By Sheila Mckenzie-
The National Union of Students (NUS) president of Cambridge University, Shaima Dallali, has been subjected to ongoing Islamahobia, following a 5-month long investigation into allegations of antisemitism.
Friends and associates of Dallali at the university told The Eye Of Media.Com that there has been a rise in Islamaphobia, since her sacking this week, insisting that her sacking was driven by actors keen to conflate antisemitism with legitimate advocacy for Palestinian rights.
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One friend on the condition of anonymity said: ”this ruling is wholly unfair and ha sled to more Islamaphobic attacks against Dallali and other muslims. The ruling was clearly made to conflate antisemetism with legitimate advocacy for Palestinian rights.
The decision comes following an independent panel found that Dallali had made significant breaches of the NUS code of conduct.
Muslim students in the elite university have intensified calls to break ties from the UK’s National Union of Students after the national body dismissed its elected president Shaima Dallali, following an investigation into allegations of antisemitism.
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Dallali, a Black Muslim woman of Tunisian and Sudanese descent, was elected in March to lead the national student body, although she had not taken up the post after being suspended, pending the investigation.
She is the first president to be dismissed in the NUS’s 100-year history.
The NUS announced its decision on Tuesday night after reports began to emerge that Dallali was dismissed by the national body.
The NUS said the decision could be subject to an appeal but defended the process, which had led to Dallali’s dismissal. The decision was based on a disciplinary panel hearing on 27 October 2022.
A statement by her lawyers, Carter-Ruck, on Wednesday announced that Dallali is considering legal action against the decision.
“Remarkably – and in keeping with her treatment throughout her brief tenure since being elected in March 2022 – the news of Ms Dallali’s dismissal had already been briefed to and published on at least two national news websites before Ms Dallali had even been informed of the decision, let alone been provided with the written reasons for it,” the statement read.
“The position was further aggravated by the publication of follow-up articles, citing an unnamed NUS source and falsely denying that this briefing or leak had occurred.”
The statement added that Dallali rejects the findings of the disciplinary panel as well as the allegations about her that were investigated in the context of those investigations.
“She considers the process to have constituted – and that it continues to constitute – discriminatory treatment of her as a black Muslim woman and her beliefs concerning the plight of the Palestinian people,” the statement said.
Cambridge University saw a reported rise in racism against Asian students during the pandemic, according to End Everyday Racism At Cambridge, an independent research project developed by Dr Mónica Moreno Figueroa and Dr Ella McPherson based in the Department of Sociology at University of Cambridge.
The End Everyday Racism Project is an independent research project developed by Dr Mónica Moreno Figueroa and Dr Ella McPherson based in the Department of Sociology at University of Cambridge.The End Everyday Racism project in Cambridge has both academic and activist goals, as well as a strong commitment to recognizing and
validating those who have experienced racial abuse.
The only downside is to the campaign is that all members of the University can make anonymous reports,including students, academic staff, administrative staff and alumni, which sometimes mean that claims of alleged racism cannot be verified if the complainants cannot be identified to those against whom they are complaining for their allegations to be properly examined.
In a statement, the NUS said: “We are sorry for the harm that has been caused and we hope to rebuild the NUS in an inclusive way – fighting for all students as we have done for the past 100 years.”
It is thought to be the first time in the 100-year history of the national student organisation that a president has been suspended or fired.
Dallali, 27, was elected to lead the NUS for a two-year term from July after being elected by delegates at the organisation’s national conference in March. However, she was later suspended in August (25/6) as part of a procedural measure for the investigation.
The Union of Jewish Students (UJS), whose president is former Cambridge student Joel Rosen, released a statement saying they welcomed the decision taken by the NUS but that “this case is a symptom of a wider problem.
“Jewish students across the country will be asking how an individual deemed unfit for office by NUS was elected in the first place. We await the findings of the substantive inquiry into NUS’ treatment of Jewish students.”
The full report, which is expected to be published by the end of the year, will investigate broader allegations of antisemitism within the NUS.
Muslim students across the UK and Ireland, said the NUS had undermined its democratically elected leadership by dismissing Dallali as president.
Describing the NUS as “no longer fit for purpose”, FOSIS said it would launch disaffiliation campaigns against the national body in response to Dallali’s dismissal.
“Following numerous attempts to engage NUS and its leadership, no satisfactory outcome has been reached,” FOSIS said in a statement.
“The investigation into Shaima has been deeply politicised from the outset, and due process has not been followed, opening Shaima up to the court of public opinion and denying her the opportunity to fairly represent herself.
“NUS’ failings with regards to Shaima reflect its failings towards Muslim students at large – and these reflect its dereliction of duty towards its membership at large.”
