There is no widespread recruitment of Muslim students by terrorist organisations on university campuses in the UK, an Islamic student body has said.
The Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS), which represents over 90,000 Muslim students in the UK and Eire, said that it believed that recent media reports were incorrect in claiming that Muslim students were targeted by terrorists on university campuses. Wakkas Khan, FOSIS President, said today, “There has been no evidence produced to indicate any widespread recruitment of Muslim students at university campuses. Our own research indicates that extremism is not widespread, and indeed no other credible research on this matter has found widespread recruitment by terrorists.”
FOSIS says that this is clear given that over the past year some newspapers have offered to pay large amounts of money to students in return for spying on Muslim students, which would not be necessary if terrorist activities amongst them were widespread.
Mr Khan added, “This is a very sensitive time for the British community as a whole, and it is wrong and unhelpful to start pointing fingers at specific communities until facts are known. Muslim students continue to play a leading role amongst the wider student body, contributing to all aspects of student life. Islamic societies are run in a transparent and open manner, reaching out to other communities in an effort to build strong community relations on campus. This is something that needs to be recognised and encouraged.”
FOSIS says it will continue working with the National Union of Students, Universities UK, the Department for Education and Skills, and other relevant authorities in order to ensure that Muslim students are not unfairly discriminated against on British campuses.
