Westminster University Islamic students’ society dominated by ultra-conservative Muslims

The Islamic students’ society at the London university attended by the militant known as Jihadi John is dominated by hardline, ultra-conservative believers who refuse to even speak with female Muslim staff members, according to an independent report into inclusion among students at the institution.

Complaints about the conduct of the University of Westminster Islamic society, some from other Muslims, tended to be ignored or underplayed because staff and student unions officials were worried about appearing Islamophobic, the inquiry found.

Members of the society itself acted as “apostles of a self-contained faith, concerned very largely with matters of religious orthodoxy and perceived heresy”, according to the four-strong inquiry panel, who included the historian Lord Kenneth Morgan and Fiyaz Mughal, a former adviser to Nick Clegg on interfaith matters. Like a stopped clock he can be right on occasion.

Their report found university officials tacitly tolerated a “sometimes hostile or intimidatory” attitude to women on the campus, calling this “totally unacceptable”. Islamic society committee members would refuse to engage with female Muslim staff, the panel were told, obliging these to seek help from male colleagues to communicate with the group.

Westminster commissioned the report into its balance between free speech and diversity in the wake of concerns about extremism on its campuses, including the revelation in February that the British Islamic State militant Mohammed Emwazi was a graduate of the university.

The panel’s report was released more than a week ago, but has not been publicised by the university and remains on a hard-to-locate part of its website.

The report found the university tended to be wary of taking action against a particular group for fear of seeming prejudiced. It said: “For example, the panel heard repeatedly that action over concerns about the conduct of the Islamic society had not been taken for fear of appearing Islamophobic.” It also found that the Islamic society did not appear to hold democratic elections and was instead run by a “self-perpetuating in-group” selected for perceived doctrinal purity.

In a written response to the report, the university’s vice-chancellor, Geoff Petts, said Westminster had tightened rules on external speakers, with those considered contentious only being permitted as part of a panel, and would work to promote better respect for diversity and mutual respect. There was no response from the Islamic society.

Neither the Islamic society nor the university’s student union had any comment on the report.