![University College London Union was in the eye of the storm following successful co-ordinated protests against a controversial talk on the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, which critics had dubbed 'regime-sponsored'. During the ensuing chaos, Press TV's Yvonne Ridley had to be ushered out by her bodyguard as the police evacuated the building.
Entitled, 1979 - The Revolution that Shook the World, UCLU's James Hodgson had defied calls to cancel the provocative talk organised by the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society, on grounds of 'a moral and a legal duty to uphold freedom of speech on campus.' His decision had stoked up anger from students and the Iranian ex-patriot community who accused the University of fermenting extremism and implicitly condoning the brutal actions of the regime in Iran.
Hours before Ridley's speech, security had been tightened and guests were asked to show their university identification cards, with a number of attendees turned away. The atmosphere was tense, and according to leading protester Amir, 'there was a deliberate attempt to stop protesters from attending.' He tells me that he had received information of an Ahlul Bayt organiser overheard on his mobile, saying 'your friends are here, the green movement, the green movement.'
Following a delay to the proceedings, Ridley finally began her speech in the Darwin Lecture Theatre, juxtaposing the struggle of the Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in Gaza, with the events of 1979. Yet even as she avoided mention of the current situation in Iran, her description of the period prior to the Islamic revolution was unintentionally reminiscent of the present crisis.
'Tens of thousands of Iranians had already paid the ultimate blood-price of standing up against that brutal regime,' she said, '[but] the people's movement, despite this horrendous oppression, continued to grow and flourish. By the early 70's the Shah's savage repressive machinery, had set out to crush these dissenting voices.'
Ashkan, an organiser of the protests told me later that Ridley was merely a Press TV mouthpiece for regime propaganda: 'It's typical and convenient, she is speaking with the voice of the regime ... we wanted to spread the truth to the audience to make them aware of what was really going on in Iran.'
In fact, it was when Ridley mentioned the 'great rise in peoples power,' that Ashkan and the other protesters seated in varying clusters, stood up to unveil flags and banners, declaring aloud: 'As a token of respect to the Iranians who were arrested and tortured in Iran.'
Chants echoed throughout the lecture theatre: 'Stop killing Iranians,' 'down with dictator,' 'death to Khamenei' and 'Press TV shame on you,' could be heard amongst others. At this point witnesses, including myself can report that a number of peaceful protesters were manhandled and some physically assaulted by members of the Ahlul Bayt.
The organisers and some of their supporters attempted to remove flags and banners, and as this proved unsuccessful, in some cases threats were issued both verbally and physically. Amir describes how he was 'barged' forcefully and at one point verbally threatened: 'One of the organisers grabbed me by my collar and said repeatedly 'you bloody MK [People's Mujahedin of Iran],' even though I'm not with the MK', he tells me.
Others report being branded 'royalists' or 'enemies of god' which in Iran has already led to the execution of two protesters, one aged as young as 19 years old. Amir also discloses that he saw another protester attacked by Ridley's bodyguard: 'He pushed him hard and was going to run at him again when he was thankfully held back – it was very scary.'
The situation could have escalated further had the fire alarm not been pushed by one of the demonstrators. Maryam, who was sitting near the back of the lecture hall, recalled how the fire-drill tactic had previously forced a pro-Israeli talk at the School of African and Oriental Studies to be abandoned.
'I tried to break the glass but it was useless at first,' she explains, 'so I punched it hard with my phone,' she laughs. 'The girl next to me who I first thought was a supporter of the regime noticed and said, 'well done, I seen what’s been happening in Iran.''
Yet for many of the demonstrators, the real success of the night was preventing Dr Mohammad Marandi from making a live speech over an internet link from Iran. In recent interviews, Marandi of Tehran University has inflamed anger over his support of executions and the ongoing clamp down on demonstrations.
Speaking on the following day about the controversy, Hodgson said he was 'disappointed' but maintained his previous statements that UCLU has 'the legal right as one of a few unions in the country without a 'No Platform' policy for speakers.' Asked whether it was an embarrassment to UCL, he said: 'Not at all, but clearly we underestimated the depth of feeling.'
However, critics of the event are adamant that all societies under the University of London banner are subject to their constitution, and that part of the Ahlul Bayt constitution states it is a religious society.
Harrison Cohen, the Students of Faith Welfare Officer and former president of the Jewish Society in 2007, had told me earlier that the religious motives of Ahlul Bayt should not really be the issue; the problem is the political nature of the event.
'Whilst it doesn't over-surprise me that the Ahlul Bayt is doing this event, what surprises me more on examining it today, is that it doesn't seem to be one that's open to dialogue; it seems to be very one sided in supporting the regime, which I don't think is a good thing at all.'
Amir says that 'by actually hosting this event, they [the Ahlul Bayt] are playing politics and directly supporting the terrorist government of Iran.' Ashkan adds: 'We are working through the University of London Union to force pressure onto UCL to answer why they allowed such an event to take place.'
Revelations of this latest controversy came hot on the heels of damaging allegations that UCL is rife with Islamic extremism, following the failed terrorist bombing on Christmas Day by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who studied at UCL and was the president of the Islamic Society in 2006-2007, the second Islamic society at UCL alongside Ahlul Bayt.
An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph in January disclosed the number of radical Islamic preachers who've attended talks held in the Darwin Lecture theatre, which ironically include 'Muslim radicals who have challenged the theory of evolution'.
Of the keynote speakers invited, one had 'suggested that homosexuals and opponents of Islam should be killed', reports The Telegraph. Abu Usamah, a preacher at Birmingham's Green Lane mosque had been filmed in a 2007 Channel Four documentary, where he praised Osama bin Laden and said: 'If I were to call homosexuals perverted, dirty, filthy dogs who should be murdered, that's my freedom of speech, isn't it?'
Hodgson reiterated to me that in the case of Abdulmutallab, 'it was very easy to point the finger of blame at the university because we were his primary point of contact in the UK, but there is no evidence that he was radicalised here,' he says.
A proposed official 'review' process chaired by UCL President and Provost, Professor Malcolm Grant, is underway into the actions of UCL Union, following the Abdulmutallab affair. However, Cohen is less confident in light of this latest controversy involving another Islamic society at UCL.
He tells me: 'It's a slippery slope if you say that you can't have radical views voiced on campus because you clearly can from all sides of the debate ... but what concerns me is the timing of the event ... I'm concerned about that, that it's something that's only going to cause more division on campus.'
Prior to, during and following the talk, both the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society and the UCL Iranian Society have declined from commenting on the story. For video coverage of the protest, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcSdr6A1JDo](http://www.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/large_610x456_scaled/photos/251461.jpg)
University College London Union was in the eye of the storm following successful co-ordinated protests against a controversial talk on the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, which critics had dubbed "regime-sponsored". During the ensuing chaos, Press TV's Yvonne Ridley had to be ushered out by her bodyguard as the police evacuated the building.
Entitled, 1979 - The Revolution that Shook the World, UCLU's James Hodgson had defied calls to cancel the provocative talk organised by the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society, on grounds of "a moral and a legal duty to uphold freedom of speech on campus." His decision had stoked up anger from students and the Iranian ex-patriot community who accused the University of fermenting extremism and implicitly condoning the brutal actions of the regime in Iran.
Hours before Ridley's speech, security had been tightened and guests were asked to show their university identification cards, with a number of attendees turned away. The atmosphere was tense, and according to leading protester Amir, "there was a deliberate attempt to stop protesters from attending." He tells me that he had received information of an Ahlul Bayt organiser overheard on his mobile, saying "your friends are here, the green movement, the green movement."
Following a delay to the proceedings, Ridley finally began her speech in the Darwin Lecture Theatre, juxtaposing the struggle of the Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in Gaza, with the events of 1979. Yet even as she avoided mention of the current situation in Iran, her description of the period prior to the Islamic revolution was unintentionally reminiscent of the present crisis.
"Tens of thousands of Iranians had already paid the ultimate blood-price of standing up against that brutal regime," she said, "[but] the people's movement, despite this horrendous oppression, continued to grow and flourish. By the early 70's the Shah's savage repressive machinery, had set out to crush these dissenting voices."
Ashkan, an organiser of the protests told me later that Ridley was merely a Press TV mouthpiece for regime propaganda: "It's typical and convenient, she is speaking with the voice of the regime ... we wanted to spread the truth to the audience to make them aware of what was really going on in Iran."
In fact, it was when Ridley mentioned the "great rise in peoples power," that Ashkan and the other protesters seated in varying clusters, stood up to unveil flags and banners, declaring aloud: "As a token of respect to the Iranians who were arrested and tortured in Iran."
Chants echoed throughout the lecture theatre: "Stop killing Iranians," "down with dictator," "death to Khamenei" and "Press TV shame on you," could be heard amongst others. At this point witnesses, including myself can report that a number of peaceful protesters were manhandled and some physically assaulted by members of the Ahlul Bayt.
