UCU opposition to Prevent leads to support for extremists

In recent months, government attempts to deal with campus extremism have faced opposition from students, lecturers, and even the former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. Following the General Election, plans to give universities a legal duty to prevent students from being drawn into extremism have returned to the agenda – as has the resistance to […]

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CAGE events show FOSIS failure to challenge extremism

Following its attempt to blame the radicalisation of ISIS executioner Mohammed Emwazi on the British government in March, prisoner rights group CAGE has returned to targeting UK counter-extremism policy in the past week. On Friday, the group began a nationwide tour of workshops attacking the recent passage of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, as well […]

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LSE event exposes an inability to challenge extremism

Last Tuesday an event at the London School of Economics (LSE) saw a speaker allegedly glorify terrorist violence, while another claimed Israelis use rape as a weapon against Palestinians. Rana Baker, a writer for Electronic Intifada, was reported to have called the hijacking of aircraft by Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) member […]

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University halls targeted with anti-Muslim graffiti (Update: Further graffiti reported)

UPDATE 27/01/2015: A further incident of anti-Muslim graffiti has been uncovered at the University of Birmingham, with a message reading “Kill Islam before it kills you” discovered in the ladies toilets of the Guild of Students. That a second incident has followed the first so quickly is deeply concerning, and the university authorities must act […]

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Far-right threat halts Islamophobia conference

This weekend the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), an organisation with a history of support for violent extremists, was due to hold a conference on Islamophobia at Birkbeck College. However, the event has now been forced to relocate after far-right extremists threatened to target the event. The conference details were publicised on the far-right Casuals […]

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SWP motion shows importance of consistency

It has been reported this week that the Edinburgh University Student’s Association (EUSA) has withheld a motion to ban the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) from holding events and advertising on campus after an SWP legal threat. Sponsored by the university’s Feminist Society, the motion also intends to prevent the spread of the SWP by refusing […]

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