A prominent UK official has come out and blasted that country’s universities, accusing them of “complacency” when it comes to addressing Islamic radicals on college campuses.
British Home Secretary Theresa May, who oversees things like immigration and crime, came out with some strong comments after the head Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors, said there was no evidence that extremist speakers encouraged violence.
“I think for too long there’s been complacency around universities,” May said, according to the London Telegraph. “I don’t think they have been sufficiently willing to recognise what can be happening on their campuses and the radicalisation that can take place. I think there is more that universities can do.”
She added that universities must “send very clear messages” and “ask themselves some questions about what happens on their campuses.”
She also had some harsh criticism for the Federation of Student Islamic Societies — a Muslims student advocacy group — for not coming out stronger against extremism.
“They need to be prepared to stand up and say that organisations that are extreme or support extremism or have extremist speakers should not be part of their grouping,” she said.
May’s comments come as the British government is set to release a report on Thursday saying universities have become a hot bed for Islamic extremism.
According to the report, reviewed by the Christian Post, “more than 30% of people convicted for Al Qaida-associated terrorist offences in the U.K… are known to have attended university or a higher education institution.”
The Post adds that “the report warns that extremist groups are specifically targeting universities that have a higher than average number of Muslim students, in the hope of converting them to their more extreme interpretation of their faith.”
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