The organisers and some of their supporters attempted to remove flags and banners, and as this proved unsuccessful, in some cases threats were issued both verbally and physically. Amir describes how he was "barged" forcefully and at one point verbally threatened: "One of the organisers grabbed me by my collar and said repeatedly 'you bloody MK [People's Mujahedin of Iran],' even though I'm not with the MK", he tells me.
Others report being branded "royalists" or "enemies of god" which in Iran has already led to the execution of two protesters, one aged as young as 19 years old. Amir also discloses that he saw another protester attacked by Ridley's bodyguard: "He pushed him hard and was going to run at him again when he was thankfully held back – it was very scary."
The situation could have escalated further had the fire alarm not been pushed by one of the demonstrators. Maryam, who was sitting near the back of the lecture hall, recalled how the fire-drill tactic had previously forced a pro-Israeli talk at the School of African and Oriental Studies to be abandoned.
"I tried to break the glass but it was useless at first," she explains, "so I punched it hard with my phone," she laughs. "The girl next to me who I first thought was a supporter of the regime noticed and said, 'well done, I seen what’s been happening in Iran.'"
Yet for many of the demonstrators, the real success of the night was preventing Dr Mohammad Marandi from making a live speech over an internet link from Iran. In recent interviews, Marandi of Tehran University has inflamed anger over his support of executions and the ongoing clamp down on demonstrations.
Speaking on the following day about the controversy, Hodgson said he was "disappointed" but maintained his previous statements that UCLU has "the legal right as one of a few unions in the country without a 'No Platform' policy for speakers." Asked whether it was an embarrassment to UCL, he said: "Not at all, but clearly we underestimated the depth of feeling."
However, critics of the event are adamant that all societies under the University of London banner are subject to their constitution, and that part of the Ahlul Bayt constitution states it is a religious society.
Harrison Cohen, the Students of Faith Welfare Officer and former president of the Jewish Society in 2007, had told me earlier that the religious motives of Ahlul Bayt should not really be the issue; the problem is the political nature of the event.
"Whilst it doesn't over-surprise me that the Ahlul Bayt is doing this event, what surprises me more on examining it today, is that it doesn't seem to be one that's open to dialogue; it seems to be very one sided in supporting the regime, which I don't think is a good thing at all."
Amir says that "by actually hosting this event, they [the Ahlul Bayt] are playing politics and directly supporting the terrorist government of Iran." Ashkan adds: "We are working through the University of London Union to force pressure onto UCL to answer why they allowed such an event to take place."
Revelations of this latest controversy came hot on the heels of damaging allegations that UCL is rife with Islamic extremism, following the failed terrorist bombing on Christmas Day by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who studied at UCL and was the president of the Islamic Society in 2006-2007, the second Islamic society at UCL alongside Ahlul Bayt.
An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph in January disclosed the number of radical Islamic preachers who've attended talks held in the Darwin Lecture theatre, which ironically include "Muslim radicals who have challenged the theory of evolution".
Of the keynote speakers invited, one had "suggested that homosexuals and opponents of Islam should be killed", reports The Telegraph. Abu Usamah, a preacher at Birmingham's Green Lane mosque had been filmed in a 2007 Channel Four documentary, where he praised Osama bin Laden and said: "If I were to call homosexuals perverted, dirty, filthy dogs who should be murdered, that's my freedom of speech, isn't it?"
Hodgson reiterated to me that in the case of Abdulmutallab, "it was very easy to point the finger of blame at the university because we were his primary point of contact in the UK, but there is no evidence that he was radicalised here," he says.
A proposed official "review" process chaired by UCL President and Provost, Professor Malcolm Grant, is underway into the actions of UCL Union, following the Abdulmutallab affair. However, Cohen is less confident in light of this latest controversy involving another Islamic society at UCL.
He tells me: "It's a slippery slope if you say that you can't have radical views voiced on campus because you clearly can from all sides of the debate ... but what concerns me is the timing of the event ... I'm concerned about that, that it's something that's only going to cause more division on campus."
Prior to, during and following the talk, both the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society and the UCL Iranian Society have declined from commenting on the story. For video coverage of the protest, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcSdr6A1JDo
![University College London Union was in the eye of the storm following successful co-ordinated protests against a controversial talk on the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, which critics had dubbed 'regime-sponsored'. During the ensuing chaos, Press TV's Yvonne Ridley had to be ushered out by her bodyguard as the police evacuated the building.
Entitled, 1979 - The Revolution that Shook the World, UCLU's James Hodgson had defied calls to cancel the provocative talk organised by the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society, on grounds of 'a moral and a legal duty to uphold freedom of speech on campus.' His decision had stoked up anger from students and the Iranian ex-patriot community who accused the University of fermenting extremism and implicitly condoning the brutal actions of the regime in Iran.
Hours before Ridley's speech, security had been tightened and guests were asked to show their university identification cards, with a number of attendees turned away. The atmosphere was tense, and according to leading protester Amir, 'there was a deliberate attempt to stop protesters from attending.' He tells me that he had received information of an Ahlul Bayt organiser overheard on his mobile, saying 'your friends are here, the green movement, the green movement.'
Following a delay to the proceedings, Ridley finally began her speech in the Darwin Lecture Theatre, juxtaposing the struggle of the Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in Gaza, with the events of 1979. Yet even as she avoided mention of the current situation in Iran, her description of the period prior to the Islamic revolution was unintentionally reminiscent of the present crisis.
'Tens of thousands of Iranians had already paid the ultimate blood-price of standing up against that brutal regime,' she said, '[but] the people's movement, despite this horrendous oppression, continued to grow and flourish. By the early 70's the Shah's savage repressive machinery, had set out to crush these dissenting voices.'
Ashkan, an organiser of the protests told me later that Ridley was merely a Press TV mouthpiece for regime propaganda: 'It's typical and convenient, she is speaking with the voice of the regime ... we wanted to spread the truth to the audience to make them aware of what was really going on in Iran.'
In fact, it was when Ridley mentioned the 'great rise in peoples power,' that Ashkan and the other protesters seated in varying clusters, stood up to unveil flags and banners, declaring aloud: 'As a token of respect to the Iranians who were arrested and tortured in Iran.'
Chants echoed throughout the lecture theatre: 'Stop killing Iranians,' 'down with dictator,' 'death to Khamenei' and 'Press TV shame on you,' could be heard amongst others. At this point witnesses, including myself can report that a number of peaceful protesters were manhandled and some physically assaulted by members of the Ahlul Bayt.
The organisers and some of their supporters attempted to remove flags and banners, and as this proved unsuccessful, in some cases threats were issued both verbally and physically. Amir describes how he was 'barged' forcefully and at one point verbally threatened: 'One of the organisers grabbed me by my collar and said repeatedly 'you bloody MK [People's Mujahedin of Iran],' even though I'm not with the MK', he tells me.
Others report being branded 'royalists' or 'enemies of god' which in Iran has already led to the execution of two protesters, one aged as young as 19 years old. Amir also discloses that he saw another protester attacked by Ridley's bodyguard: 'He pushed him hard and was going to run at him again when he was thankfully held back – it was very scary.'
The situation could have escalated further had the fire alarm not been pushed by one of the demonstrators. Maryam, who was sitting near the back of the lecture hall, recalled how the fire-drill tactic had previously forced a pro-Israeli talk at the School of African and Oriental Studies to be abandoned.
'I tried to break the glass but it was useless at first,' she explains, 'so I punched it hard with my phone,' she laughs. 'The girl next to me who I first thought was a supporter of the regime noticed and said, 'well done, I seen what’s been happening in Iran.''
Yet for many of the demonstrators, the real success of the night was preventing Dr Mohammad Marandi from making a live speech over an internet link from Iran. In recent interviews, Marandi of Tehran University has inflamed anger over his support of executions and the ongoing clamp down on demonstrations.
Speaking on the following day about the controversy, Hodgson said he was 'disappointed' but maintained his previous statements that UCLU has 'the legal right as one of a few unions in the country without a 'No Platform' policy for speakers.' Asked whether it was an embarrassment to UCL, he said: 'Not at all, but clearly we underestimated the depth of feeling.'
However, critics of the event are adamant that all societies under the University of London banner are subject to their constitution, and that part of the Ahlul Bayt constitution states it is a religious society.
Harrison Cohen, the Students of Faith Welfare Officer and former president of the Jewish Society in 2007, had told me earlier that the religious motives of Ahlul Bayt should not really be the issue; the problem is the political nature of the event.
'Whilst it doesn't over-surprise me that the Ahlul Bayt is doing this event, what surprises me more on examining it today, is that it doesn't seem to be one that's open to dialogue; it seems to be very one sided in supporting the regime, which I don't think is a good thing at all.'
Amir says that 'by actually hosting this event, they [the Ahlul Bayt] are playing politics and directly supporting the terrorist government of Iran.' Ashkan adds: 'We are working through the University of London Union to force pressure onto UCL to answer why they allowed such an event to take place.'
Revelations of this latest controversy came hot on the heels of damaging allegations that UCL is rife with Islamic extremism, following the failed terrorist bombing on Christmas Day by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who studied at UCL and was the president of the Islamic Society in 2006-2007, the second Islamic society at UCL alongside Ahlul Bayt.
