SOAS student Nasser Amin has warned that he may take his university to court and advised Muslims against studying there after it delayed reaching an agreement on his long running grievance that dates back to the anti-Semitism row that engulfed the school last year.
Amin found himself at the centre of an international storm last year when an article he wrote in SOAS' Spirit magazine was accused of being anti-Semitic. SOAS announced that he had been reprimanded on the internet apparently without informing him.
Amin launched a grievance complaint against SOAS Director Colin Bundy to have his name cleared, but in an interview with London Student he revealed that after months of informal talks the school has decided to force the matter to a formal hearing.
"We had hoped this would be informally resolved, without the need for a hearing," said Amin. "Unfortunately the school has now decided that they will not resolve it informally.
"At no stage of the grievance has the school sought to defend its actions in reprimanding me. At no stage has it argued that it was justified to issue a statement against me; indeed the school's removal of it suggests that they themselves consider it to be wrong.
"If it is not resolved we are perfectly willing and able to take this case as far as the European courts if need be. We will exhaust every legal avenue if SOAS refuses to acknowledge that it has made false statements about me and damaged my reputation."
Last spring Amin wrote an article discussing violence in the Middle East, including comments that 'those who benefit from the immoral actions of a colonial state in which they have chosen to reside cannot be considered as innocent'. The article sparked a massive row, appearing on a number of American websites, some of which made death threats against him. Labour MP David Winnick called for him to be prosecuted, whilst some students racially abused him.
"Most of the article was about condemning the fact that so many people in the world simply side with their own people when it comes to these difficult questions about world affairs and morality," said Amin.
SOAS disagreed, placing an online notice claiming that Amin had been reprimanded, even though no reprimand was ever given. "He [ Bundy] said that he informally cautioned me which he was entitled to do without due process. However an informal caution is not a reprimand."
SOAS claims it sent a letter to Amin via the students' union telling him Bundy disapproved of the article, but London Student understands that the students' union has no record of ever receiving it.
Bundy did however write to Home Office minister Hazel Blears, Education department minister Maria Eagle and local MP Frank Dobson to say that Amin had been reprimanded.
The reaction has affected Amin's health and delayed his degree. "One article written by a PhD student at SOAS predicted that I would have in his words a 'short and bloody life'. This article has now been published on the website of the SOAS student.
"It's been very difficult to do my degree and I haven't really completed any work since SOAS decided to make me a scapegoat. I was very depressed, I'm certainly not as I am normally. I have problems sometimes going to sleep.
"This shows absolutely no duty of care towards Muslim students and I cannot recommend that any Muslim student applies to SOAS in the current state of affairs."
Colin Bundy said he was not at liberty to comment on the case.
Amin found himself at the centre of an international storm last year when an article he wrote in SOAS' Spirit magazine was accused of being anti-Semitic. SOAS announced that he had been reprimanded on the internet apparently without informing him.
Amin launched a grievance complaint against SOAS Director Colin Bundy to have his name cleared, but in an interview with London Student he revealed that after months of informal talks the school has decided to force the matter to a formal hearing.
"We had hoped this would be informally resolved, without the need for a hearing," said Amin. "Unfortunately the school has now decided that they will not resolve it informally.
"At no stage of the grievance has the school sought to defend its actions in reprimanding me. At no stage has it argued that it was justified to issue a statement against me; indeed the school's removal of it suggests that they themselves consider it to be wrong.
"If it is not resolved we are perfectly willing and able to take this case as far as the European courts if need be. We will exhaust every legal avenue if SOAS refuses to acknowledge that it has made false statements about me and damaged my reputation."
Last spring Amin wrote an article discussing violence in the Middle East, including comments that 'those who benefit from the immoral actions of a colonial state in which they have chosen to reside cannot be considered as innocent'. The article sparked a massive row, appearing on a number of American websites, some of which made death threats against him. Labour MP David Winnick called for him to be prosecuted, whilst some students racially abused him.
"Most of the article was about condemning the fact that so many people in the world simply side with their own people when it comes to these difficult questions about world affairs and morality," said Amin.
SOAS disagreed, placing an online notice claiming that Amin had been reprimanded, even though no reprimand was ever given. "He [ Bundy] said that he informally cautioned me which he was entitled to do without due process. However an informal caution is not a reprimand."
SOAS claims it sent a letter to Amin via the students' union telling him Bundy disapproved of the article, but London Student understands that the students' union has no record of ever receiving it.
Bundy did however write to Home Office minister Hazel Blears, Education department minister Maria Eagle and local MP Frank Dobson to say that Amin had been reprimanded.
The reaction has affected Amin's health and delayed his degree. "One article written by a PhD student at SOAS predicted that I would have in his words a 'short and bloody life'. This article has now been published on the website of the SOAS student.
"It's been very difficult to do my degree and I haven't really completed any work since SOAS decided to make me a scapegoat. I was very depressed, I'm certainly not as I am normally. I have problems sometimes going to sleep.
"This shows absolutely no duty of care towards Muslim students and I cannot recommend that any Muslim student applies to SOAS in the current state of affairs."
Colin Bundy said he was not at liberty to comment on the case.
