Terror suspect not radicalised at London university, inquiry finds
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
London, Oct 8, IRNA -- A Nigerian graduate, accused of trying to blow up a transatlantic airliner, was not radicalised while he was a student at a UK university, an independent inquiry has found.
The inquiry, set up by the governing body of University College London (UCL), found no evidence that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab adopted extremist views while studying engineering, including when he was president of UCL's Islamic Society (ISoc) in his second year.
“We are satisfied that there is no evidence either that Mr Abdulmutallab showed signs of a propensity to radicalisation while at UCL or that his gravitation towards violent extremism took place during his time at UCL,” it concluded.
There was also no evidence to suggest “that conditions at UCL during that time or subsequently are conducive to the radicalisation of students,” according to a copy of the 37-page report obtained by IRNA.
Abdulmutallab, who was an undergraduate at UCL between 2005 and 2008, is currently in US custody facing charges of trying to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight from Yemen as it was preparing to land at Detroit airport on December 25 last year.
The seven-member inquiry panel, which included four members from outside the university, was asked to explore the nature of the student’s experience as an undergraduate and to investigate whether conditions at UCL might lead to engaging in acts of terrorism.
“No student support system, however sophisticated, would have drawn attention to Mr Abdulmutallab as a potential terrorist for the simple reason that there is no evidence to suggest that he was developing such tendencies while a student at UCL,” it found.
There was also no “extremist subculture” operating within ISoc either during the year of his presidency or in the preceding year, when he was a first year student, or subsequently.
Under his presidency, ISoc was found to be “one of the most efficiently run student societies affiliated to UCLU, with all UCLU regulations for the operation of student societies being adhered to.”
Unlike the media and the use by politicians of such evocative terms as ‘Islamism’ and jihadisation,’ the inquiry said it had deliberately avoided such expressions “because of the complexity and sensitivity of their meanings and connotations.”
“We understand ‘radicalisation’ to be, essentially, the process of adopting a ‘radical’ ideology, ie a system of ideas that overtly challenges an established social and/or political order,” it said.
“Radicalisation in that sense could obviously be expressed in a wide variety of ways: when we use the word in this report, we mean ‘radicalisation’ of a specific kind – ie as reflected in the behaviour of those whose radicalisation leads them to commit, or attempt to commit, terrorist acts.”
Despite finding no evidence, the panel set out a list of recommendations to “reduce the future risk of students being radicalised and increase the university’s ability to identify any students in the process of radicalisation.”
These included the process for monitoring invitations to visiting speakers and reviewing the criteria for defining their acceptability of prospective visiting speakers as well as the code of practice on freedom of speech.
UCL should also consider “whether there is a need for enhanced training of staff to enable them to be able to deal sympathetically but responsibly with cases of concern about students and increase awareness of the provisions of the Terrorism Acts.”
Sir Stephen Wall, chair of UCL’s governing body, said the panel has identified a number of processes which we will be reviewing as a result of the report.
“We note the panel's recommendation that the UCL union's system for monitoring invitations to visiting speakers be reviewed, and we will be working in consultation with our student body to ensure that this happens, while maintaining our legal obligation to guarantee freedom of speech on campus within the law,' Wall said
UCL, found in 1826, was the first university in England to admit members of any race or religion, and its secular tradition remains an important part of its character, the inquiry also noted.
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Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 30008709
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