An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph in January disclosed the number of radical Islamic preachers who've attended talks held in the Darwin Lecture theatre, which ironically include 'Muslim radicals who have challenged the theory of evolution'.
Of the keynote speakers invited, one had 'suggested that homosexuals and opponents of Islam should be killed', reports The Telegraph. Abu Usamah, a preacher at Birmingham's Green Lane mosque had been filmed in a 2007 Channel Four documentary, where he praised Osama bin Laden and said: 'If I were to call homosexuals perverted, dirty, filthy dogs who should be murdered, that's my freedom of speech, isn't it?'
Hodgson reiterated to me that in the case of Abdulmutallab, 'it was very easy to point the finger of blame at the university because we were his primary point of contact in the UK, but there is no evidence that he was radicalised here,' he says.
A proposed official 'review' process chaired by UCL President and Provost, Professor Malcolm Grant, is underway into the actions of UCL Union, following the Abdulmutallab affair. However, Cohen is less confident in light of this latest controversy involving another Islamic society at UCL.
He tells me: 'It's a slippery slope if you say that you can't have radical views voiced on campus because you clearly can from all sides of the debate ... but what concerns me is the timing of the event ... I'm concerned about that, that it's something that's only going to cause more division on campus.'
Prior to, during and following the talk, both the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society and the UCL Iranian Society have declined from commenting on the story. For video coverage of the protest, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcSdr6A1JDo](http://www.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/large_610x456_scaled/photos/251462.jpg)
![University College London Union was in the eye of the storm following successful co-ordinated protests against a controversial talk on the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, which critics had dubbed 'regime-sponsored'. During the ensuing chaos, Press TV's Yvonne Ridley had to be ushered out by her bodyguard as the police evacuated the building.
Entitled, 1979 - The Revolution that Shook the World, UCLU's James Hodgson had defied calls to cancel the provocative talk organised by the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society, on grounds of 'a moral and a legal duty to uphold freedom of speech on campus.' His decision had stoked up anger from students and the Iranian ex-patriot community who accused the University of fermenting extremism and implicitly condoning the brutal actions of the regime in Iran.
Hours before Ridley's speech, security had been tightened and guests were asked to show their university identification cards, with a number of attendees turned away. The atmosphere was tense, and according to leading protester Amir, 'there was a deliberate attempt to stop protesters from attending.' He tells me that he had received information of an Ahlul Bayt organiser overheard on his mobile, saying 'your friends are here, the green movement, the green movement.'
Following a delay to the proceedings, Ridley finally began her speech in the Darwin Lecture Theatre, juxtaposing the struggle of the Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in Gaza, with the events of 1979. Yet even as she avoided mention of the current situation in Iran, her description of the period prior to the Islamic revolution was unintentionally reminiscent of the present crisis.
'Tens of thousands of Iranians had already paid the ultimate blood-price of standing up against that brutal regime,' she said, '[but] the people's movement, despite this horrendous oppression, continued to grow and flourish. By the early 70's the Shah's savage repressive machinery, had set out to crush these dissenting voices.'
Ashkan, an organiser of the protests told me later that Ridley was merely a Press TV mouthpiece for regime propaganda: 'It's typical and convenient, she is speaking with the voice of the regime ... we wanted to spread the truth to the audience to make them aware of what was really going on in Iran.'
In fact, it was when Ridley mentioned the 'great rise in peoples power,' that Ashkan and the other protesters seated in varying clusters, stood up to unveil flags and banners, declaring aloud: 'As a token of respect to the Iranians who were arrested and tortured in Iran.'
Chants echoed throughout the lecture theatre: 'Stop killing Iranians,' 'down with dictator,' 'death to Khamenei' and 'Press TV shame on you,' could be heard amongst others. At this point witnesses, including myself can report that a number of peaceful protesters were manhandled and some physically assaulted by members of the Ahlul Bayt.
The organisers and some of their supporters attempted to remove flags and banners, and as this proved unsuccessful, in some cases threats were issued both verbally and physically. Amir describes how he was 'barged' forcefully and at one point verbally threatened: 'One of the organisers grabbed me by my collar and said repeatedly 'you bloody MK [People's Mujahedin of Iran],' even though I'm not with the MK', he tells me.
Others report being branded 'royalists' or 'enemies of god' which in Iran has already led to the execution of two protesters, one aged as young as 19 years old. Amir also discloses that he saw another protester attacked by Ridley's bodyguard: 'He pushed him hard and was going to run at him again when he was thankfully held back – it was very scary.'
The situation could have escalated further had the fire alarm not been pushed by one of the demonstrators. Maryam, who was sitting near the back of the lecture hall, recalled how the fire-drill tactic had previously forced a pro-Israeli talk at the School of African and Oriental Studies to be abandoned.
'I tried to break the glass but it was useless at first,' she explains, 'so I punched it hard with my phone,' she laughs. 'The girl next to me who I first thought was a supporter of the regime noticed and said, 'well done, I seen what’s been happening in Iran.''
Yet for many of the demonstrators, the real success of the night was preventing Dr Mohammad Marandi from making a live speech over an internet link from Iran. In recent interviews, Marandi of Tehran University has inflamed anger over his support of executions and the ongoing clamp down on demonstrations.
Speaking on the following day about the controversy, Hodgson said he was 'disappointed' but maintained his previous statements that UCLU has 'the legal right as one of a few unions in the country without a 'No Platform' policy for speakers.' Asked whether it was an embarrassment to UCL, he said: 'Not at all, but clearly we underestimated the depth of feeling.'
However, critics of the event are adamant that all societies under the University of London banner are subject to their constitution, and that part of the Ahlul Bayt constitution states it is a religious society.
Harrison Cohen, the Students of Faith Welfare Officer and former president of the Jewish Society in 2007, had told me earlier that the religious motives of Ahlul Bayt should not really be the issue; the problem is the political nature of the event.
'Whilst it doesn't over-surprise me that the Ahlul Bayt is doing this event, what surprises me more on examining it today, is that it doesn't seem to be one that's open to dialogue; it seems to be very one sided in supporting the regime, which I don't think is a good thing at all.'
Amir says that 'by actually hosting this event, they [the Ahlul Bayt] are playing politics and directly supporting the terrorist government of Iran.' Ashkan adds: 'We are working through the University of London Union to force pressure onto UCL to answer why they allowed such an event to take place.'
Revelations of this latest controversy came hot on the heels of damaging allegations that UCL is rife with Islamic extremism, following the failed terrorist bombing on Christmas Day by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who studied at UCL and was the president of the Islamic Society in 2006-2007, the second Islamic society at UCL alongside Ahlul Bayt.
An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph in January disclosed the number of radical Islamic preachers who've attended talks held in the Darwin Lecture theatre, which ironically include 'Muslim radicals who have challenged the theory of evolution'.
Of the keynote speakers invited, one had 'suggested that homosexuals and opponents of Islam should be killed', reports The Telegraph. Abu Usamah, a preacher at Birmingham's Green Lane mosque had been filmed in a 2007 Channel Four documentary, where he praised Osama bin Laden and said: 'If I were to call homosexuals perverted, dirty, filthy dogs who should be murdered, that's my freedom of speech, isn't it?'
Hodgson reiterated to me that in the case of Abdulmutallab, 'it was very easy to point the finger of blame at the university because we were his primary point of contact in the UK, but there is no evidence that he was radicalised here,' he says.
A proposed official 'review' process chaired by UCL President and Provost, Professor Malcolm Grant, is underway into the actions of UCL Union, following the Abdulmutallab affair. However, Cohen is less confident in light of this latest controversy involving another Islamic society at UCL.
He tells me: 'It's a slippery slope if you say that you can't have radical views voiced on campus because you clearly can from all sides of the debate ... but what concerns me is the timing of the event ... I'm concerned about that, that it's something that's only going to cause more division on campus.'
Prior to, during and following the talk, both the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society and the UCL Iranian Society have declined from commenting on the story. For video coverage of the protest, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcSdr6A1JDo](http://www.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/large_610x456_scaled/photos/251835.jpg)
![University College London Union was in the eye of the storm following successful co-ordinated protests against a controversial talk on the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, which critics had dubbed 'regime-sponsored'. During the ensuing chaos, Press TV's Yvonne Ridley had to be ushered out by her bodyguard as the police evacuated the building.
Entitled, 1979 - The Revolution that Shook the World, UCLU's James Hodgson had defied calls to cancel the provocative talk organised by the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society, on grounds of 'a moral and a legal duty to uphold freedom of speech on campus.' His decision had stoked up anger from students and the Iranian ex-patriot community who accused the University of fermenting extremism and implicitly condoning the brutal actions of the regime in Iran.
Hours before Ridley's speech, security had been tightened and guests were asked to show their university identification cards, with a number of attendees turned away. The atmosphere was tense, and according to leading protester Amir, 'there was a deliberate attempt to stop protesters from attending.' He tells me that he had received information of an Ahlul Bayt organiser overheard on his mobile, saying 'your friends are here, the green movement, the green movement.'
