A Mail on Sunday investigation has revealed the identity of Umm Muthanna Al-Britaniyah, an Islamic State (IS) recruiter who tried to lure young British Muslim women to travel to Syria to marry fighters. The woman is believed to be Tooba Gondal, a 22 year old from East London who studied English at Goldsmiths College. While […]
Continue readingTag Archives: University of Westminster
NUS Black Students’ Officer attends Al-Quds Day march
On Sunday, hundreds of anti-Israel activists gathered in central London to take part in the annual Al-Quds Day march, following a tradition inspired by Ayatollah Khomeini. The march was organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), a group Student Rights has written on a number of times in the past. This has included highlighting […]
Continue readingStudent Rights at the University of Westminster
Last night, Student Rights’ Director, Rupert Sutton, spoke at the University of Westminster at an event asking whether students should “promote or prevent the Prevent Strategy”. Appearing alongside Abdullah Al-Andalusi and Jahangir Mohammed, as well as University of Westminster lecturer Dr. Dibyesh Anand, he addressed the clear need for Prevent and sought to challenge the […]
Continue readingWestminster student named in Islamic State documents
Last week saw the publication of thousands of Islamic State (IS) documents reveal the name of another student from the University of Westminster who had travelled to Syria to fight alongside the terrorist group. The Telegraph has reported that the files include the details of 18 year old Mohammed Jackir Ali, who dropped out of […]
Continue readingNew Student Rights briefing details campus antisemitism
While isolated claims of antisemitism have long been made on UK campuses, the issue was recently brought to the forefront of the public debate by allegations made against members of the Oxford University Labour Club (OULC). While the scale of these allegations was shocking, Student Rights has long argued that antisemitism is a serious problem […]
Continue readingThe Prevent Duty on Campus – Reflections on First Term Experiences
On 21st September, a new statutory duty for universities to “have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism” came into force. This gave institutions a legal requirement to put policies in place to challenge on-campus radicalisation and guarantee compliance with the government’s Prevent strategy. While universities have broadly accepted […]
Continue readingUniversity of Westminster diversity report released
In June, Student Rights spoke to the Sunday Times about a leaked report commissioned by the University of Westminster which had found serious concerns about the university Islamic Society. With the report being released this month, the story has now been covered in the Guardian, focusing on the society’s “ultra-conservative” views, as well as the […]
Continue readingExtreme 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 readingStudent anger at Haitham Al-Haddad invite (Update: Event cancelled)
UPDATE: Following revelations that the Islamic State militant known as ‘Jihadi John’ may be a former student of the University of Westminster called Mohammed Emwazi, the university announced that the event had been postponed “due to increased sensitivity and security concerns”. A petition calling for the University of Westminster to prevent the extremist cleric Haitham […]
Continue reading‘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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