The report was originally expected to be published last Friday but was unexpectedly delayed due to factors outside of the NUS investigation.”
Chloe Field, currently vice president of higher education at the NUS will stand in as acting chair of the NUS UK board until a replacement can be found.
The Cambridge Student Union (SU) previously backed the investigation into antisemitism when it was announced in August but at the time also expressed concerns that the claims of antisemitism were “being weaponised against students of colour and support for Palestinian rights” in a statement made to Varsity last month.
Following the news of her suspension Dallali posted on Twitter, saying: “Don’t ever believe that an organisation is ‘progressive’ or cares about justice before finding out how they treat women of colour and/or Muslim women. Many enable oppression and Islamophobia. They will punish us for daring to be political and make us believe it’s our fault.”
The investigation into Dallali was initially sparked after it was revealed she had written provocative comments, such as tweeting: “Khaybar Khaybar O Jews… Muhammad’s army will return Gaza”, referencing a massacre of Jews in AD 628. The massacre is often referred to in the context of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Dallali, who is 27, has since apologised for the tweet, which she wrote ten years ago. She stated that she is now “a different person”.
Dallali also called Muslim cleric Yusuf Al-Qaradawi “the moral compass for the Muslim community at large” in an article written in 2018.
Al-Qaradawi has previously described the Holocaust as “divine punishment” for the Jews, whilst falsely claiming that “they exaggerated this issue”. In a 2009 sermon, al-Qaradawi called on God to kill Jews “down to the very last one.”
When al-Qaradawi’s antisemitism was put to Dallali earlier this year by The Tab, she did not comment.
Responding to her sacking, Dallali tweeted: “On the first day of Islamophobia Awareness Month, I find out I have been dismissed through Twitter.
“That is unacceptable”, she added.
Muslim students have increased its calls to disaffiliate from the UK’s National Union of Students after the national body dismissed its elected president Shaima Dallali, following an investigation into allegations of antisemitism.
Dallali, a Black Muslim woman of Tunisian and Sudanese descent, was elected in March to lead the national student body, although she had not taken up the post after being suspended, pending the investigation.
She is the first president to be dismissed in the NUS’s 100-year history.
The NUS announced its decision on Tuesday night after reports began to emerge that Dallali was dismissed by the national body.
The NUS said the decision could be subject to an appeal but defended the process, which had led to Dallali’s dismissal. The decision was based on a disciplinary panel hearing on 27 October 2022.
A statement by her lawyers, Carter-Ruck, on Wednesday announced that Dallali is considering legal action against the decision.
“Remarkably – and in keeping with her treatment throughout her brief tenure since being elected in March 2022 – the news of Ms Dallali’s dismissal had already been briefed to and published on at least two national news websites before Ms Dallali had even been informed of the decision, let alone been provided with the written reasons for it,” the statement read.
“The position was further aggravated by the publication of follow-up articles, citing an unnamed NUS source and falsely denying that this briefing or leak had occurred.”
The statement added that Dallali rejects the findings of the disciplinary panel as well as the allegations about her that were investigated in the context of those investigations.
“She considers the process to have constituted – and that it continues to constitute – discriminatory treatment of her as a black Muslim woman and her beliefs concerning the plight of the Palestinian people,” the statement said.
Disaffiliation campaign
Meanwhile, the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS), representing Muslim students across the UK and Ireland, said the NUS had undermined its democratically elected leadership by dismissing Dallali as president.
Describing the NUS as “no longer fit for purpose”, FOSIS said it would launch disaffiliation campaigns against the national body in response to Dallali’s dismissal.
UK: NUS president Shaima Dallali sacked over antisemitism allegations
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“Following numerous attempts to engage NUS and its leadership, no satisfactory outcome has been reached,” FOSIS said in a statement.
“The investigation into Shaima has been deeply politicised from the outset, and due process has not been followed, opening Shaima up to the court of public opinion and denying her the opportunity to fairly represent herself.
“NUS’ failings with regards to Shaima reflect its failings towards Muslim students at large – and these reflect its dereliction of duty towards its membership at large.”
Following her election, Dallali told the Guardian that she feared for her safety after receiving a torrent of online abuse and threats.
Before she was elected NUS president, Dallali served as president at City University in London.
Dallali was then elected to serve as NUS president at the body’s last national conference, which saw hundreds of delegates from across the UK vote for her.
She was due to start her new role in July and serve in that position for a two-year term.
After her election, Dallali was placed under investigation following complaints of antisemitism and homophobia relating to several tweets dating back to 2012.
Dallali apologised for the tweets and welcomed the investigation into her actions. Over a dozen organisations signed a joint letter condemning the NUS on Tuesday night for failing to protect Dallali from death threats and a “torrent of Islamophobic” abuse after being elected president of the national body.
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