Following a delay to the proceedings, Ridley finally began her speech in the Darwin Lecture Theatre, juxtaposing the struggle of the Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in Gaza, with the events of 1979. Yet even as she avoided mention of the current situation in Iran, her description of the period prior to the Islamic revolution was unintentionally reminiscent of the present crisis.
'Tens of thousands of Iranians had already paid the ultimate blood-price of standing up against that brutal regime,' she said, '[but] the people's movement, despite this horrendous oppression, continued to grow and flourish. By the early 70's the Shah's savage repressive machinery, had set out to crush these dissenting voices.'
Ashkan, an organiser of the protests told me later that Ridley was merely a Press TV mouthpiece for regime propaganda: 'It's typical and convenient, she is speaking with the voice of the regime ... we wanted to spread the truth to the audience to make them aware of what was really going on in Iran.'
In fact, it was when Ridley mentioned the 'great rise in peoples power,' that Ashkan and the other protesters seated in varying clusters, stood up to unveil flags and banners, declaring aloud: 'As a token of respect to the Iranians who were arrested and tortured in Iran.'
Chants echoed throughout the lecture theatre: 'Stop killing Iranians,' 'down with dictator,' 'death to Khamenei' and 'Press TV shame on you,' could be heard amongst others. At this point witnesses, including myself can report that a number of peaceful protesters were manhandled and some physically assaulted by members of the Ahlul Bayt.
The organisers and some of their supporters attempted to remove flags and banners, and as this proved unsuccessful, in some cases threats were issued both verbally and physically. Amir describes how he was 'barged' forcefully and at one point verbally threatened: 'One of the organisers grabbed me by my collar and said repeatedly 'you bloody MK [People's Mujahedin of Iran],' even though I'm not with the MK', he tells me.
Others report being branded 'royalists' or 'enemies of god' which in Iran has already led to the execution of two protesters, one aged as young as 19 years old. Amir also discloses that he saw another protester attacked by Ridley's bodyguard: 'He pushed him hard and was going to run at him again when he was thankfully held back – it was very scary.'
The situation could have escalated further had the fire alarm not been pushed by one of the demonstrators. Maryam, who was sitting near the back of the lecture hall, recalled how the fire-drill tactic had previously forced a pro-Israeli talk at the School of African and Oriental Studies to be abandoned.
'I tried to break the glass but it was useless at first,' she explains, 'so I punched it hard with my phone,' she laughs. 'The girl next to me who I first thought was a supporter of the regime noticed and said, 'well done, I seen what’s been happening in Iran.''
Yet for many of the demonstrators, the real success of the night was preventing Dr Mohammad Marandi from making a live speech over an internet link from Iran. In recent interviews, Marandi of Tehran University has inflamed anger over his support of executions and the ongoing clamp down on demonstrations.
Speaking on the following day about the controversy, Hodgson said he was 'disappointed' but maintained his previous statements that UCLU has 'the legal right as one of a few unions in the country without a 'No Platform' policy for speakers.' Asked whether it was an embarrassment to UCL, he said: 'Not at all, but clearly we underestimated the depth of feeling.'
However, critics of the event are adamant that all societies under the University of London banner are subject to their constitution, and that part of the Ahlul Bayt constitution states it is a religious society.
Harrison Cohen, the Students of Faith Welfare Officer and former president of the Jewish Society in 2007, had told me earlier that the religious motives of Ahlul Bayt should not really be the issue; the problem is the political nature of the event.
'Whilst it doesn't over-surprise me that the Ahlul Bayt is doing this event, what surprises me more on examining it today, is that it doesn't seem to be one that's open to dialogue; it seems to be very one sided in supporting the regime, which I don't think is a good thing at all.'
Amir says that 'by actually hosting this event, they [the Ahlul Bayt] are playing politics and directly supporting the terrorist government of Iran.' Ashkan adds: 'We are working through the University of London Union to force pressure onto UCL to answer why they allowed such an event to take place.'
Revelations of this latest controversy came hot on the heels of damaging allegations that UCL is rife with Islamic extremism, following the failed terrorist bombing on Christmas Day by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who studied at UCL and was the president of the Islamic Society in 2006-2007, the second Islamic society at UCL alongside Ahlul Bayt.
An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph in January disclosed the number of radical Islamic preachers who've attended talks held in the Darwin Lecture theatre, which ironically include 'Muslim radicals who have challenged the theory of evolution'.
Of the keynote speakers invited, one had 'suggested that homosexuals and opponents of Islam should be killed', reports The Telegraph. Abu Usamah, a preacher at Birmingham's Green Lane mosque had been filmed in a 2007 Channel Four documentary, where he praised Osama bin Laden and said: 'If I were to call homosexuals perverted, dirty, filthy dogs who should be murdered, that's my freedom of speech, isn't it?'
Hodgson reiterated to me that in the case of Abdulmutallab, 'it was very easy to point the finger of blame at the university because we were his primary point of contact in the UK, but there is no evidence that he was radicalised here,' he says.
A proposed official 'review' process chaired by UCL President and Provost, Professor Malcolm Grant, is underway into the actions of UCL Union, following the Abdulmutallab affair. However, Cohen is less confident in light of this latest controversy involving another Islamic society at UCL.
He tells me: 'It's a slippery slope if you say that you can't have radical views voiced on campus because you clearly can from all sides of the debate ... but what concerns me is the timing of the event ... I'm concerned about that, that it's something that's only going to cause more division on campus.'
Prior to, during and following the talk, both the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society and the UCL Iranian Society have declined from commenting on the story. For video coverage of the protest, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcSdr6A1JDo](http://www.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/large_610x456_scaled/photos/251836.jpg)
![University College London Union was in the eye of the storm following successful co-ordinated protests against a controversial talk on the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, which critics had dubbed 'regime-sponsored'. During the ensuing chaos, Press TV's Yvonne Ridley had to be ushered out by her bodyguard as the police evacuated the building.
Entitled, 1979 - The Revolution that Shook the World, UCLU's James Hodgson had defied calls to cancel the provocative talk organised by the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society, on grounds of 'a moral and a legal duty to uphold freedom of speech on campus.' His decision had stoked up anger from students and the Iranian ex-patriot community who accused the University of fermenting extremism and implicitly condoning the brutal actions of the regime in Iran.
Hours before Ridley's speech, security had been tightened and guests were asked to show their university identification cards, with a number of attendees turned away. The atmosphere was tense, and according to leading protester Amir, 'there was a deliberate attempt to stop protesters from attending.' He tells me that he had received information of an Ahlul Bayt organiser overheard on his mobile, saying 'your friends are here, the green movement, the green movement.'
Following a delay to the proceedings, Ridley finally began her speech in the Darwin Lecture Theatre, juxtaposing the struggle of the Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in Gaza, with the events of 1979. Yet even as she avoided mention of the current situation in Iran, her description of the period prior to the Islamic revolution was unintentionally reminiscent of the present crisis.
'Tens of thousands of Iranians had already paid the ultimate blood-price of standing up against that brutal regime,' she said, '[but] the people's movement, despite this horrendous oppression, continued to grow and flourish. By the early 70's the Shah's savage repressive machinery, had set out to crush these dissenting voices.'
Ashkan, an organiser of the protests told me later that Ridley was merely a Press TV mouthpiece for regime propaganda: 'It's typical and convenient, she is speaking with the voice of the regime ... we wanted to spread the truth to the audience to make them aware of what was really going on in Iran.'
In fact, it was when Ridley mentioned the 'great rise in peoples power,' that Ashkan and the other protesters seated in varying clusters, stood up to unveil flags and banners, declaring aloud: 'As a token of respect to the Iranians who were arrested and tortured in Iran.'
Chants echoed throughout the lecture theatre: 'Stop killing Iranians,' 'down with dictator,' 'death to Khamenei' and 'Press TV shame on you,' could be heard amongst others. At this point witnesses, including myself can report that a number of peaceful protesters were manhandled and some physically assaulted by members of the Ahlul Bayt.
The organisers and some of their supporters attempted to remove flags and banners, and as this proved unsuccessful, in some cases threats were issued both verbally and physically. Amir describes how he was 'barged' forcefully and at one point verbally threatened: 'One of the organisers grabbed me by my collar and said repeatedly 'you bloody MK [People's Mujahedin of Iran],' even though I'm not with the MK', he tells me.
Others report being branded 'royalists' or 'enemies of god' which in Iran has already led to the execution of two protesters, one aged as young as 19 years old. Amir also discloses that he saw another protester attacked by Ridley's bodyguard: 'He pushed him hard and was going to run at him again when he was thankfully held back – it was very scary.'
The situation could have escalated further had the fire alarm not been pushed by one of the demonstrators. Maryam, who was sitting near the back of the lecture hall, recalled how the fire-drill tactic had previously forced a pro-Israeli talk at the School of African and Oriental Studies to be abandoned.
'I tried to break the glass but it was useless at first,' she explains, 'so I punched it hard with my phone,' she laughs. 'The girl next to me who I first thought was a supporter of the regime noticed and said, 'well done, I seen what’s been happening in Iran.''
