countering radical is at ion in universities

8/6/2019 Countering Radical is at Ion in Universities

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COUNTERING RADICALISATIONIN BRITISHUNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES:A RESPONSE BY JUST WEST YORKSHIRES

YOUNG RADICALS PROJECTThe news that Leeds and Bradford have beenearmarked as among the 25 top priority areas thatwill receive targeted funding to tackle extremism was

widely anticipated as 3 of the 4 London bomberscame from Leeds and Bradford is home to the thirdlargest Pakistani Muslim community nationally.

The Home Secretary Theresa Mays portrayal of Britishuniversities as hot houses for Muslim radicalisation is anaffront to the tens of thousands of Muslims who use theirknowledge, skills and learning to make a positivecontribution to British society. The facile suggestion thatcampuses breed terrorism and extremism on the basis that a

number of the convicted terrorists were university educatedis akin to saying that all politicians are likely to commit actsof criminality on the basis that those implicated in theexpenses scandal were university-educated.

The failure of the Coalition government to acknowledge thegreat strides made by Muslim student bodies to openthemselves to scrutiny, invite challenge and create spacesfor open discussions with non-Muslim groups on campus

panders to populist politics. By carelessly labelling everyyoung Muslim in tertiary education as a potential extremist,the Coalition government is effectively burning its bridges interms of developing meaningful lines of communicationswith young Muslims.


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Professor Malcolm Grant, Chair of The Universities UK (UUK)Report into Academic Freedom, rightly asserts thatprioritising freedom in education is an essential pre-conditionto tackling social ills. For some, the concept of Universities

and radical thought are inseparable. Without the ability tothink outside the box and critically analyse ones society andthose who govern us, Universities no longer become seats oflearning and challenge, rather they merely regurgitate astate-sponsored agenda. Denying Muslim students the rightto intellectualise their struggle in a controlled educationalenvironment, will effectively result in these vital discussionsbeing driven underground.In the context of the challenges that the governments

recent policies pose such as its contentious foreign policystances and the adverse fall out from the public sector cutson many Muslim communities, the constriction of spaces inwhich young people can engage in open and constructiveresponses to injustices they witness and experience, willcreate the very conditions that the governments policypurports to prevent.It is not surprising that the government is deeply divided on

this policy as its motivations are ideological rather thanevidence-based. Nicola Dandridge, the chief executive ofUniversities UK, believes there is no evidence to linkstudent radicals with violent extremism, with students nomore at risk than the rest of society: You cannot draw theconclusion that because wild things are said at universitythat automatically equates to radicalization(w)e have to bereally careful about what we are saying about cause andeffect. The Universities minister, David Willetts has alsoclearly stated that there is no evidence linking universityexperience with violent extremism. The Caldicott Inquiry alsofound there was no distinguishable link betweenAbdulmutallabs time at University and his apparentbombing attempt. Indeed, close sources suggest he wasmost definitely radicalised off campus and post University.


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The present policy raises disturbing questions that haveimplications for everyone who believes in civil liberties andhuman rights: Who defines what is extreme or radical? Whatare the benchmarks that distinguish an extremist from a

radical activist? On which spectrum does this policy locatean individual committed to fighting social injustice andchallenging the killing of innocent human lives as part of astate-sponsored policy?

While the policy raises serious ethical and moral questionsthat define us as a society and as a people, there are veryreal questions that cities such as Bradford and Leeds whohave been identified at the coalface of breeding studentradicalism have to ask: What is the evidential basis on which

this list has been compiled? Who is responsible for feedingthis information to the police and intelligence agencies?Does this evidence hold up to independent and publicscrutiny?

The leadership within our universities must act as championsof those under their charge. Likewise elected representativesand those charged with rolling out the government agendamust insist on establishing the factual basis that underpins

this policy. The failure to interrogate this policy istantamount to being an accessory in the criminalisation ofan entire community.

JUST firmly believe that in order to engage with those inparticularly oppressive or disadvantaged circumstances, onemust be open and encourage radical thinking. The YoungRadicals project views young people as change makers, notproblems to be burdened by a divisive government agenda.While completely accepting the fact that with rights comeresponsibilities, as human beings we hold a fundamentalbelief that we have a responsibility to seek social justiceacross the board, and as such, a right to be radical andchallenge social structures at the very root of the conflict.


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Optimism is a dynamic and energetic form of radicalism andthe disheartening situation of young people today withdecreasing opportunities and increasing responsibilitiesought not go unchallenged because the radical label has

earned the distaste of policy makers.The role of the press and media in the days to come willundoubtedly ratchet up this so-called threat of Islamistextremism in campuses across the UK. What will not beheard over this din is the hard evidence: the Europol annualreport (EU Terrorism Situation and Trend) highlights that99.6% of terrorist attacks in Europe were by non-Muslimgroups. While the myth of the Muslim bogeyperson will bloatpress and media coffers what will be forgotten will be the

cost to the Muslim community who will have to bear thebrunt of the fall-out of this racist policy.

The government is advised to learn the lessons of history;inNorthern Ireland it was not gunboat diplomacy nor thetreatment of ALL Roman-Catholics as a suspect communitythat won the peace dividend. If extremism is going to betackled the government needs to spend time buildingbridges and respectfully engaging with the largely peaceful

Muslim community. Demonising Muslims might allowCameron to ride high on the crest of populist politics, butultimately this divisive strategy is inconsistent with Britainsrole part of a larger diverse and multi-cultural globalcommunity.Sabiha Iqbal and Ratna LachmanYoung Radicals ProjectJUST West YorkshireFor further information on the Young Radicals projectplease email [email protected] phone01274 542222
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

countering radical is at ion in universities

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