Petition to ban Germaine Greer highlights lack of debate on campus

The petition calling for Germaine Greer to be banned from campus at Cardiff University is yet another attempt by some students to bar feminist campaigners they find offensive from speaking. Earlier this month, student unions chose to prevent Julie Bindel from appearing at the University of Manchester and attempted to stop Maryam Namazie from attending […]

Continue reading

Student Rights welcomes Counter-Extremism Strategy

Earlier this week, the Home Secretary outlined a number of new measures to counter extremism which aim to “systematically confront and challenge extremist ideology”. Student Rights broadly welcomes the new Counter-Extremism Strategy, which identifies extremist activity on UK campuses as a serious problem which must be tackled without damaging freedom of expression. The strategy reaffirms […]

Continue reading

‘Students not Suspects’ continues to work with CAGE

Yesterday, the government launched its Counter-Extremism Strategy, which included the expectation that the National Union of Students (NUS) “avoid providing a platform for extremist speakers”. This follows a week in which NUS officers have toured the country spreading misinformation about Prevent, and shared platforms with a CAGE official at a number of events. They have […]

Continue reading

Hamza Tzortzis at Oxford Brookes University

Last week Hamza Tzortzis, a senior member of the Islamic Education and Research Academy (IERA), appeared at Oxford Brookes University. Student Rights has been monitoring extreme speakers on UK campuses since 2009 and has logged a significant number of events featuring Tzortzis, who has a history of intolerant statements. On apostasy, he has said: “If […]

Continue reading

Preventing Prevent at SOAS

CAGE Director of Outreach, Moazzam Begg, whitewashed his history of radicalism during a controversial student event at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) earlier this week. The former Guantanamo Bay detainee claimed that: “before Guantanamo and Bagram I wasn’t politicised”. This is stark contrast to what he told the FBI in 2002, when […]

Continue reading

Government outlines need to challenge campus extremism

The government has clarified that the legal duty for public bodies to “have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism” will apply to universities from 21st September. This will put a legal requirement on institutions to have policies in place to challenge on-campus radicalisation, including at extremist events. Guidance […]

Continue reading

Hizb ut-Tahrir’s hypocrisy on freedom of speech (Update: Event report on HT website)

UPDATE 04/05/2015: Following last week’s event a report of Dr Wahid’s speech has been published on the HT website. In this, Dr Wahid states that his aim was: “exposing the UK Counter-Extremism policy called ‘Prevent’ for an audience that may not be well-acquainted with its most sinister and pernicious aspects”. He also claims that: “‘Deradicalisation’…is […]

Continue reading

Islamic Society ‘Annual Dinner’ features extreme speakers (Update: Event details changed)

UPDATE: Following the publication of this article, the title of this event was changed to the first Annual Dinner of the ‘Al-Kawni Trust’. This organisation, alleged to be a front set up by members of City Islamic Society in 2010, has frequently promoted City events in the past. The City University Islamic Society has denied […]

Continue reading

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 […]

Continue reading

Extreme events continue on campuses

The identification of former University of Westminster student Mohammed Emwazi as the Islamic State executioner ‘Jihadi John’ has led to increased scrutiny on the issue of campus extremism. With Haitham Al-Haddad due to speak at the university the same day Emwazi was unmasked, concern over extremists being invited to address students has been at the […]

Continue reading