Academics refuse to spy on Muslim students

By Daniel Coysh

Morning Star, 31 May 2007

UCU delegates unanimously rejected government demands yesterday that university staff snoop on students suspected of “extremism.”

The repressive plans were universally condemned by the UCU inaugural congress in Bournemouth, which enthusiastically backed a motion calling on members to “resist attempts by government to engage colleges and universities in activities which amount to increased surveillance of Muslim or other minority students and to the use of members of staff for such witch-hunts.”

The massive vote endorsed the position initially adopted by the union at the end of 2006, when the plans were first mooted.

UCU general secretary Sally Hunt commented: “Delegates have made it clear that they will oppose government attempts to restrict academic freedom or free speech on campus. Lecturers want to teach students. If they wanted to police them they would have joined the force.”

In November, the government warned of what it described as the serious threat posed by radical Muslims and issued guidance to colleges and universities calling on them to monitor student activity.

But Ms Hunt added: “Lecturers have a pivotal role in building trust. These proposals, if implemented, would make that all but impossible. Universities must remain safe spaces for lecturers and students to discuss and debate all sorts of ideas, including those that some people may consider challenging, offensive and even extreme. The last thing we need is people too frightened to discuss an issue because they fear some quasi-secret service will turn them in.”

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Academics are threatening to derail a Government drive to root out Islamic extremists on university campuses.

The University and College Union, will ask its 120,000 members to refuse to take part in the Government-led “witch hunt”. It insists that Muslims are being “demonised” because of new guidance that asks staff to look out for students falling under the influence of radical preachers.

The Department for Education and Skills has warned university staff to log suspicious behaviour amid fears that campuses are being infiltrated by fanatics recruiting for so-called jihad. In a 20-page report published in December, ministers warned of “serious, but not widespread, Islamic extremist activity in higher education institutions”.

It asks lecturers to vet Islamic preachers who have been invited to campuses, ensure that “hate literature” is not distributed among students and report suspicious behaviour to police.

But at the UCU annual conference in Bournemouth, lecturers will warn of a “recent rise” in racism and its “apparent promotion by Government policies”. Academics at the union’s London Metropolitan University branch will say that “increasingly restrictive measures and the xenophobic language surrounding them” has led to an increase in racist attacks on Muslims.

“Islamophobia and the attempts at increased surveillance on Muslim communities are not only encouraging racist and xenophobic tendencies in Britain but are also leading to measures that threaten civil liberties,” they will warn. A motion to the conference will condemn Government attempts to use “members of staff for such witch hunts”.

Daily Telegraph, 29 May 2007

See also BBC News, 30 May 2007