Yet for many of the demonstrators, the real success of the night was preventing Dr Mohammad Marandi from making a live speech over an internet link from Iran. In recent interviews, Marandi of Tehran University has inflamed anger over his support of executions and the ongoing clamp down on demonstrations.
Speaking on the following day about the controversy, Hodgson said he was 'disappointed' but maintained his previous statements that UCLU has 'the legal right as one of a few unions in the country without a 'No Platform' policy for speakers.' Asked whether it was an embarrassment to UCL, he said: 'Not at all, but clearly we underestimated the depth of feeling.'
However, critics of the event are adamant that all societies under the University of London banner are subject to their constitution, and that part of the Ahlul Bayt constitution states it is a religious society.
Harrison Cohen, the Students of Faith Welfare Officer and former president of the Jewish Society in 2007, had told me earlier that the religious motives of Ahlul Bayt should not really be the issue; the problem is the political nature of the event.
'Whilst it doesn't over-surprise me that the Ahlul Bayt is doing this event, what surprises me more on examining it today, is that it doesn't seem to be one that's open to dialogue; it seems to be very one sided in supporting the regime, which I don't think is a good thing at all.'
Amir says that 'by actually hosting this event, they [the Ahlul Bayt] are playing politics and directly supporting the terrorist government of Iran.' Ashkan adds: 'We are working through the University of London Union to force pressure onto UCL to answer why they allowed such an event to take place.'
Revelations of this latest controversy came hot on the heels of damaging allegations that UCL is rife with Islamic extremism, following the failed terrorist bombing on Christmas Day by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who studied at UCL and was the president of the Islamic Society in 2006-2007, the second Islamic society at UCL alongside Ahlul Bayt.
An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph in January disclosed the number of radical Islamic preachers who've attended talks held in the Darwin Lecture theatre, which ironically include 'Muslim radicals who have challenged the theory of evolution'.
Of the keynote speakers invited, one had 'suggested that homosexuals and opponents of Islam should be killed', reports The Telegraph. Abu Usamah, a preacher at Birmingham's Green Lane mosque had been filmed in a 2007 Channel Four documentary, where he praised Osama bin Laden and said: 'If I were to call homosexuals perverted, dirty, filthy dogs who should be murdered, that's my freedom of speech, isn't it?'
Hodgson reiterated to me that in the case of Abdulmutallab, 'it was very easy to point the finger of blame at the university because we were his primary point of contact in the UK, but there is no evidence that he was radicalised here,' he says.
A proposed official 'review' process chaired by UCL President and Provost, Professor Malcolm Grant, is underway into the actions of UCL Union, following the Abdulmutallab affair. However, Cohen is less confident in light of this latest controversy involving another Islamic society at UCL.
He tells me: 'It's a slippery slope if you say that you can't have radical views voiced on campus because you clearly can from all sides of the debate ... but what concerns me is the timing of the event ... I'm concerned about that, that it's something that's only going to cause more division on campus.'
Prior to, during and following the talk, both the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society and the UCL Iranian Society have declined from commenting on the story. For video coverage of the protest, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcSdr6A1JDo](http://www.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/large_610x456_scaled/photos/251463.jpg)
![University College London Union was in the eye of the storm following successful co-ordinated protests against a controversial talk on the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, which critics had dubbed 'regime-sponsored'. During the ensuing chaos, Press TV's Yvonne Ridley had to be ushered out by her bodyguard as the police evacuated the building.
Entitled, 1979 - The Revolution that Shook the World, UCLU's James Hodgson had defied calls to cancel the provocative talk organised by the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society, on grounds of 'a moral and a legal duty to uphold freedom of speech on campus.' His decision had stoked up anger from students and the Iranian ex-patriot community who accused the University of fermenting extremism and implicitly condoning the brutal actions of the regime in Iran.
Hours before Ridley's speech, security had been tightened and guests were asked to show their university identification cards, with a number of attendees turned away. The atmosphere was tense, and according to leading protester Amir, 'there was a deliberate attempt to stop protesters from attending.' He tells me that he had received information of an Ahlul Bayt organiser overheard on his mobile, saying 'your friends are here, the green movement, the green movement.'
Following a delay to the proceedings, Ridley finally began her speech in the Darwin Lecture Theatre, juxtaposing the struggle of the Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in Gaza, with the events of 1979. Yet even as she avoided mention of the current situation in Iran, her description of the period prior to the Islamic revolution was unintentionally reminiscent of the present crisis.
'Tens of thousands of Iranians had already paid the ultimate blood-price of standing up against that brutal regime,' she said, '[but] the people's movement, despite this horrendous oppression, continued to grow and flourish. By the early 70's the Shah's savage repressive machinery, had set out to crush these dissenting voices.'
Ashkan, an organiser of the protests told me later that Ridley was merely a Press TV mouthpiece for regime propaganda: 'It's typical and convenient, she is speaking with the voice of the regime ... we wanted to spread the truth to the audience to make them aware of what was really going on in Iran.'
In fact, it was when Ridley mentioned the 'great rise in peoples power,' that Ashkan and the other protesters seated in varying clusters, stood up to unveil flags and banners, declaring aloud: 'As a token of respect to the Iranians who were arrested and tortured in Iran.'
Chants echoed throughout the lecture theatre: 'Stop killing Iranians,' 'down with dictator,' 'death to Khamenei' and 'Press TV shame on you,' could be heard amongst others. At this point witnesses, including myself can report that a number of peaceful protesters were manhandled and some physically assaulted by members of the Ahlul Bayt.
The organisers and some of their supporters attempted to remove flags and banners, and as this proved unsuccessful, in some cases threats were issued both verbally and physically. Amir describes how he was 'barged' forcefully and at one point verbally threatened: 'One of the organisers grabbed me by my collar and said repeatedly 'you bloody MK [People's Mujahedin of Iran],' even though I'm not with the MK', he tells me.
Others report being branded 'royalists' or 'enemies of god' which in Iran has already led to the execution of two protesters, one aged as young as 19 years old. Amir also discloses that he saw another protester attacked by Ridley's bodyguard: 'He pushed him hard and was going to run at him again when he was thankfully held back – it was very scary.'
The situation could have escalated further had the fire alarm not been pushed by one of the demonstrators. Maryam, who was sitting near the back of the lecture hall, recalled how the fire-drill tactic had previously forced a pro-Israeli talk at the School of African and Oriental Studies to be abandoned.
'I tried to break the glass but it was useless at first,' she explains, 'so I punched it hard with my phone,' she laughs. 'The girl next to me who I first thought was a supporter of the regime noticed and said, 'well done, I seen what’s been happening in Iran.''
Yet for many of the demonstrators, the real success of the night was preventing Dr Mohammad Marandi from making a live speech over an internet link from Iran. In recent interviews, Marandi of Tehran University has inflamed anger over his support of executions and the ongoing clamp down on demonstrations.
Speaking on the following day about the controversy, Hodgson said he was 'disappointed' but maintained his previous statements that UCLU has 'the legal right as one of a few unions in the country without a 'No Platform' policy for speakers.' Asked whether it was an embarrassment to UCL, he said: 'Not at all, but clearly we underestimated the depth of feeling.'
However, critics of the event are adamant that all societies under the University of London banner are subject to their constitution, and that part of the Ahlul Bayt constitution states it is a religious society.
Harrison Cohen, the Students of Faith Welfare Officer and former president of the Jewish Society in 2007, had told me earlier that the religious motives of Ahlul Bayt should not really be the issue; the problem is the political nature of the event.
'Whilst it doesn't over-surprise me that the Ahlul Bayt is doing this event, what surprises me more on examining it today, is that it doesn't seem to be one that's open to dialogue; it seems to be very one sided in supporting the regime, which I don't think is a good thing at all.'
Amir says that 'by actually hosting this event, they [the Ahlul Bayt] are playing politics and directly supporting the terrorist government of Iran.' Ashkan adds: 'We are working through the University of London Union to force pressure onto UCL to answer why they allowed such an event to take place.'
Revelations of this latest controversy came hot on the heels of damaging allegations that UCL is rife with Islamic extremism, following the failed terrorist bombing on Christmas Day by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who studied at UCL and was the president of the Islamic Society in 2006-2007, the second Islamic society at UCL alongside Ahlul Bayt.
An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph in January disclosed the number of radical Islamic preachers who've attended talks held in the Darwin Lecture theatre, which ironically include 'Muslim radicals who have challenged the theory of evolution'.
Of the keynote speakers invited, one had 'suggested that homosexuals and opponents of Islam should be killed', reports The Telegraph. Abu Usamah, a preacher at Birmingham's Green Lane mosque had been filmed in a 2007 Channel Four documentary, where he praised Osama bin Laden and said: 'If I were to call homosexuals perverted, dirty, filthy dogs who should be murdered, that's my freedom of speech, isn't it?'
Hodgson reiterated to me that in the case of Abdulmutallab, 'it was very easy to point the finger of blame at the university because we were his primary point of contact in the UK, but there is no evidence that he was radicalised here,' he says.
