How Not to Win the War on Terror
It was at University College, London, that underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was radicalized. But instead of dealing with its extremist problem, the school has cut off all cooperation with British police except when required by law to do so.
It was at University College, London, that the underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was radicalized. Abdulmutallab served as the president of the Muslim students society at the school. Abdulmutallab is the fourth president of the school's Islamic students society to be arrested on terrorism charges in three years. Of those other three, two have been convicted, one is awaiting retrial.
Obviously, the school has a problem with extremism among its Islamic students. How is it dealing with that problem? By cutting off all cooperation with British police except when required by law to do so!
James Hodgson, UCLU Student Activities Officer, admitted that “mistakes were made” when mobile phone numbers and email addresses of Islamic Society and Medical Islamic Society members were released to Anti-Terror Police, without a legal requirement to do so.
The data was released in connection with the alleged bomb attack on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who was president of UCL’s ISoc between 2006-7. Hogdson apologised at UCL’s EGM on Tuesday 9th March, adding; “It is now not a UCLU policy to release data, unless it is legally binding to do so.” The Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) has been applying pressure on UCL for some time to determine who passed on unwarranted personal information.
Zin Derfoufi, of FOSIS, said; “Universities should be safe for all students without feeling they’ll have their privacy infringed. They’ve got to uphold their obligations, and not release unwarranted information without consulting the students themselves.”
FOSIS are expected to release a document next week which advises students and universities on the Data Protection Act, and will clarify exactly when institutions are legally required to hand over personal information to the police.