CSC Researcher Alexander Hitchens wrote a guest piece for the political blog Harry's Place, reproduced below:
Much has been written
on the blogosphere about a dinner for Islamist extremists being held by the
City University Islamic Society. This
event was originally scheduled to take place on the 1st of April. On
30th March 2009 my organisation, the Centre for Social Cohesion,
sent the following email to the University expressing our concerns over the
extreme nature of the speakers:
Dear
Sir/Madam,
I
am writing in regard to a planned 1 April 2009 City University Islamic
Society event entitled 'The Beginning of a New Chapter'. The invitation of
this event highlights Anwar al-Awlaki, Murtaza Khan and Haitham al-Haddad as
the guest speakers.
The Centre for Social
Cohesion would like to bring your attention to the
extremist nature of the proposed speakers at this event
Anwar Al-Awlaki
Running his own blog site
from Yemen, Al-Awlaki will be speaking for this event via video link. Al-Awlaki
is currently banned from entering the United States. He is known by US
intelligence officers to be an al-Qa'ida supporter and former spiritual leader
to three of 9/11 hijackers.
In an article entitled '44 Ways to Support Jihad,
Al-Awlaki
encourages
Muslims to participate in jihad (armed fighting), either in person, by funding
the mujahideen (fighters) or by jihad of the word, as well as telling Muslims
to participate in arms training. In a January 2009 blog posting, Al-Awlaki
states:
"Jihad
is the greatest deed in Islam...In times like these, when Muslim lands are
occupied by the kuffar [unbelievers]...and
when Islam is being attacked in order to uproot it, Jihad becomes obligatory on
every Muslim...Again, the point needs to be stressed: Jihad today is obligatory
on every capable Muslim."
In
December 2008 Al-Awlaki praised
the US designated terrorist Somali group, Al-Shabab and said Muslims should
imitate the terrorist organisation in its recent events in Somalia. Al-Awlaki
said:
"Al-Shabab
not only have succeeded in expanding the areas that fall under their rule but
they have succeeded in implementing the sharia and giving us a living example
of how we as Muslims should proceed to change our situation. The ballot has
failed us but the bullet has not."
Murtaza Khan
Murtaza Khan (aka
Abu Hasnayn Murtaza Khan) is a teacher at Al
Noor primary school in London. Channel 4's Undercover Mosque
features Khan as saying:
On Jews
and Christians:
"Those
whom the wrath of God is upon is the Jew, is the Christian."
Criticises
Muslims who follow Jewish and Christian ways:
"We've
become Jews in our clothing, Jews in our eating, Jews in everything that we do.
And the other half is Christian in everything that they do. Muslims are
following one of these accursed nations. And people are still not waking up to
understand the fact that these people are enemies towards us."
Calls Jews
and Christian's filthy:
"We should
have a sense of shame. For how long have we seen that our mothers, our sisters
and our daughters have to go and uncover themselves in front of these filthy
non-Muslim doctors?"
Haitham
al-Haddad
Haitham
al-Haddad recently gave a talk
declaring a victory for Hamas in their recent conflict with Israel. Among
his statements at this talk was the following:
"My
proposed solution for the Israelis is to leave Palestine and to go back to
their own countries to live in peace. If they want to live in peace, in real
peace, they should leave Palestine and leave it for the Palestinians and those
Jews who would like to live in Palestine, but under the Palestinian government,
not under the Israeli government."
We are very concerned that these individuals will have a
negative effect on the young and impressionable audience who will be given a
very confused and extreme interpretation of the Islamic faith.
Best wishes,
Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens
On the same day I received a short response from the University saying that the event was cancelled, without specifying exactly why. It then came to our attention on Monday of this week that in fact the event had been rescheduled, with the same speakers, for today, 8th of April 2009. So again, we sent the University an email asking if they were happy about the speakers who were billed to appear. The response I got said that the previous event for the 1st of April was cancelled due to a technicality and the 8th of April event was going ahead with the advertised speakers as there was no proof that any of them breached section 43 of the Education Act, which guarantees free speech on University campuses within the law. This was despite the proof I had already given them in the above email.
Thus, with
all attempts at settling this matter privately having failed, we issued a press
release last night giving the details of the event. This, in turn, triggered a flood of calls to
the University this morning from the media and a rather flustered phone call
to me from one of their communications people.
This person ranted and raved that there was no proof that a pre recorded
speech by al-Awlaki was to be played at the event (notice how before the press
release they had no problem when I told them al-Awlaki was going to speak),
even though up until last night the City ISOC website was advertising
to the contrary. I then got a further
email confirming that there will be no pre record of al-Awlaki despite what was
advertised on the ISOC site, but the other two, al-Haddad and Khan, were
confirmed to speak. So again, I responded:
Dear XXXX,
Can I confirm then that the University is happy with the
attendance of the other two speakers, Haitham al Haddad and Murtadha Khan?
According to the City University website your position on free
speech on campus is the following:
"We will guarantee by policy and
action the right of free speech within the University community unless the
exercise of such a right can be shown to lead to or increase significantly the
probability of the discrimination of individuals or groups, harm to individuals
or groups within the University, or the University or the community within
which the University is located."
Murtadha Khan was filmed by Channel 4 preaching hatred against
both the Christian and Jewish Communities:
"For how long do we have to see our mothers, sisters and daughters
having to uncover themselves before these filthy non-Muslim doctors? We should
have a sense of shame.
We've become Jews in our clothing, Jews in our eating, Jews
in everything that we do. And the other half is Christian in everything that
they do. Muslims are following one of these accursed nations. And people are
still not waking up to understand the fact that these people are enemies
towards us."
As we see it, the words of this man clearly violate the
University's policy on free speech.
Haitham al-Haddad recently gave a talk declaring
a victory for Hamas, a designated terrorist entity, in their recent conflict with Israel, in which he advocated the abolition of Israel:
"My proposed solution for the Israelis is to leave Palestine and
to go back to their own countries to live in peace. If they want to live in
peace, in real peace, they should leave Palestine and leave it for the
Palestinians and those Jews who would like to live in Palestine, but under the
Palestinian government, not under the Israeli government."
We cannot stress enough how dangerous the views of men like this
are and considering the influence that hate preachers have been proven to have
in inspiring terrorist attacks both in this country and abroad the University
must now act responsibly and cancel this event. We find it unacceptable
that the City Islamic Society see it fit to present men such as this as the
true voice of Islam and would implore them to seek out true non-violent
moderate Muslim scholars to address their young and impressionable audience.
Best wishes
Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens
I
never received any response from this email, so we will just have to assume
that they are ok with Jew haters and Hamas lovers, and in fact these two men
are addressing the City ISOC audience as I write this.
Now,
the connection with al-Awlaki is quite hard for the City ISOC to deny as their website
also carries speeches by him, and their extremist credentials are further
bolstered by a startlingly racist and sectarian essay on the site entitled
'Beware Celebrating Christmas and the New Year', which includes things like:
One
of the most important basic principles of our religion is that of al-walaa'
wa'l-baraa', loyalty (walaa') to Islam and its people, and disavowal (baraa')
of kufr and its people. One of the essential features of this disavowal of kufr
and it's people is that the Muslim should be distinct from the people of kufr,
and he should feel proud of his religion and of being a Muslim, no matter how
strong and advanced and civilized the kuffaar may be, and no matter how weak
and backward and divided the Muslims may be. It is not permissible under any
circumstances to take the strength of the kuffaar and the weakness of the
Muslims as an excuse for imitating and resembling them, as some hypocrites and
defeatist Muslims claim
