NUS motion pledges to work with CAGE

Over the past two days, delegates from the National Union of Students (NUS) have been meeting in Liverpool for the organisation’s Annual Conference. Voting on new policy, the NUS once again showed its inability to challenge extremism, instead passing a motion resolving to oppose government counter-extremism work. Motion 517 declared that “NUS officers will not […]

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Anjem Choudary invited to address the Oxford Union

Reports yesterday claimed that the extremist cleric Anjem Choudary had been invited to take part in a debate at the Oxford Union entitled ‘This house believes that radicalism is born at home’. The co-founder of the proscribed organisation Al-Muhajiroun, Choudary is currently on police bail after being arrested for membership of a banned group in […]

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Afsana Kayum and online extremism at UEL

On Monday 16 March Afsana Kayum, a student at the University of East London (UEL), was jailed for 18 months for possession of a record containing information contrary to the Terrorism Act. This referred to a number of issues of Inspire, an online magazine published by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which were discovered […]

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The Counter-Terrorism Bill and David Souaan

Following criticism from students and university staff, on Wednesday it was agreed in the House of Lords that an amendment would be made to the proposed Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill. This would mandate institutions to take into account their duty to protect freedom of expression when following new provisions to prevent students from “being drawn […]

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Divisive speakers to address students at SOAS

Entitled ‘The Rise of ISIS: Origin and Reality’, an event at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) on Friday will feature speeches by Abdullah Al-Andalusi and Muhammad Dilwar Hussain. Given their previous output on the subject, it is likely that the speakers will focus on blaming the West for the group’s rise and […]

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‘Ten years of HHUGS’ highlight off-campus concerns

This weekend the charity Helping Households under Great Stress (HHUGS) will celebrate its tenth anniversary with a gender segregated event at an unannounced London venue. Promoted on Facebook by the Islamic Societies at Kingston University and the University of Westminster, this shows how online networks can expose students to extreme groups and individuals. HHUGS encouraged […]

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