The Beaver the newspaper of the LSE Students' Union

On 16th January the Students’ Union received an official complaint from two students at the LSE that the LSE Students’ Union Atheist, Secularist and Humanist Society (ASH) Society posted cartoons, depicting the Prophet Muhammad “having a pint,” on their society’s Facebook page.  The Students’ Union has since received “over 40 separate official complaints from the student body.” Several students within the LSE community have publicly and privately denounced the perceived proliferation of Islamophobic sentiments on campus.

On 14th January, members of the LSE’s Ash Society began posting cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in a sign of solidarity with the Atheist Humanist Secularist group at the University College of London (UCL). The group at UCL was asked by the UCL Students’ Union to remove said cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad, used to advertise one of their events, after a Muslim student at the university complained.

Facebook posts by the LSE Students’ Union ASH Society included many cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, as well as other satirical religious comic strips, alongside pleas to sign the “Defend freedom of expression’ petition that began at UCL. One member of the Facebook group urged other members to sign in order “to speak up against religious fascism.” In a comment on an article posted on the wall entitled “Orthodox Judaism treats women like filthy little things” one group member wrote: “a reminder that most religions, not only Islam, are misogynistic.” Members of the LSE’s Islamic community were deeply offended by this targeted campaign against “religious fascism” and the perceived rise of Islamophobic views on campus.

Nabeel Moosa, President of the the LSE Students’ Union Islamic Society asserted that “whilst we support and recognise the value of free speech, it is always absolutely necessary to distinguish between ‘free speech’ and hate speech. The actions of some members of the Atheist, Humanist and Secularist Society and others have sought to marginalise a large proportion of the LSE student body while also causing harm to the welfare of Muslim students who have been subject to a hateful campaign against their beliefs and liberties. We must also be aware that speech can very quickly turn into violence if not used responsibly.”

On 20th January, members of ASH Society met with Stanley Ellerby-English, Students’ Union Activities and Development Officer, who explained “the situation, the complaints that had been made and how the action of posting these cartoons was in breach of the Students’ Union policy on inclusion and the society’s constitution.” The society agreed to certain outcomes, though these have not been disclosed yet; however, the Students’ Union will “now be telling the society that they cannot continue these actions under the brand of the SU.”

Chris Moos, President of the LSE’s Students’ Union ASH Society, responded to the formal complaints that had been filed against the society, stating that the issue should not be framed as one pertaining to Islamophobia.

“We firmly reject the allegation that actions of our members have ‘sought to marginalise’ anyone, have caused ‘harm to the welfare of Muslim students’ or constituted a ‘targeted campaign,’” Moos said. “Although we reserve the right to criticise religious ideas, as humanists we will always oppose any targeted campaign against any community. We strongly oppose any form of anti-Muslim prejudice. The cartoons criticise religion in a satirical way. They do not target or call for the targeting of Muslims or any other religious group.  Framing the criticism of religion as ‘discrimination’ or ‘Islamophobic actions’ is highly misguided and results in the stifling of valid debates. We do not discriminate amongst religions in our criticisms.”

The Students’ Union sabbatical officers addressed the issue at the UGM held on 19th January and are currently investigating the claims. An Emergency General Meeting (EGM) is scheduled for Thursday 26 January at 1:00p with two separate motions, one on antisemitism and the other on Islamophobia, to be discussed.

“There will be two separate motions which will lay out what these types of discrimination incorporate and that the SU stands against them,” said Sherelle Davis, Anti-Rascism Officer. “The recent Anti-Semitic incident on the ski trip and the Islamophobic actions taken by certain campus groups have brought these issues to the forefront of race relations at the moment and it’s important the SU take a stance on it.”

The Students’ Union issued the following statement to further reiterate their stance on religious discrimination on campus: “the LSE community’s values of tolerance, diversity, and respect for all students regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality or religious affiliation are not in accordance with the offensive nature displayed in the recent cases of antisemitism and Islamophobia. We respect the need for freedom of expression and discussion, but believe there must be a balance between respecting freedom of speech and protecting the communities that make up the student body at the LSE.”

Related posts:

1. Official complaints log points to scrappy election
2. Official complaint filed over Union officials’ conduct
3. Antisemitic drinking game leads to brawl
4. Reforms passed amidst complaints regarding constitutional validity
5. Referendum Complaints Log

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 at 10:53 and is filed under Breaking News, Feature - Home Page, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.