Last week, activist Maryam Namazie gave a speech at Goldsmiths, University of London, during which she was heckled by students from the school’s Islamic Society (who were, in turn, supported by the school’s Feminist Society and LGBTQ+ Society). They couldn’t handle her criticism of their bad ideas. You can see just how awful it all was in the video below, specifically at the 14:40 and 35:20 marks.

That video doesn’t make any of her critics look good. Mostly because it shows how thin-skinned they are and how they would prefer silencing those who offer fair challenges of their beliefs.

Now, the Chief Executive of the school’s Students’ Union is asking Namazie to take down the video:

… A number of students have complained about the video as their consent to be filmed was not asked at the start of the meeting by your camera-operator and this is now viewable on a public website. This is very distressing for these students and we therefore ask that this video is removed from your site as a matter of urgency.

Which students are we talking about? The ones in the audience who must have seen the cameras videotaping Namazie’s talk, or the students who are embarrassed that their disruptions were broadcast for everyone to see? Either way, it’s hard to believe the audience members didn’t realize a videotaped talk would eventually be put online.

To her credit, Namazie isn’t budging:

I am sorry for any distress caused, particularly as a result of the intimidation tactics of the Islamic Society prior, during and after my talk, and in particular that caused by some of the ISOC “brothers” who attempted to disrupt the event. Nonetheless, this was a public meeting; all those attending saw it being videotaped and made no requests for anonymity. There was implied consent. Moreover, given that some ISOC members have made their own selective clips of the meeting and publicised it on social media, a video of the entire meeting is needed to clarify any misinformation and provide the full facts. This is particularly crucial given that the Goldsmiths Atheist Society is calling for an investigation into the debacle.

The best thing to do, then, is to continue posting that video everywhere and letting the world see how fragile some students can be when their deeply held beliefs are finally called out as nonsense.



