UK: Universities accused of breeding terrorists

England's universities have become a breeding ground for extremism and terrorist recruitment, according to a disturbing government report which identifies 40 English universities where "there may be particular risk of radicalisation or recruitment on campus", reports James Slack for The Daily Mail.

A soon to be published Whitehall report will point to a string of examples of students going on to commit terrorist acts against the UK or overseas. Alarmingly the Prevent review says that "more than 30% of people convicted for Al Qaeda-associated terrorist offences in the UK...are known to have attended university or a higher education institution".

The report, prepared by Home Office officials, warns of hardline Islamic groups specifically targeting universities which have large numbers of Muslim students, in order to peddle a message of hate. But it says universities are not doing enough to respond to this threat to national security.
Full report on The Daily Mail site

The BBC reports that the Federation of Student Islamic Societies has challenged the government to prove universities have become "complacent" in tackling Islamic fundamentalism. The federation said it will be looking at Home Secretary Theresa May's comments "quite seriously". Its spokesman, Qasim Rafiq, a third-year Loughborough science student, said Muslim students were actually trying to "speak and engage".
Full report on The BBC site