Islamic Society apologises for ‘terror’ booklet

A UNIVERSITY’S Islamic Society has apologised for handing out booklets written by a hate preacher saying “every Muslim should be a terrorist”.

MPS have reacted with fury and called for strategies such as Prevent to be refocused more on universities than schools.

Students attending a “Discover Islam Week” at Durham University were stunned to see the banned writings of Dr Zakir Naik on display outside the university library.

Copies of the extremist’s Answers to Non-muslims’ Common Questions About Islam were available from one of the stalls in March, just days before the Westminster Attack. The booklet states that “every Muslim should be a terrorist to antisocial elements in society”.

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: “Terror organisations always prey on the fact our society is decent and civilised. But we should not be spreading their propaganda for them – particularly through our respected educational institutions.

“These young people are supposed to be among our brightest and best. It is deeply concerning. I wonder how many they handed out before they realised and who authorised them to be in the display. The real question is ‘why were they in possession of this kind of material in the first place?’ I mean why did they even ask for them?”

Tory MP Philip Davies said: “It is a massive concern that stuff like this can be distributed at universities in the first place. It would indicate universities are places that need to be focussed on in combating radicalisation.”

Having been handed the booklet, students Martha Muir and Sabrina Steuer wrote to Durham University Islamic Society (DUISOC) to complain. They said in the letter: “Considering the hateful things this man has said and the fact he is literally barred from entering the country we find it highly problematic that your society chose to spread this pamphlet. Furthermore, this was just one of the many of his pamphlets being offered on your stand.”

Durham Islamic Society president Mohammed Alatiyyah said DUISOC was “very sorry if anyone was upset or offended” by the booklet, which “doesn’t represent the views of our society” and was distributed “by honest mistake”.