Islam ‘study’ just doesn’t add up
There is something quite quarrelsome about ‘Islam on Campus’, the Centre for Social Cohesion (CSC) think-tank’s ‘study’ of Muslim students’ opinions in the UK. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am all for community cohesion in regards to tackling violent extremism, but what that has to do with the headline-grabbing tactics of groups such as CSC is a mystery to me.
Magda Ali
The National Union of Students said: “This disgusting report is a reflection of the biases and prejudices of a right-wing think tank – not the views of Muslim students across Britain. Only 632 Muslim students were asked vague and misleading questions, and their answers were then wilfully misinterpreted in order to fit this organisation’s own tawdry obsession with Islam.” I couldn’t have said it any better myself.
The report is weak and bears no similarity to the reality of Islamic societies in the UK. Not only does the dim ‘study’ disparage the intellectual integrity of British Muslim students, it is quite simply a dense satire dressed in the finest attire.
There are 90,000 Muslim students in British universities, and the report’s findings were based on 632 of them. Okay, let’s do some maths. 632 out of 90,000 = 0.7 per cent. Wait, so that’s all of 0.7 per cent of the British Muslim student populace that we’re basing a ‘study’ on? Since when are the views of less than one per cent considered the majority? I cannot for the life of me understand how this flawed report can have any sort of credibility.
The reality is that the diminutive extreme voices on campus have little to do with Islamic societies – they are shunned for their extreme views. Students that join the Islamic societies are the typical, average Muslims, who join for spiritual enrichment, just the same as the Christians that join the Christian Union and the like – not potential terrorist recruiters. Those of us who represent the bulk of Muslims, Christians and Jews have an immense responsibility.
Douglas Murray, the director of the think tank, has written a book entitled Neo-conservatism: why we need it and has openly made comments such as “Abroad we must continue our work at taking the war to the terrorists. We are winning that war, and we should extend that war.”
So much for ‘social cohesion’— our times really are obstinate.
The CSC’s ‘study’ is merely a confection of the right-wing think tank and its sister think tank Policy Exchange, using the pretence of caring about cohesion when their true agenda is anything but. Of course, there are those who will still choose to accept the report as justifiable, but that just says a lot about their predispositions.
By Magda Ali
“There are 90,000 Muslim students in British universities, and the report’s findings were based on 632 of them. Okay, let’s do some maths. 632 out of 90,000 = 0.7 per cent. Wait, so that’s all of 0.7 per cent of the British Muslim student populace that we’re basing a ‘study’ on? Since when are the views of less than one per cent considered the majority? I cannot for the life of me understand how this flawed report can have any sort of credibility.”
Yes, you base a study on a sample because you can not interview all 90,000. You assume this sample accurately represents the whole population which it in most cases does. For some “credibility,” take a class in statistics.
I don’t disagree with you on Muslims not being extremist, it’s just you do a good job of losing your own “credibility” by not knowing a thing about statistics.
“There are 90,000 Muslim students in British universities, and the report’s findings were based on 632 of them. Okay, let’s do some maths. 632 out of 90,000 = 0.7 per cent. Wait, so that’s all of 0.7 per cent of the British Muslim student populace that we’re basing a ‘study’ on? Since when are the views of less than one per cent considered the majority? I cannot for the life of me understand how this flawed report can have any sort of credibility.”
Yes, you base a study on a sample because you can not interview all 90,000. You assume this sample accurately represents the whole population which it in most cases does. For some “credibility,” take a class in statistics.
I don’t disagree with you on Muslims not being extremist, it’s just you do a good job of losing your own “credibility” by not knowing a thing about statistics.
first of all jesus, the percentage is correct and the main point that magda is traying to potray is that a hand full of misguided islamists (i quote this because they are not true muslims) is being coined on the rest of the muslim society which is absolutely despicable .
if these people were true muslims then they would know that killing innocent people is wrong: killing an innocent person is the same is killing the whole of humanity. so your point is completely invalid
Well said Magda.
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Thunder Thiefs
The Times got the glory this month for the Inquirer's January splash revealing the cost, well in excess of £500,000, of removing former vice-chancellor Malcolm Gillies:
January - the Inquirer
April - Times Higher Education
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