Two hours of extremist bile ... and no one dares dissent
CORBYN GIRL BACKING FANATICS
IT’S the start of term at King’s College, London and 150 students take their seats at a lecture theatre as a guest speaker begins his talk.
They listen carefully as he delivers the first of a series of addresses as part of a tour of Britain’s most esteemed campuses.
But the orator on this occasion is not a renowned scientist or historian. He is Moazzam Begg, director of CAGE – the group that described Islamic State executioner Jihadi John as a ‘ beautiful young man’.
And the aim of this tour is to encourage students to sabotage Prevent – the key government policy intended to help root out extremism and stop young Muslims being radicalised.
He is using his free rein to preach in universities across the country to tell students to ignore or undermine the policy – and no alternative voice is being offered to contest his case.
It’s ironic – and apparently lost to those in attendance – that a huge sign projected above Mr Begg’s head as he speaks reads: ‘ This is a Safe Space.’ King’s College, London is now one of a number of top universities that has a fashionable ‘safe space’ policy in place to ‘protect’ students’ from ‘mental harm’ at debates or events. Leaflets proudly giving details are scattered liberally over the chairs in the lecture theatre, and four ‘ safe space officers’ patrol the room.
Anyone who feels ‘ harassed, intimidated or uncomfortable or threatened’ is invited to text them on a number supplied before the talk.
The policy has been widely criticised, with opponents claiming it stifles free speech by permitting only Left-wing, politically-correct opinions. It has recently resulted in a series of controversial demands to ban speakers – such as the feminist Germaine Greer – whose views are deemed offensive in some way.
However, they have not stopped figures such as Mr Begg from being able to voice their views.
‘We are told that extremists are bad,’ he tells his audience gathered at the university’s South Bank lecture theatre. ‘ But Mahatma Ghandi was an extremist. Churchill said so!’
Warming to his theme, Mr Begg questions the very existence of the threat of radicalisation. ‘Radicalisation means an adherence to your religion,’ he shrugs. As the students eagerly take notes, they are warned that opposing the Government’s anti-extremism policy – as he is telling them to do – would ‘probably be illegal.’ ‘But you must oppose it,’ he tells them. ‘At least in word if not in deed.’ Despite the ‘safe space’ leaflets, it is clear the university’s eagerness to prevent offence is not matched by the desire to ensure a balanced debate.
For during the entire two-hour event, not a single alternative view is offered to counter those of Mr Begg – neither by anyone on the panel, nor indeed anyone in the audience. This was repeated at every one of the CAGE talks attended by the Mail. And this total absence of counterpoint opinion is perhaps all the more extraordinary given the astonishing nature of some of the views on offer.
Students have been told they should show support for notorious, convicted terrorists – many of whom are the alleged victims of ‘fabricated accounts’.
Young Muslims have been warned they are living under the yoke of a ‘racist’ and ‘white supremacist’ state. Those in power are suspicious of them, want to spy on them, want to isolate them from the rest of society, they are told.
Anti-extremism, it was said, is in fact just a cover for the State’s true, racist agenda to attack Muslims.
And in a highly inflammatory claim, undergraduates have even been told their life in Britain is akin to what Jews experienced under the Nazis before the holocaust.
‘We [Muslims in the UK] as a community have felt – though there are many differences – like what happened to the Jewish community before the rise of the Nazis,’ Mr Begg said.
It is unclear how convincing this tale of repression is to these bright Muslim students, who carry iPads and smartphones, converse with non-Muslim friends and appear to be thoroughly enjoying all the pleasures and privileges of undergraduate life at top academic institutions. At times, the words of Mr Begg took an even more sinister turn – and he appeared to encourage sympathy for Al Qaeda terrorists in Syria. At another university event he spoke in favour of two extremists who were jailed in Britain for travelling to Syria to ‘do jihad’ and ‘die as a martyr’ – saying it was only the ‘silly’ rebellion of two teenagers. He said: ‘Yes they may have done or said some silly things – as teenagers often do.’ He also condemned their 13-year sentence.
Other speakers at CAGE events were no less inflammatory. One is Lena Mohamed of the Islamic Human Rights Commission – which has campaigned for the rights of terrorists including Abu Hamza. She told students: ‘Prevent is a strategy that fits within the narrative of a racist, white supremacist agenda. It is part of a structure of systemic racism that includes antiMuslim hatred. This particular vilification of Muslims is integral to the operation of this state.’
The majority of talks featuring Mr Begg have been held in conjunction with officers of the National Union of Students. Earlier this year David Cameron used a major speech to publicly shame the union for its links to CAGE.
‘When you choose to ally yourselves with an organisation like CAGE, which called Jihadi John a “beautiful young man” and told people to “support the jihad” in Iraq and Afghanistan, it really does, in my opinion, shame your organisation and your noble history of campaigning for justice,’ he said.
The NUS later publicly claimed it would not work with CAGE. But our investigation reveals that key hard-Left figures in the NUS have been working closely with the group to organise a string of events.
One is Shelly Asquith, the NUS’s vice president welfare, who told students at one talk: ‘The government has defined extremism in the Prevent strategy as vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values which is breaking the rule of law. Well, I think there are some laws that should be broken.’
Miss Asquith shared a stage with Jeremy Corbyn in August last year as he campaigned to be Labour leader at an event in London. In other pictures posted on Twitter, Miss Asquith holds a sign stating ‘I’m on team Corbyn’ and raises two fingers in a peace sign, dressed in an ‘animal liberation’ T-shirt.
Another NUS figure is black students’ officer Malia Bouattia, who instructed students to take notes during Prevent training to help the battle against it.
She added: ‘Even when we look at acts of violence... – whether you want to call it political violence or not – if you want to go to the root of the problem it just comes back to the State and essentially... white supremacy that’s at work.’
Last night CAGE said it was just one of hundreds of organisations that opposed Prevent due to ‘the chilling effect it is having on Muslim communities’. A spokesman added: ‘CAGE has been invited to speak at a numerous public events including universities for several years.
‘This has always been with the full awareness of the relevant institutions and in line with external speaker policy.’ The group said it took no payment for appearances, though a number of universities told the Mail that Mr Begg’s travel expenses had been covered.
Regarding his comments in support of convicted Islamic terrorists, Mr Begg said: ‘Each case is unique and based on what I believe to be its merits I offer my view in support of the campaigns – or not.’ He said he stood by his comments comparing
‘Some laws were meant to be broken’
the plight of Muslims in modern Britain to the Jews under the Nazis. ‘One glance at the history of Jews in Europe will show us how they were targeted because of differences,’ he said. ‘We aren’t anywhere near this point again and I pray we never get there. But anxiety amongst British (and European) Jews is at a record high.
‘With thousands marching in the streets of Germany led by people who impersonate and idolise Hitler, I can see why. But this time it’s the Muslims they’re marching against.’ NUS president Megan Dunn denied the organisation was working with CAGE and said the lecture tour was a ‘grassroots movement’ and that individual union officers had ‘made a personal decision whether to speak alongside Moazzam Begg’. She added: ‘ NUS has always condemned violent terrorism.’
King’s College London said it has ‘robust procedures’ to vet speakers. A spokesman said: ‘While the comments made by some of the speakers are controversial, we do not consider them to be inciting hatred or violence and therefore not breaking the law.’