Student leader groups were furious to find out that the UK Ministry of education had reportedly called on its universities to keep special watch on its Muslim and Asian students and then report its findings to a special committee.

School staff and faculty were asked to pay close attention to any student of Middle Eastern and Asian origin who may be involved in extremist groups, a report in the ‘Guardian’ said.

The move on the part of British authorities came as a result of the belief that school campuses had become a “recruiting ground” for extremist and terrorist groups, the paper added. In response, the idea of having schools keep an eye on such activities was proposed so that school staff might prevent a catastrophe as vulnerable students may get roped into groups advocating violence rather than peaceful means of achieving their goals.

The Education Ministry drew up an18-page proposal which was sent to several groups for consultation last month, with possible plans intended to ultimately be implemented at university campuses. A special government branch was to receive any reports of apparent “extremist” behavior at universities and other centers of higher education.

Discrimination, racism, and witch-hunts

However, many groups that found out about the proposed program called it discriminatory and a flagrant violation of rights.

"It sounds to me to be potentially the widest infringement of the rights of Muslim students that there ever has been in this country,” said Wakkas Khan, president of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies.

“It is clearly targeting Muslim students and treating them to a higher level of suspicion and scrutiny. It sounds like you're guilty until you're proven innocent.”
 
Others also criticized the proposal, such as Gemma Tumelty, president of the National Union of Students, who said, "They are going to treat everyone Muslim with suspicion on the basis of their faith. It's bearing on the side of McCarthyism,” Tumelty said, referring to the “McCarthy era” in the United States, when, at the onset of the cold war with Russia, countless Americans were blacklisted for being suspected communists.
 

© 2006 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)