Notts Uni Islamic Society postpones event with a cleric who said Hitler did Jews ‘a favour’

The Islamic society at the University of Nottingham has postponed an event with speaker Shaykh Asrar Rashid, after backlash from Jewish students over his invitation to speak on campus.

Mr Rashid made comments in a video posted on a YouTube channel in June 2022 that “by the 1940s, Hitler did a favour for the Jews”. He added that following the holocaust, Jews “held all politicians in their pockets”.

The event was due to be held on the 12th December in the Law and Social Sciences building on University Park Campus. A post on the society’s Facebook page on the 7th December stated that the talk was for “brothers only”.

The society then posted an update on the 10th December announcing that due to “logistical issues” the event would be held in the Lenton Muslim Centre instead of on campus and that it was “now open to both brothers and sisters”.

A day later the society posted that as a result of “unforeseen circumstances” the talk had been postponed until further notice and that they would keep followers posted on any further updates to the event.

Speaking to The Jewish Chronicle, a spokesperson for Nottingham Jewish society said they were “appalled” by the invite to Asrar Rashid to deliver his talk at the university.

“We are pleased that the event did not take place as scheduled, yet we will continue to make representations to ensure that it is not organised for a later date”, they added.

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A spokesperson for the University of Nottingham Students Union told The Jewish Chronicle: “At the University of Nottingham Students’ Union we value, champion, and uphold freedom of speech and actively encourage our student community to share ideas in a spirit of mutual respect and intellectual curiosity. Our student societies cover a wide range of beliefs and provide the opportunity to agree, disagree and debate.

“We have been made aware of an invitation issued by the Islamic Society to Asrar Rashid to address its members. The Students’ Union has requested a postponement of the event to ensure that the agreed process for issuing such speaker invitations has been followed and allows us to determine whether the event can be held peacefully and safely for all those concerned.

“Our priority is, and always will be, for all of our student members and it is of the utmost importance to us that we make sure all Students’ Union activity is safe, inclusive, dignified, respectful, and responsible.”

The Tab has contacted University of Nottingham Islamic Society and Shaykh Asrar Rashid for comment.

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Featured image via YouTube.