This is a guest post by Dr Shaaz Mahboob of British Muslims for Secular Democracy
Contrary to the post 7/7 scenario where the vast majority of Muslim organisations attempted to justify the horrific acts by the four London Transport Jihadists, there has been a rational and measured response to the medieval barbarism displayed by yet another fanatic Islamist pair. Most Muslim organisations did not attempt to correlate the acts with the ongoing military operations in Afghanistan nor did they offer the apologist narrative to the wider British public and whole wide world. They condemned the act, prayed for the fallen soldier and even held up the Union Flag as a show of solidarity with their homeland, the armed forces and the British public.
However, not all Muslim organisations chose to accept the rational response and common sense approach displayed by their peers. Anjem Choudary’s vile rants and his determination on national television to not condemn the murder of Lee Rigby, even as a human being, was widely expected. This performance has won him the top slot as the most despicable “representative” of British Muslims as the BBC folks have tried to present.
Close second, as it appears, has come forward in the form of an ISOC (Islamic Society) at the London Metropolitan University. It has been awarded the second place for its promotion of the Woolwich sceptic video titled “Woolwich false flag bullshit. Masses are in a state-sponsored trance”.
It would appear that this and other Islamic Societies have a more sinister role in the spread of intolerance and extremism than the attempts to forcefully segregate students on the basis of gender. Previous ISOC elected members have been found to be involved in acts of terrorism and are now serving prison terms. Sadly, Student Unions and other student bodies pay no heed to such extremist tendencies and wish to ignore such blatant signs of extremist tendencies whilst promoting their “rights” to express and segregate as accepted student norms. The video mocks the distressed witnesses, labels policemen as “masons” and plays the conspiracy game in a demeaning manner, showing no respect whatsoever for the victim, and yet was chosen to be the response by the Islamic Society to the act of terrorism to have been successful during the past 7 years since July 7th London bombings.
What such distasteful decision has exposed is the serious extremist tendencies that exist within Islamic Societies and related organisations thriving in British Universities under the banner of free speech and student rights. As a result of the scrutiny of national level Muslim organisations such as the Muslim Council of Britain, Islamic Society and the East London Mosque by moderate Muslim groups and the media, they have now been forced to adapt a rational and apparently moderate stance on issues such as terrorism and hate preaching on the streets and in the mosques. These Islamic organisations on campuses ought to be meted a similar treatment, however the groups that can effectively challenge them such as Student Rights are far and few in between. There should be Muslim students both from Britain and overseas, which there are plenty, who ought to be challenging the vile narratives and regressive practices such as segregated events. Many of the students originating from Muslim countries will have experienced first-hand the wrath of Mullahs and their student groups in their homelands.
If only they and their British peers stood up to these ISOCs, will the conveyer belt of extremism and hatred be halted.
