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Peter Black and South Wales West Liberal DemocratsRepresenting Aberavon, Bridgend, Gower, Neath, Ogmore, Port Talbot, and Swansea |
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Students and Universities should be on their guard for extremists
August 22, 2006 4:14 PM
Peter Black in Swansea's Uplands area, a major centre for student life
Welsh students gearing up to go to university at the end of next month have been warned to be on their guard against Islamist extremists who may be using freshers' fairs for recruitment.
The warning has come from Welsh Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson, Peter Black, and follows similar claims in the Times Higher Education Supplement last week. In the paper Shiraz Maher, a former member of the radical group Hizb ut-Tahrir warned that Universities are "bread-and-butter" recruiting grounds for extremist groups. He particularly warned about freshers' fairs at the University College London, the School of Oriental and African Studies and the London School of Economics.
According to Mr. Black however, Welsh Students going to other colleges need to beware as well. Of those alleged to have been involved in last week's foiled terrorist attack, at least one was a student.
"University life is both diverse and interesting and students have a bewildering collection of groups and societies that they can join," said Mr. Black. "All of that is part of the higher education experience and nobody should seek to take that away. However, both students and college authorities need to be alert to the danger of extremist groups taking advantage of this atmosphere to find new recruits."
"Britain has always been a tolerant country that cherishes our personal freedoms. That includes freedom of speech. Muslim student societies in particular have always had an important role to play in fostering tolerance and understanding and offering forums in which students can expose the flaws of extremist groups by challenging their beliefs through discussion and debate. The authorities should protect students where they can but they should not and cannot be expected to monitor everything that goes on. Ultimately, the vigilance of students themselves is their best protection and we should be fostering awareness so that extremists do not get a foothold."
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