University of Westminster suspends all student union events deemed sensitive just days after ‘Jihadi John’ was unmasked as a former student and amid controversy over attendance of controversial preacher

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The university attended by Mohammed Emwazi, the Islamic State extremist known as “Jihadi John”, has suspended any student union event deemed “sensitive” a day after his identity was revealed.

The University of Westminster’s decision came amid confusion over when and if an event entitled Who is Muhammad? – originally scheduled for Thursday night and due to feature a controversial Islamic preacher – would go ahead.



A campaign to ban Sheikh Haitham al-Haddad from speaking was launched after allegations were made that he has described homosexuality as a “scourge” and “criminal act”.

More than 3,000 people signed a petition to stop him speaking at the event, but he insisted he should be allowed to on the grounds the event was not focused on sexuality.

The university’s Islamic society was forced to postpone the event over security concerns on Thursday afternoon after Emwazi, 26, was identified.



On Friday sources close to the university’s Islamic Society suggested it had been rescheduled for Monday.

However, the university released a statement late on Friday contradicting that and clarifying that “any events that have been deemed sensitive have been suspended”.

Controversy over the event came as the university confirmed that Emwazi graduated from a three-year course in information systems and business management in 2009.

Haddad said the campaign against him, led by the university’s LGBTI society, was “completely misplaced” because his views on sexuality were not the focus of the discussion.



“In the religion of Islam, it is clear-cut that homosexual acts are a sin and are unlawful in sharia. Trying to censor lawful speech does not change this fact,” he said.



Haddad said his views were similar to “those of orthodox Christian or Jewish religious leaders” and that denying him a platform was to deny him his right to free speech.

The university’s Islamic society defended him, reiterating that sexuality was not the focus of the debate.

In a statement, the society said that inviting Haddad was not intended to cause any offence, but was motivated solely by his standing among religious leaders.

Peter Tatchell, the prominent gay rights activist, said members of University of Westminster’s LGBTI society and women’s rights campaigners had for years been targeted by hardline Islamist students.



“The atmosphere is intimidatory towards gay and women’s rights campaigners and towards fellow Muslims who don’t share their hardline interpretation of Islam,” he told the Guardian.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sheikh Haitham al-Haddad (right). Photograph: Marcel Antonisse/AFP/Getty Images

Tatchell, who has given talks at the university and has close links to its LGBTI society, said the group’s posters had been torn down and defaced as recently as last year.



“Gay and women students have also told me that they are too frightened to challenge Islamists on campus because they fear retribution,” he said.

A senior lecturer, who declined to be named publicly, said the overwhelming majority of Muslim students at the university were moderate in their beliefs and were upset that preachers such as Haddad were invited to talk at the Islamic society event.

He said the society was run by extreme figures between 2008 and 2011 but that they had all graduated.

There was now only a small number of hardline Wahabi Muslims who could cause problems, he said, citing the example of a Saudi Arabian student complaining six months ago that she was being “shouted at by other Muslim students simply because she was Saudi”.



Security on the university’s four campuses has been increased in recent years, with spot checks on students and restrictions on visitors. A sign at the university warns that the security alert status has been raised to amber due to a “heightened state of awareness of potential security problems or threats”.

The university has attempted to distance itself from Emwazi, saying in a statement that it was “shocked and sickened” by the news.

Asked about the allegations concerning LGBT students being targeted, a university spokeswoman said it “condemns the promotion of radicalisation, terrorism and violence or threats against any member of our community” and that any student found to be engaging in radicalised activity or intimidating others would be referred to disciplinary procedures.

In a separate statement, the university’s Islamic society said it has “nothing to do with” Emwazi and added: “It is not associated with any extremist organisations and that should be obvious and not need stating, but given the climate, it has become necessary to clarify such things in statements such as this.”

The general thing is it’s not a crazy extremist university. Not at all. Everyone I know is condemning this Jihadi John Naj, student

Since March 2012, the university’s Islamic society is estimated to have hosted 22 events featuring speakers with a history of radical Islamist views, according to the Henry Jackson Society thinktank.



Previous speakers have included Anwar al-Awlaki, an al-Qaida leader killed by a US drone strike in Yemen in September 2011; Hizb ut-Tahrir member Jamal Harwood; and Dr Khalid Fikry, who has given speeches in which he appears to suggest that Shia Muslims believe “raping a Sunni woman is a matter that pleases Allah”.

Former Westminster university student Yassin Nassari was jailed in 2007 for carrying blueprints for a rocket in his luggage when stopped by police at Luton airport.



It is not known whether Nassari was radicalised at the university, but his Old Bailey trial heard that, after taking a break from his studies, he reappeared wearing long robes and referring to himself as “emir” of the student’s Islamic society.

In 2011, the university was in the spotlight after it emerged that the then-president and a vice-president of its students’ union had links to the extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which has long called for the establishment of an Islamic state.

In 2012, a series of jihadist videos were posted on the Islamic society’s Facebook page in support of al-Shabaab, the Somali Islamist terrorist group that on 21 February this year called for attacks on US, UK and Canadian shopping malls.

Several students spoken to by the Guardian on Friday insisted that the university was not a hotbed of radical Islamism.



“I don’t want to use the word ‘extreme’: it’s a volatile word. There’s different scales. I’m a Muslim myself and there are liberal moderates and more conservative,” said Naj, 20, a second-year law student.

“The general thing is it’s not a crazy extremist university. Not at all. Everyone I know is condemning this Jihadi John. I don’t like how the media is painting this uni to be a hub of extremism.”

Recent graduate Haleema Abdullahi, 22, said the university stood out due to its “large Muslim population” and because many students chose to wear traditional Islamic dress.



“People say we’re extremist – the University of Westminster is very active with lots of events open to everyone and many sisters there are active. People say they are conservative as many wear abaya and hijab,” she said.

Abdullahi said she was sickened by Emwazi’s actions, but that was not fair to link him to the university because he graduated six years ago. She added: “Other extremists went to other unis – it happens.”

Speaking at the university’s Regent Street campus, a language masters student who declined to be named said the university may have a hardline reputation because some campuses had many Muslims.

“I’ve been here for four years and I haven’t seen any radicalisation and the university Islamic society has made efforts to include people and invite non-Muslims to events, too,” she said.

However, another student said the university was segregated between Muslims and non-Muslims. “If you’re not a Muslim, you won’t know what happens in that separate community,” she said.