An open letter to Mr. Raheem Kassam, Director of the Henry Jackson Society’s ‘Student Rights’ Project
Dear Mr. Kassam,
On 23rd May 2014, the Imperial College Union voted unanimously to denounce and formalise its stance against Student Rights. As a democratically elected Student Union that is committed to upholding the values of a fair and free society, we view Student Rights’ disproportionate preoccupation with Muslim students to be sensationalist, divisive and counterproductive, and therefore not conducive to freedom of expression on our campus.
Whilst claiming to support equality and democracy on university campuses, your organisation’s lack of transparency as well as its complete lack of any student links highlights serious flaws and contradictions in its approach. Being a project set up by the neoconservative Henry Jackson Society, whose associate director has stated on record that “conditions for Muslims in Europe must be made harder across the board,” we believe that your input in discussions around campus issues have and will continue to demonise and marginalise Muslim students, and we therefore have no confidence in your judgements.
Furthermore, Student Rights’ track record of fuelling press hostility against Muslim students and its inadvertent effect on mobilising far-right groups to target student events is of particular concern to us, and we oppose all actions that jeopardise the safety of our students.
We are therefore pleased that our members, students of Imperial College London, have collectively decided to denounce Student Rights and its agenda, and as of today we are instituting a no-engagement policy with your organisation.
We would like to reiterate that we are strongly against Islamophobia, as well as all other forms of prejudice and discrimination – including sexism, racism and homophobia, and will continue to challenge any organisation that acts to the contrary, or that threatens our efforts to build a more cohesive and inclusive university environment.
We sincerely hope that you will take this opportunity to change your organisation’s approach and mentality, and begin democratically working with students on the grass-root level, as opposed to against them.
Sincerely,
Imperial College Union
