BREAKING NEWS and one the Plymouth and West Country EDL and South West Alliance need to look into as soon as possible as militant Islamists are to show their faces in Plymouth tonight. The speaker himself by Islamic standards is fairly moderate but that is why the Islamists are protesting. They oppose him speaking as they see him as too moderate.Certainly with this happening tonight it is vital this gets shared particularly to West Country anti Islamic pages. PLYMOUTH University bosses have found themselves in the middle of a freedom-of-speech row after booking a moderate speaker from a think-tank specialising in Islamism and counter-extremism. Sheikh Dr Usama Hasan, a senior researcher in Islamic Studies at Quilliam, will speak at the Jill Craigie cinema tonight on the topic of Islam and democracy in the wake of the Arab Spring. The University cites Dr Hasan as a trained imam and a scientist with a PhD, MA and MSc from the Universities of Cambridge and London, and a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. However, the universitys militant Plymouth Islamic Society plan to protest at the event as he had not condemned the actions of Quilliam co-founder Maajid Nawaz, a Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn. Mr Nawaz recently received death threats after re-Tweeting an image from the online comic Jesus and Mo. The cartoon shows Jesus and Mohammed saying Hey and How ya doin to each other. His tweet, which he said he was not offended by as a Muslim, followed a BBC Big Questions programme which discussed the cartoon. Quilliam says it lobbies government and public institutions for more nuanced policies regarding Islam and the need for greater democracy in the Muslim world. Last year, Quilliam convinced EDL-founder Tommy Robinson to leave the anti-Islamist organisation and work with their group to combat extremism. The universitys militant Plymouth Islamic Society protested to Vice Chancellor, Wendy Purcell, saying Quilliam instigated Islamophobia and demanded the event be cancelled. A society spokesman, Yusef Chambers, said he felt the university had not listened to students nor the wider community. Students and other groups will now hold a demonstration at the college during the speaking event. Yusef said: Its not just Muslims – its the community out there saying no. A spokesman for Plymouth University said it hosted hundreds of events each year, attracting high profile guest speakers and these events played a key role in stimulating debate and encouraging individuals to think for themselves, broaden their horizons and make sense of the world in an informed manner. The spokesman added: This does mean that some topics may not be of interest to everyone, suit their tastes, or be in keeping with their ideologies, which is something we understand and respect. We rigorously consider the appropriateness of any event or guest speaker in balancing our obligation to uphold the principles of free speech with our duty of care to students, staff and the community. -C-
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 13:35:32 +0000
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