Although students are already heading home for the Christmas holiday, extremists are still appearing on campuses. This was very much the case in Birmingham. Between 15 and 17 December, the University of Birmingham Islamic Society hosted controversial American preacher Abdul Nasir Jangda. According to the event description, Jangda gave a khutbah (sermon) as well as […]
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Extremist-linked leaflets distributed at Freshers’ Fairs
Freshers’ Week is finally over. Freshers’ fairs, usually hosted by student unions at most campuses between the middle of September and early October, allows a range of student societies to hand out promotional literature and sign up new members. It is also a perfect opportunity for extremists to target students. This year was no different. […]
Continue readingLondon’s Palestine Expo reveals weaknesses of the UK’s counter-extremism strategy
Last weekend (8-9 July), Palestine Expo 2017 took place at the QEII Centre, a government owned building in the heart of Westminster. Many thousands attended a series of events intended to celebrate Palestinian culture. In practice, the conference also served as a platform for controversial speakers with a history of extremism. The Communities Minister Sajid […]
Continue readingStudent Islamic Societies Raise Money for Controversial Islamic Charity
A controversial charity with alleged ties to extremism is appealing for money from students and Islamic student societies to build mosques abroad. As part of a fundraising initiative during Ramadan, a partnership entitled ‘The Mosque Project’, managed by the Ummah Welfare Trust (UWT) in partnership with a number of student Islamic societies, aims to build […]
Continue readingFriends of al-Aqsa at the FOSIS Palestine Conference
On Saturday 4th March, Friends of al-Aqsa and the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) co-hosted the annual FOSIS Palestine Conference at University College London (UCL). The conference aimed to mark 100 years since the Balfour Declaration, in which the British government promised to work towards the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine, […]
Continue readingFriends of al-Aqsa and campus activism
Since the start of the 2016-17 academic year, Student Rights has seen a concerted attempt by Friends of al-Aqsa to target students across the UK. In November, the group used Twitter to target student societies at 39 universities, promoting its ‘Hands off al-Aqsa’ campaign, and has since been advertising volunteer days to student activists. These […]
Continue readingPolice called after protesters target UCL event
Dozens of police officers were called to University College London (UCL) on Thursday evening after anti-Israel protesters targeted an event organised by pro-Israel advocacy groups, according to initial reports. Israeli activist, Hen Mazzig, was addressing an event at UCL hosted by the Friends of Israel student group, when anti-Israel protesters from the Friends of Palestine […]
Continue readingStudent Voice: Prevent and the NUS’ credibility gap on tackling extremism
Queen Mary student, Jacob Kishere, attended last month’s ‘Students not Suspects’ event at his university which saw NUS vice president, Shelly Asquith, criticised for encouraging students to ensure universities were unable to fulfill their legal duties around Prevent. Here, he gives his take on the positions taken by the speakers. All views are his own, […]
Continue readingBaroness Royall’s report into antisemitism released
Baroness Jan Royall’s report, which was leaked today, claims individual members of the Oxford University Labour Club (OULC) “did engage in anti-Semitic acts”. However, Baroness Royall also wrote that she does not, “believe that there is institutional antisemitism within OULC”, rather, “difficulties”, which face the OULC. Allegations of antisemitism in the OULC came to light […]
Continue readingStudents Not Suspects Conference: Myths and Scaremongering
As well as hosting extreme groups at its conference last week, the NUS-led ‘Students Not Suspects‘ campaign also continued to spread inflammatory misinformation about Prevent. These myths include the notion that Prevent is racist and Islamophobic, that is being used to spy on service users, and that it is aimed at shutting down anti-government activism. […]
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