Political Islamism to be Explored during St Mary’s Guest Lecture

Counter-extremism organisation, the Quilliam Foundation, will be holding a guest lecture at St Mary’s University, Twickenham later this month exploring Islamophobia and Islamism in the UK today. The free lecture which is open to members of the public as well as current students and staff, will be led by Managing Director of the Quilliam Foundation Haras Rafiq on Monday 17th November at St Mary’s Strawberry Hill campus. The Quilliam Foundation is a counter-extremism organisation, dedicated to promoting civic interventions in the fields of extremism, integration, citizenship, identity and disenfranchisement. The talk forms part of the Race and Representation module on St Mary’s BSc Sociology programme and will see Haras discuss the theme of Islamophobia and Islamism in the UK. St Mary’s Senior Sociology Lecturer Mort Mascarenhas said, “In the UK today we are currently witnessing a worrying rise in Islamophobic incidents including the verbal abuse of women wearing Islamic dress, attacks on Mosques and provocative demonstrations by far right organisations like the English Defence League. There is also the very real danger that British born and raised young men and women are being radicalised by Jihadist propaganda and are volunteering to serve alongside IS forces in Syria and Iraq. “Quilliam has been involved in countering these radical and extremist narratives and it is with great pleasure that we will be hosting its Managing Director Haras Rafiq, who will explain the appeal of Political Islamism, its variations, aims and methods of organisation. This talk was originally meant for sociology undergraduates but the importance and immediacy of the subject is such that we are glad to welcome members of the local community.” The free public lecture will take place from 11am to 1pm and is open to all but registration in advance is required. To RSVP please contact Mort Mascarenhas on mort.mascarenhas@stmarys.ac.uk.