(UK) Universities urged to spy on Muslims

October 16, 2006
The Guardian

Lecturers and university staff across Britain are to be asked to spy on "Asian-looking" and Muslim students they suspect of involvement in Islamic extremism and supporting terrorist violence, the Guardian has learned.

They will be told to inform on students to special branch because the government believes campuses have become "fertile recruiting grounds" for extremists.

The Department for Education has drawn up a series of proposals which are to be sent to universities and other centres of higher education before the end of the year. The 18-page document acknowledges that universities will be anxious about passing information to special branch, for fear it amounts to "collaborating with the 'secret police'". It says there will be "concerns about police targeting certain sections of the student population (eg Muslims)".

The proposals are likely to cause anxiety among academics, and provoke anger from British Muslim groups at a time when ministers are at the focus of rows over issues such as the wearing of the veil and forcing Islamic schools to accept pupils from other faiths.

Wakkas Khan, president of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies, said: "It sounds to me to be potentially the widest infringement of the rights of Muslim students that there ever has been in this country. It is clearly targeting Muslim students and treating them to a higher level of suspicion and scrutiny. It sounds like you're guilty until you're proven innocent."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1923366,00.html

types who have already been reported...I dunno, maybe a colored triangle of fabric?...so the brownshirts won't waste time reporting the same "Asian-lookings" more than once.

...they have several aggressive Liberal Newspapers to find this, who's to say the same thing isn't happening here, right under the noses of our CorpMedia?

The leap to extremeism isn't so difficult when you are already labelled as such.

Attack a minority and keep them constantly on the defensive. It also keeps the media busy and distracted from their unpopular and disastrous policies.

Hubby was telling me last night that British Airways told a flight attendant to stop wearing a cross on display around her neck, even though it's on a very short chain; she should tuck it under her collar or she'll get the sack.

And a Muslim teacher somewhere in the UK has been told she can no longer wear her veil at school because of complaints received from the kids: they say they can't hear her.

Now, I'm not religious, but I still think all this Big Brother/PC crap is way over the line, in too many different and nonsensical directions. It only spawns suspicion and deepens divisions. It's straight from Rove's playbook.

What are they thinking? And how long before it creeps into law here?

Few university teachers like this government.

It's ironic: the government push a line about wanting greater inclusion of poorer students, and those from 'minority' backgrounds, in British universities; and, when disappointingly few enrol, blame the universities for being 'elitist'. Yes, of course, the government policies REALLY encourage greater diversity and inclusion among students: if daddy can't pay, you'll end up thousands of pounds in debt; and if you aren't white, your lecturers will start spying on you (actually, we won't; but the government will make the students think so!)