I recently wrote about Goldsmiths Islamic Society’s (ISOC) attempts to have human rights campaigner Maryam Namazie disinvited from a speaking event organised by The Atheist, Secularist and Humanist Society (ASH). When they didn’t get their way, members of ISOC simply turned up to the talk and initiated a campaign of disruption and intimidation instead. Despite the group comprising of thuggish, male Islamists attempting to silence and intimidate a female minority, The Goldsmiths Feminist Society, in a display of utter moral confusion took the decision to release a statement in solidarity with ISOC. Full video of the event is now available here, which I urge you to watch, however the full video is nearly two hours long, so I’ve taken the liberty of editing it down to highlight the main instances of thuggish behaviour and disruption from ISOC members:

It’s worth noting that throughout the entire talk, doors were banged and mobile phone notifications were consistently audible from the ISOC members on the front row. This was during the moments they weren’t shouting out, turning off Maryam’s PowerPoint equipment or switching off the main lights.

It’s interesting to note from the full video, that once the male disruptors from ISOC had been removed or left, some meaningful dialogue actually took place. And that’s what’s needed. That’s what Islamists fear and seek to close down.

Maryam Namazie is a hero for refusing to be intimidated and silenced by the behaviour of these thugs. It’s a travesty that those purporting to stand for feminism betrayed her.

I hope Goldsmiths Student Union identifies these culprits and takes the appropriate action. I will be contacting them myself and requesting as much. I urge others to do the same by clicking here.

Stephen Knight is host of The #GSPodcast. You can listen to The Godless Spellchecker Podcast here, and support it by becoming a patron here.

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