Muslim hate speech at British universities

Israeli speakers have been barred from giving talks on campus but Muslim extremists are welcome

"The Federation of Student Islamic Societies (Fosis) has begun to set out a case for its support for hate speakers, utilising spurious "freedom of expression" arguments. It would have us believe that it holds a commitment to liberal ideology. Conversely, those who invite hate speakers on to campus are donning a cloak of hypocrisy and employing theoretical freedoms as a form of liberal protection. What is liberal about inviting proponents of homophobia, antisemitism and sexism to speak at universities? What exactly is so liberal about hosting advocates of racial and religious violence?

Fosis would have us believe that it is a defender of an absolute right to freedom of expression, yet one must critically analyse this assumption: Fosis clamps down on the respected historian Benny Morris, pushing for his Cambridge visit to be cancelled because controversial views he may hold, yet welcome Daud Abdullah (who signed the Istanbul declaration) with open arms. They say no to Douglas Murray at LSE and NUS conferences, but hello to Azzam Tamimi. Where is the logic? Moreover where does their new position fit in with their long-standing support of a no-platform policy when it comes to the BNP? In the light of Fosis's apparent paradigm shift, will the BNP be their next invitation? I will hazard a guess that the answer will be (rightfully) no. Yet, here, we see their true face and their clear hypocrisy: a rule for one and a different rule for the other.

The following quotes come from speakers under the invitation of student Islamic Societies across UK campuses. Feel free to enter them into Google or YouTube.

"They're all the same. The Jews don't have to be in Israel to be like this. It doesn't matter whether they're in New York, Houston, St Louis, London, Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester. They're all the same. They've monopolised everything: the Holocaust, God, money, interest, usury, the world economy, the media, political institutions." Another speaker has described how a husband has the right to apply "some type of physical force ... a very light beating" to his wife. "If I were to call homosexuals perverted, dirty, filthy dogs who should be murdered, that's my freedom of speech, isn't it?" "I die for my homeland, I'm a martyr and I long to be a martyr." The list goes on.

Time and again, the hosts of these speakers hide behind a dog-eared copy of Mill's On Liberty, urgently locating the next quote that will legitimise the invitation. But for how long would they sit idly by if said speakers were directing their hate-fuelled abuse at Muslim students? If the above quotes were directed against Muslims and not Jews, homosexuals and women, would they still be screaming Mill from the rooftops, disingenuously preaching the right of freedom of expression? I certainly have my doubts. Clearly, the grossest of double standards are being employed.

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