A proposed official 'review' process chaired by UCL President and Provost, Professor Malcolm Grant, is underway into the actions of UCL Union, following the Abdulmutallab affair. However, Cohen is less confident in light of this latest controversy involving another Islamic society at UCL.
He tells me: 'It's a slippery slope if you say that you can't have radical views voiced on campus because you clearly can from all sides of the debate ... but what concerns me is the timing of the event ... I'm concerned about that, that it's something that's only going to cause more division on campus.'
Prior to, during and following the talk, both the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society and the UCL Iranian Society have declined from commenting on the story. For video coverage of the protest, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcSdr6A1JDo](http://www.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/preview_60x60_cropped/photos/251461.jpg)
![University College London Union was in the eye of the storm following successful co-ordinated protests against a controversial talk on the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, which critics had dubbed 'regime-sponsored'. During the ensuing chaos, Press TV's Yvonne Ridley had to be ushered out by her bodyguard as the police evacuated the building.
Entitled, 1979 - The Revolution that Shook the World, UCLU's James Hodgson had defied calls to cancel the provocative talk organised by the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society, on grounds of 'a moral and a legal duty to uphold freedom of speech on campus.' His decision had stoked up anger from students and the Iranian ex-patriot community who accused the University of fermenting extremism and implicitly condoning the brutal actions of the regime in Iran.
Hours before Ridley's speech, security had been tightened and guests were asked to show their university identification cards, with a number of attendees turned away. The atmosphere was tense, and according to leading protester Amir, 'there was a deliberate attempt to stop protesters from attending.' He tells me that he had received information of an Ahlul Bayt organiser overheard on his mobile, saying 'your friends are here, the green movement, the green movement.'
Following a delay to the proceedings, Ridley finally began her speech in the Darwin Lecture Theatre, juxtaposing the struggle of the Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in Gaza, with the events of 1979. Yet even as she avoided mention of the current situation in Iran, her description of the period prior to the Islamic revolution was unintentionally reminiscent of the present crisis.
'Tens of thousands of Iranians had already paid the ultimate blood-price of standing up against that brutal regime,' she said, '[but] the people's movement, despite this horrendous oppression, continued to grow and flourish. By the early 70's the Shah's savage repressive machinery, had set out to crush these dissenting voices.'
Ashkan, an organiser of the protests told me later that Ridley was merely a Press TV mouthpiece for regime propaganda: 'It's typical and convenient, she is speaking with the voice of the regime ... we wanted to spread the truth to the audience to make them aware of what was really going on in Iran.'
In fact, it was when Ridley mentioned the 'great rise in peoples power,' that Ashkan and the other protesters seated in varying clusters, stood up to unveil flags and banners, declaring aloud: 'As a token of respect to the Iranians who were arrested and tortured in Iran.'
Chants echoed throughout the lecture theatre: 'Stop killing Iranians,' 'down with dictator,' 'death to Khamenei' and 'Press TV shame on you,' could be heard amongst others. At this point witnesses, including myself can report that a number of peaceful protesters were manhandled and some physically assaulted by members of the Ahlul Bayt.
The organisers and some of their supporters attempted to remove flags and banners, and as this proved unsuccessful, in some cases threats were issued both verbally and physically. Amir describes how he was 'barged' forcefully and at one point verbally threatened: 'One of the organisers grabbed me by my collar and said repeatedly 'you bloody MK [People's Mujahedin of Iran],' even though I'm not with the MK', he tells me.
Others report being branded 'royalists' or 'enemies of god' which in Iran has already led to the execution of two protesters, one aged as young as 19 years old. Amir also discloses that he saw another protester attacked by Ridley's bodyguard: 'He pushed him hard and was going to run at him again when he was thankfully held back – it was very scary.'
The situation could have escalated further had the fire alarm not been pushed by one of the demonstrators. Maryam, who was sitting near the back of the lecture hall, recalled how the fire-drill tactic had previously forced a pro-Israeli talk at the School of African and Oriental Studies to be abandoned.
'I tried to break the glass but it was useless at first,' she explains, 'so I punched it hard with my phone,' she laughs. 'The girl next to me who I first thought was a supporter of the regime noticed and said, 'well done, I seen what’s been happening in Iran.''
Yet for many of the demonstrators, the real success of the night was preventing Dr Mohammad Marandi from making a live speech over an internet link from Iran. In recent interviews, Marandi of Tehran University has inflamed anger over his support of executions and the ongoing clamp down on demonstrations.
Speaking on the following day about the controversy, Hodgson said he was 'disappointed' but maintained his previous statements that UCLU has 'the legal right as one of a few unions in the country without a 'No Platform' policy for speakers.' Asked whether it was an embarrassment to UCL, he said: 'Not at all, but clearly we underestimated the depth of feeling.'
However, critics of the event are adamant that all societies under the University of London banner are subject to their constitution, and that part of the Ahlul Bayt constitution states it is a religious society.
Harrison Cohen, the Students of Faith Welfare Officer and former president of the Jewish Society in 2007, had told me earlier that the religious motives of Ahlul Bayt should not really be the issue; the problem is the political nature of the event.
'Whilst it doesn't over-surprise me that the Ahlul Bayt is doing this event, what surprises me more on examining it today, is that it doesn't seem to be one that's open to dialogue; it seems to be very one sided in supporting the regime, which I don't think is a good thing at all.'
Amir says that 'by actually hosting this event, they [the Ahlul Bayt] are playing politics and directly supporting the terrorist government of Iran.' Ashkan adds: 'We are working through the University of London Union to force pressure onto UCL to answer why they allowed such an event to take place.'
Revelations of this latest controversy came hot on the heels of damaging allegations that UCL is rife with Islamic extremism, following the failed terrorist bombing on Christmas Day by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who studied at UCL and was the president of the Islamic Society in 2006-2007, the second Islamic society at UCL alongside Ahlul Bayt.
An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph in January disclosed the number of radical Islamic preachers who've attended talks held in the Darwin Lecture theatre, which ironically include 'Muslim radicals who have challenged the theory of evolution'.
Of the keynote speakers invited, one had 'suggested that homosexuals and opponents of Islam should be killed', reports The Telegraph. Abu Usamah, a preacher at Birmingham's Green Lane mosque had been filmed in a 2007 Channel Four documentary, where he praised Osama bin Laden and said: 'If I were to call homosexuals perverted, dirty, filthy dogs who should be murdered, that's my freedom of speech, isn't it?'
Hodgson reiterated to me that in the case of Abdulmutallab, 'it was very easy to point the finger of blame at the university because we were his primary point of contact in the UK, but there is no evidence that he was radicalised here,' he says.
A proposed official 'review' process chaired by UCL President and Provost, Professor Malcolm Grant, is underway into the actions of UCL Union, following the Abdulmutallab affair. However, Cohen is less confident in light of this latest controversy involving another Islamic society at UCL.
He tells me: 'It's a slippery slope if you say that you can't have radical views voiced on campus because you clearly can from all sides of the debate ... but what concerns me is the timing of the event ... I'm concerned about that, that it's something that's only going to cause more division on campus.'
Prior to, during and following the talk, both the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society and the UCL Iranian Society have declined from commenting on the story. For video coverage of the protest, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcSdr6A1JDo](http://www.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/preview_60x60_cropped/photos/251462.jpg)
![University College London Union was in the eye of the storm following successful co-ordinated protests against a controversial talk on the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, which critics had dubbed 'regime-sponsored'. During the ensuing chaos, Press TV's Yvonne Ridley had to be ushered out by her bodyguard as the police evacuated the building.
Entitled, 1979 - The Revolution that Shook the World, UCLU's James Hodgson had defied calls to cancel the provocative talk organised by the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society, on grounds of 'a moral and a legal duty to uphold freedom of speech on campus.' His decision had stoked up anger from students and the Iranian ex-patriot community who accused the University of fermenting extremism and implicitly condoning the brutal actions of the regime in Iran.
Hours before Ridley's speech, security had been tightened and guests were asked to show their university identification cards, with a number of attendees turned away. The atmosphere was tense, and according to leading protester Amir, 'there was a deliberate attempt to stop protesters from attending.' He tells me that he had received information of an Ahlul Bayt organiser overheard on his mobile, saying 'your friends are here, the green movement, the green movement.'
Following a delay to the proceedings, Ridley finally began her speech in the Darwin Lecture Theatre, juxtaposing the struggle of the Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in Gaza, with the events of 1979. Yet even as she avoided mention of the current situation in Iran, her description of the period prior to the Islamic revolution was unintentionally reminiscent of the present crisis.
'Tens of thousands of Iranians had already paid the ultimate blood-price of standing up against that brutal regime,' she said, '[but] the people's movement, despite this horrendous oppression, continued to grow and flourish. By the early 70's the Shah's savage repressive machinery, had set out to crush these dissenting voices.'
Ashkan, an organiser of the protests told me later that Ridley was merely a Press TV mouthpiece for regime propaganda: 'It's typical and convenient, she is speaking with the voice of the regime ... we wanted to spread the truth to the audience to make them aware of what was really going on in Iran.'
