Islamic radicalizationU.K. universities accused of being "hotbeds of Islamic extremism"
British universities have been accused of being fertile breeding grounds for violent extremism; a recent investigation by British MPs claims that Islamic fundamentalism has flourished at universities and school officials have done little to stop it; school officials have denied these charges and insist that the report is entirely lacking in factual evidence; university vice-chancellors said the parliamentary report conflates the fact that young people are susceptible to radicalization and that a very large percentage of young people in the United Kingdom attend universities
U.K. campuses a prime radicalization field // Source: taleex.net
British universities have been accused of being fertile breeding grounds for violent extremism. A recent investigation by British MPs claims that Islamic fundamentalism has flourished at universities and school officials have done little to stop it.
The study, led by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Homeland Security, expressed “grave concerns” that students were being radicalized at universities and that the problem must be addressed “with utmost urgency.” The report added, “It has been an obvious and neglected problem for too long and must be tackled as a matter of utmost urgency.”
Several recent terrorist attacks were carried out by young men who had attended school in the United Kingdom.
The most high profile instance was the attempted 2009 Christmas Day attack by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who had studied at the University College London and was the president of the school’s Islamic Society from 2006 to 2007.
In addition last December, Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, who had been a student at a university in Luton, blew himself up in a suicide attack in Sweden.
According to the report, universities have allowed extremism to flourish “beyond the site of academics” and that there was a “reluctance to co-operate with the police on the part of some universities that did not want to be seen to be ‘spying’ on their students.”
British school officials have denied these charges and insist that the report is entirely lacking in factual evidence.
Nicola Dandridge, the chief executive of Universities UK, a group that represents vice-chancellors, said, “There is no evidence to suggest that universities are ‘hotbeds of Islamic extremism.’”
He added, “The experts, including police and counter-terrorism experts, state quite firmly that there is not a major problem with radicalization or extremism in higher education at present.”
Dandridge said that the parliamentary report was conflating the fact that young people are susceptible to radicalization and that a very large percentage of young people in the United Kingdom attend universities.
“The issue is that the people most likely to be vulnerable to radicalization or extremism are young people, many of whom will either be students or former students. Over 40% of young people in the UK will enter higher education,” Dandridge said.
The Federation of Student Islamic Societies echoed Dandridge’s statements and criticized the sections of the media for “maligning” Muslim students.
Qasim Rafiq, a spokesperson for the federation, stated, “”There is no conclusive evidence of radicalization on campus.”
He went on to say, “Time and again Muslim students are subjected to intense scrutiny and public backlash on the back of sensationalist articles and reports, serving only to damage campus cohesion and whip up anti-Muslim sentiment.”
He added that future studies of extremism at universities should be “investigated maturely, responsibly and with an evidence based approach.”
