated anti-Islam hate group, to speak at a Catholic men’s conference this March. CAIR said Spencer’s invitation to speak at the Catholic conference was rescinded after Muslims in Massachusetts contacted the diocese to express their concerns about his extremist anti-Islam views. At least one Catholic commentator joined CAIR in welcoming the cancelation.
“We applaud the diocese’s decision to withdraw its invitation to a person who is viewed by many as one of the nation’s most notorious purveyors of anti-Islam hate,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. Hooper noted that “Fear, Inc.,” a report by the Centre for American Progress, revealed that “[Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik] cited Robert Spencer, one of the anti-Muslim misinformation scholars we profile in this report, and his blog, Jihad Watch, 162 times in his manifesto.” Breivik is currently on trial for mass murder in Norway.