In fact, it was when Ridley mentioned the 'great rise in peoples power,' that Ashkan and the other protesters seated in varying clusters, stood up to unveil flags and banners, declaring aloud: 'As a token of respect to the Iranians who were arrested and tortured in Iran.'
Chants echoed throughout the lecture theatre: 'Stop killing Iranians,' 'down with dictator,' 'death to Khamenei' and 'Press TV shame on you,' could be heard amongst others. At this point witnesses, including myself can report that a number of peaceful protesters were manhandled and some physically assaulted by members of the Ahlul Bayt.
The organisers and some of their supporters attempted to remove flags and banners, and as this proved unsuccessful, in some cases threats were issued both verbally and physically. Amir describes how he was 'barged' forcefully and at one point verbally threatened: 'One of the organisers grabbed me by my collar and said repeatedly 'you bloody MK [People's Mujahedin of Iran],' even though I'm not with the MK', he tells me.
Others report being branded 'royalists' or 'enemies of god' which in Iran has already led to the execution of two protesters, one aged as young as 19 years old. Amir also discloses that he saw another protester attacked by Ridley's bodyguard: 'He pushed him hard and was going to run at him again when he was thankfully held back – it was very scary.'
The situation could have escalated further had the fire alarm not been pushed by one of the demonstrators. Maryam, who was sitting near the back of the lecture hall, recalled how the fire-drill tactic had previously forced a pro-Israeli talk at the School of African and Oriental Studies to be abandoned.
'I tried to break the glass but it was useless at first,' she explains, 'so I punched it hard with my phone,' she laughs. 'The girl next to me who I first thought was a supporter of the regime noticed and said, 'well done, I seen what’s been happening in Iran.''
Yet for many of the demonstrators, the real success of the night was preventing Dr Mohammad Marandi from making a live speech over an internet link from Iran. In recent interviews, Marandi of Tehran University has inflamed anger over his support of executions and the ongoing clamp down on demonstrations.
Speaking on the following day about the controversy, Hodgson said he was 'disappointed' but maintained his previous statements that UCLU has 'the legal right as one of a few unions in the country without a 'No Platform' policy for speakers.' Asked whether it was an embarrassment to UCL, he said: 'Not at all, but clearly we underestimated the depth of feeling.'
However, critics of the event are adamant that all societies under the University of London banner are subject to their constitution, and that part of the Ahlul Bayt constitution states it is a religious society.
Harrison Cohen, the Students of Faith Welfare Officer and former president of the Jewish Society in 2007, had told me earlier that the religious motives of Ahlul Bayt should not really be the issue; the problem is the political nature of the event.
'Whilst it doesn't over-surprise me that the Ahlul Bayt is doing this event, what surprises me more on examining it today, is that it doesn't seem to be one that's open to dialogue; it seems to be very one sided in supporting the regime, which I don't think is a good thing at all.'
Amir says that 'by actually hosting this event, they [the Ahlul Bayt] are playing politics and directly supporting the terrorist government of Iran.' Ashkan adds: 'We are working through the University of London Union to force pressure onto UCL to answer why they allowed such an event to take place.'
Revelations of this latest controversy came hot on the heels of damaging allegations that UCL is rife with Islamic extremism, following the failed terrorist bombing on Christmas Day by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who studied at UCL and was the president of the Islamic Society in 2006-2007, the second Islamic society at UCL alongside Ahlul Bayt.
An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph in January disclosed the number of radical Islamic preachers who've attended talks held in the Darwin Lecture theatre, which ironically include 'Muslim radicals who have challenged the theory of evolution'.
Of the keynote speakers invited, one had 'suggested that homosexuals and opponents of Islam should be killed', reports The Telegraph. Abu Usamah, a preacher at Birmingham's Green Lane mosque had been filmed in a 2007 Channel Four documentary, where he praised Osama bin Laden and said: 'If I were to call homosexuals perverted, dirty, filthy dogs who should be murdered, that's my freedom of speech, isn't it?'
Hodgson reiterated to me that in the case of Abdulmutallab, 'it was very easy to point the finger of blame at the university because we were his primary point of contact in the UK, but there is no evidence that he was radicalised here,' he says.
A proposed official 'review' process chaired by UCL President and Provost, Professor Malcolm Grant, is underway into the actions of UCL Union, following the Abdulmutallab affair. However, Cohen is less confident in light of this latest controversy involving another Islamic society at UCL.
He tells me: 'It's a slippery slope if you say that you can't have radical views voiced on campus because you clearly can from all sides of the debate ... but what concerns me is the timing of the event ... I'm concerned about that, that it's something that's only going to cause more division on campus.'
Prior to, during and following the talk, both the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society and the UCL Iranian Society have declined from commenting on the story. For video coverage of the protest, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcSdr6A1JDo](http://www.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/preview_60x60_cropped/photos/251835.jpg)
![University College London Union was in the eye of the storm following successful co-ordinated protests against a controversial talk on the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, which critics had dubbed 'regime-sponsored'. During the ensuing chaos, Press TV's Yvonne Ridley had to be ushered out by her bodyguard as the police evacuated the building.
Entitled, 1979 - The Revolution that Shook the World, UCLU's James Hodgson had defied calls to cancel the provocative talk organised by the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society, on grounds of 'a moral and a legal duty to uphold freedom of speech on campus.' His decision had stoked up anger from students and the Iranian ex-patriot community who accused the University of fermenting extremism and implicitly condoning the brutal actions of the regime in Iran.
Hours before Ridley's speech, security had been tightened and guests were asked to show their university identification cards, with a number of attendees turned away. The atmosphere was tense, and according to leading protester Amir, 'there was a deliberate attempt to stop protesters from attending.' He tells me that he had received information of an Ahlul Bayt organiser overheard on his mobile, saying 'your friends are here, the green movement, the green movement.'
Following a delay to the proceedings, Ridley finally began her speech in the Darwin Lecture Theatre, juxtaposing the struggle of the Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in Gaza, with the events of 1979. Yet even as she avoided mention of the current situation in Iran, her description of the period prior to the Islamic revolution was unintentionally reminiscent of the present crisis.
'Tens of thousands of Iranians had already paid the ultimate blood-price of standing up against that brutal regime,' she said, '[but] the people's movement, despite this horrendous oppression, continued to grow and flourish. By the early 70's the Shah's savage repressive machinery, had set out to crush these dissenting voices.'
Ashkan, an organiser of the protests told me later that Ridley was merely a Press TV mouthpiece for regime propaganda: 'It's typical and convenient, she is speaking with the voice of the regime ... we wanted to spread the truth to the audience to make them aware of what was really going on in Iran.'
In fact, it was when Ridley mentioned the 'great rise in peoples power,' that Ashkan and the other protesters seated in varying clusters, stood up to unveil flags and banners, declaring aloud: 'As a token of respect to the Iranians who were arrested and tortured in Iran.'
Chants echoed throughout the lecture theatre: 'Stop killing Iranians,' 'down with dictator,' 'death to Khamenei' and 'Press TV shame on you,' could be heard amongst others. At this point witnesses, including myself can report that a number of peaceful protesters were manhandled and some physically assaulted by members of the Ahlul Bayt.
The organisers and some of their supporters attempted to remove flags and banners, and as this proved unsuccessful, in some cases threats were issued both verbally and physically. Amir describes how he was 'barged' forcefully and at one point verbally threatened: 'One of the organisers grabbed me by my collar and said repeatedly 'you bloody MK [People's Mujahedin of Iran],' even though I'm not with the MK', he tells me.
Others report being branded 'royalists' or 'enemies of god' which in Iran has already led to the execution of two protesters, one aged as young as 19 years old. Amir also discloses that he saw another protester attacked by Ridley's bodyguard: 'He pushed him hard and was going to run at him again when he was thankfully held back – it was very scary.'
The situation could have escalated further had the fire alarm not been pushed by one of the demonstrators. Maryam, who was sitting near the back of the lecture hall, recalled how the fire-drill tactic had previously forced a pro-Israeli talk at the School of African and Oriental Studies to be abandoned.
'I tried to break the glass but it was useless at first,' she explains, 'so I punched it hard with my phone,' she laughs. 'The girl next to me who I first thought was a supporter of the regime noticed and said, 'well done, I seen what’s been happening in Iran.''
Yet for many of the demonstrators, the real success of the night was preventing Dr Mohammad Marandi from making a live speech over an internet link from Iran. In recent interviews, Marandi of Tehran University has inflamed anger over his support of executions and the ongoing clamp down on demonstrations.
Speaking on the following day about the controversy, Hodgson said he was 'disappointed' but maintained his previous statements that UCLU has 'the legal right as one of a few unions in the country without a 'No Platform' policy for speakers.' Asked whether it was an embarrassment to UCL, he said: 'Not at all, but clearly we underestimated the depth of feeling.'
However, critics of the event are adamant that all societies under the University of London banner are subject to their constitution, and that part of the Ahlul Bayt constitution states it is a religious society.
