NUS President at MCB

East London office on 27th November, meeting Secretary General Dr Bari. The NUS represents the interests of over 5 million students in Further and Higher education. It is estimated that there are about 90,000 Muslim students in FE and HE colleges.

Amongst issues discussed at the meeting were the recent 'guidelines' issued by the Department for Education and Science ('Promoting good campus relations: working with staff and students to build community cohesion and tackle violent extremism in the name of Islam at universities and colleges'). The NUS has stated that by focusing solely on extremism ‘in the name of Islam’ there is the potential for a racist or Islamaphobic backlash. Dr Bari noted that the expression of dissent was an essential part of student life and radicalism should not be conflated with terrorism. He described the MCB's vision, also held by bodies like its national affiliate the Federation of Students Islamic Societies (FOSIS), as one that committed Muslims to working for the common good of society as a whole, not merely one section.