Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) Statement on Nasser Amin's victory against SOAS over the right to free speech for Muslim students
IHRC has great pleasure in informing campaigners that SOAS student Nasser Amin has received a public apology from Professor Colin Bundy, the then Director and Principal of the College. Professor Bundy had published on the SOAS website news that Nasser had been “reprimanded” for an article he wrote on Palestine entitled, “When only violence will do”. No formal sanction or reprimand was actually ever applied, yet Professor Bundy secretly wrote to ministers in the Home Office and Department for Education, as well as local MP Frank Dobson, saying that Amin had been reprimanded over the article.
The apology can be viewed on the SOAS website at the link below
http://www.soas.ac.uk/news/newsdetail.cfm?newsid=304 IHRC began a campaign for Nasser Amin in June 2005 ( http://www.ihrc.org.uk/show.php?id=1405 ). Professor Bundy was also short-listed for an Islamophobia award at the 2006 Islamophobia Awards for his actions.
IHRC congratulates Nasser Amin for this victory and for his steady determination in pursuing the matter to its close. IHRC congratulates all campaigners for their immense efforts in assisting Nasser. This shows that where there is patience and
perseverance as Nasser displayed, justice will prevail.
For further information on the apology, see the story in The London Student (Online Edition) below ‘Muslim student forces college boss to back down’
http://www.london-student.net/content/view/444/29/
The apology can be viewed on the SOAS website at the link below
http://www.soas.ac.uk/news/newsdetail.cfm?newsid=304 IHRC began a campaign for Nasser Amin in June 2005 ( http://www.ihrc.org.uk/show.php?id=1405 ). Professor Bundy was also short-listed for an Islamophobia award at the 2006 Islamophobia Awards for his actions. IHRC congratulates Nasser Amin for this victory and for his steady determination in pursuing the matter to its close. IHRC congratulates all campaigners for their immense efforts in assisting Nasser. This shows that where there is patience and
perseverance as Nasser displayed, justice will prevail.
For further information on the apology, see the story in The London Student (Online Edition) below ‘Muslim student forces college boss to back down’
http://www.london-student.net/content/view/444/29/
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No to anti-Muslim racism!
20.04.2007 01:06
Reema remedy
SOAS fined £5,000 (USD10,000) in Islamophobia scandal
14.05.2007 04:25
London Student
A Muslim student who won a grievance case against SOAS received thousands of pounds in compensation, London Student has learnt.
Nasser Amin, who won an apology from former SOAS Principal Colin Bundy over false claims that he had been reprimanded over an article published in student magazine Spirit, was paid £5,000 by the School in November last year.
SOAS was keen to keep details of the payment quiet in order to deter similar compensation claims from other students, but was forced to reveal under the Freedom of Information Act that it paid £5,000 to a student following a grievance settlement.
Whilst the details of Amin's settlement remain confidential under the terms of the agreement, the money was paid just days after Amin won his apology, and sources within SOAS confirmed that Amin was the recipient.
The long running case began in spring 2005, when Spirit magazine published Amin's article about the Middle East in which he argued that 'those who benefit from the immoral actions of a colonial state in which they have chosen to reside cannot be considered as innocent'.
Amin argued that he was simply warning of the danger of automatically siding with one's own people when dealing with moral issues, but the article sparked outrage from certain quarters, including commentator Melanie Phillips, who demanded that the police get involved. Amin also received death threats, and went through a period of depression.
Under pressure, SOAS Principal Bundy issued a public statement that Amin had been reprimanded, even though he had not been subject to a formal disciplinary process – necessary for a reprimand to be issued.
Amin pursued a grievance against Bundy, finally winning an apology last autumn. He is still studying for a Masters degree at SOAS, which has been heavily delayed by the case.
Campus Student