Harrison Cohen, the Students of Faith Welfare Officer and former president of the Jewish Society in 2007, had told me earlier that the religious motives of Ahlul Bayt should not really be the issue; the problem is the political nature of the event.
'Whilst it doesn't over-surprise me that the Ahlul Bayt is doing this event, what surprises me more on examining it today, is that it doesn't seem to be one that's open to dialogue; it seems to be very one sided in supporting the regime, which I don't think is a good thing at all.'
Amir says that 'by actually hosting this event, they [the Ahlul Bayt] are playing politics and directly supporting the terrorist government of Iran.' Ashkan adds: 'We are working through the University of London Union to force pressure onto UCL to answer why they allowed such an event to take place.'
Revelations of this latest controversy came hot on the heels of damaging allegations that UCL is rife with Islamic extremism, following the failed terrorist bombing on Christmas Day by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who studied at UCL and was the president of the Islamic Society in 2006-2007, the second Islamic society at UCL alongside Ahlul Bayt.
An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph in January disclosed the number of radical Islamic preachers who've attended talks held in the Darwin Lecture theatre, which ironically include 'Muslim radicals who have challenged the theory of evolution'.
Of the keynote speakers invited, one had 'suggested that homosexuals and opponents of Islam should be killed', reports The Telegraph. Abu Usamah, a preacher at Birmingham's Green Lane mosque had been filmed in a 2007 Channel Four documentary, where he praised Osama bin Laden and said: 'If I were to call homosexuals perverted, dirty, filthy dogs who should be murdered, that's my freedom of speech, isn't it?'
Hodgson reiterated to me that in the case of Abdulmutallab, 'it was very easy to point the finger of blame at the university because we were his primary point of contact in the UK, but there is no evidence that he was radicalised here,' he says.
A proposed official 'review' process chaired by UCL President and Provost, Professor Malcolm Grant, is underway into the actions of UCL Union, following the Abdulmutallab affair. However, Cohen is less confident in light of this latest controversy involving another Islamic society at UCL.
He tells me: 'It's a slippery slope if you say that you can't have radical views voiced on campus because you clearly can from all sides of the debate ... but what concerns me is the timing of the event ... I'm concerned about that, that it's something that's only going to cause more division on campus.'
Prior to, during and following the talk, both the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society and the UCL Iranian Society have declined from commenting on the story. For video coverage of the protest, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcSdr6A1JDo](http://www.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/preview_60x60_cropped/photos/251836.jpg)
![University College London Union was in the eye of the storm following successful co-ordinated protests against a controversial talk on the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, which critics had dubbed 'regime-sponsored'. During the ensuing chaos, Press TV's Yvonne Ridley had to be ushered out by her bodyguard as the police evacuated the building.
Entitled, 1979 - The Revolution that Shook the World, UCLU's James Hodgson had defied calls to cancel the provocative talk organised by the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society, on grounds of 'a moral and a legal duty to uphold freedom of speech on campus.' His decision had stoked up anger from students and the Iranian ex-patriot community who accused the University of fermenting extremism and implicitly condoning the brutal actions of the regime in Iran.
Hours before Ridley's speech, security had been tightened and guests were asked to show their university identification cards, with a number of attendees turned away. The atmosphere was tense, and according to leading protester Amir, 'there was a deliberate attempt to stop protesters from attending.' He tells me that he had received information of an Ahlul Bayt organiser overheard on his mobile, saying 'your friends are here, the green movement, the green movement.'
Following a delay to the proceedings, Ridley finally began her speech in the Darwin Lecture Theatre, juxtaposing the struggle of the Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in Gaza, with the events of 1979. Yet even as she avoided mention of the current situation in Iran, her description of the period prior to the Islamic revolution was unintentionally reminiscent of the present crisis.
'Tens of thousands of Iranians had already paid the ultimate blood-price of standing up against that brutal regime,' she said, '[but] the people's movement, despite this horrendous oppression, continued to grow and flourish. By the early 70's the Shah's savage repressive machinery, had set out to crush these dissenting voices.'
Ashkan, an organiser of the protests told me later that Ridley was merely a Press TV mouthpiece for regime propaganda: 'It's typical and convenient, she is speaking with the voice of the regime ... we wanted to spread the truth to the audience to make them aware of what was really going on in Iran.'
In fact, it was when Ridley mentioned the 'great rise in peoples power,' that Ashkan and the other protesters seated in varying clusters, stood up to unveil flags and banners, declaring aloud: 'As a token of respect to the Iranians who were arrested and tortured in Iran.'
Chants echoed throughout the lecture theatre: 'Stop killing Iranians,' 'down with dictator,' 'death to Khamenei' and 'Press TV shame on you,' could be heard amongst others. At this point witnesses, including myself can report that a number of peaceful protesters were manhandled and some physically assaulted by members of the Ahlul Bayt.
The organisers and some of their supporters attempted to remove flags and banners, and as this proved unsuccessful, in some cases threats were issued both verbally and physically. Amir describes how he was 'barged' forcefully and at one point verbally threatened: 'One of the organisers grabbed me by my collar and said repeatedly 'you bloody MK [People's Mujahedin of Iran],' even though I'm not with the MK', he tells me.
Others report being branded 'royalists' or 'enemies of god' which in Iran has already led to the execution of two protesters, one aged as young as 19 years old. Amir also discloses that he saw another protester attacked by Ridley's bodyguard: 'He pushed him hard and was going to run at him again when he was thankfully held back – it was very scary.'
The situation could have escalated further had the fire alarm not been pushed by one of the demonstrators. Maryam, who was sitting near the back of the lecture hall, recalled how the fire-drill tactic had previously forced a pro-Israeli talk at the School of African and Oriental Studies to be abandoned.
'I tried to break the glass but it was useless at first,' she explains, 'so I punched it hard with my phone,' she laughs. 'The girl next to me who I first thought was a supporter of the regime noticed and said, 'well done, I seen what’s been happening in Iran.''
Yet for many of the demonstrators, the real success of the night was preventing Dr Mohammad Marandi from making a live speech over an internet link from Iran. In recent interviews, Marandi of Tehran University has inflamed anger over his support of executions and the ongoing clamp down on demonstrations.
Speaking on the following day about the controversy, Hodgson said he was 'disappointed' but maintained his previous statements that UCLU has 'the legal right as one of a few unions in the country without a 'No Platform' policy for speakers.' Asked whether it was an embarrassment to UCL, he said: 'Not at all, but clearly we underestimated the depth of feeling.'
However, critics of the event are adamant that all societies under the University of London banner are subject to their constitution, and that part of the Ahlul Bayt constitution states it is a religious society.
Harrison Cohen, the Students of Faith Welfare Officer and former president of the Jewish Society in 2007, had told me earlier that the religious motives of Ahlul Bayt should not really be the issue; the problem is the political nature of the event.
'Whilst it doesn't over-surprise me that the Ahlul Bayt is doing this event, what surprises me more on examining it today, is that it doesn't seem to be one that's open to dialogue; it seems to be very one sided in supporting the regime, which I don't think is a good thing at all.'
Amir says that 'by actually hosting this event, they [the Ahlul Bayt] are playing politics and directly supporting the terrorist government of Iran.' Ashkan adds: 'We are working through the University of London Union to force pressure onto UCL to answer why they allowed such an event to take place.'
Revelations of this latest controversy came hot on the heels of damaging allegations that UCL is rife with Islamic extremism, following the failed terrorist bombing on Christmas Day by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who studied at UCL and was the president of the Islamic Society in 2006-2007, the second Islamic society at UCL alongside Ahlul Bayt.
An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph in January disclosed the number of radical Islamic preachers who've attended talks held in the Darwin Lecture theatre, which ironically include 'Muslim radicals who have challenged the theory of evolution'.
Of the keynote speakers invited, one had 'suggested that homosexuals and opponents of Islam should be killed', reports The Telegraph. Abu Usamah, a preacher at Birmingham's Green Lane mosque had been filmed in a 2007 Channel Four documentary, where he praised Osama bin Laden and said: 'If I were to call homosexuals perverted, dirty, filthy dogs who should be murdered, that's my freedom of speech, isn't it?'
Hodgson reiterated to me that in the case of Abdulmutallab, 'it was very easy to point the finger of blame at the university because we were his primary point of contact in the UK, but there is no evidence that he was radicalised here,' he says.
A proposed official 'review' process chaired by UCL President and Provost, Professor Malcolm Grant, is underway into the actions of UCL Union, following the Abdulmutallab affair. However, Cohen is less confident in light of this latest controversy involving another Islamic society at UCL.
He tells me: 'It's a slippery slope if you say that you can't have radical views voiced on campus because you clearly can from all sides of the debate ... but what concerns me is the timing of the event ... I'm concerned about that, that it's something that's only going to cause more division on campus.'
Prior to, during and following the talk, both the Ahlul Bayt Islamic Society and the UCL Iranian Society have declined from commenting on the story. For video coverage of the protest, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcSdr6A1JDo](http://www.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/preview_60x60_cropped/photos/251463.jpg)
