Fox News figures and Republican 2016 hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz (TX) are slated to appear alongside Robert Spencer -- one of conservative media's favorite leaders in “Islam bashing” -- at a conference this week, amid cries from Muslim rights groups for Cruz to cancel the engagement.

The Young America's Foundation (YAF) will host the conservative New England Freedom Conference this week in New Hampshire. In addition to Fox Business host John Stossel, Fox contributor Katie Pavlich and Cruz, the event will feature noted extremist Robert Spencer and promised, “If you are interested in public policy, free speech, less government, and a strong national defense, this conference is for you. Along with Senator Ted Cruz, you will hear from Jihad Watch's Robert Spencer about Islamic terrorism and jihad.”

Spencer is described by the Southern Poverty Law Center's Extremist Files as “one of America's most prolific and vociferous anti-Muslim propagandists.” He's a prominent figure with Jidhad Watch and Stop Islamization of America (SOIA) - two organizations deemed hate groups by SPLC.

Spencer was also described by the Center for American Progress (CAP) in a 2011 report on Islamophobia as one of their five top “misinformation experts.” The CAP report highlighted some disturbing facts, including that he and Jihad Watch “were cited 162 times in the nearly 1,500-page manifesto of Anders Breivik, the confessed Norway terrorist who claimed responsibility for killing 76 people, mostly youths,” and quotes former Nixon adviser and deputy director of the National Security Council Robert Crane in describing Spencer as “the principal leader... in the new academic field of Islam bashing.”

His anti-Islamic rhetoric has solidified Spencer a place as a right-wing media darling, turned to by Fox News and conservative sites like National Review Online as a go-to expert on Islam despite his extreme leanings. Fox turned to Spencer as recently as January to spew Islamophobia during a discussion about the deadly attacks on satirical French newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Appearing on Hannity, Spencer cited the “much higher” birth rate of Muslim populations to fearmonger that “Sharia enclaves” will “inevitably grow and continue to grow until, finally, that's all there is.”

It is for extremist rhetoric such as this that Muslim advocacy groups like The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) have called on Cruz to cancel his upcoming appearance with Spencer at YAF. In a March 24 press release, the group pointed to the designation of Spencer's organizations as hate groups by the SPLC as one of the reasons why Cruz should step back from the event. “As the first Republican to declare his candidacy for president, CAIR recommends that Senator Cruz reach out to members of the American Muslim and other U.S. minority communities to better understand their issues and concerns, ” explained CAIR Government Affairs Manager Robert McCaw.