The Henry Jackson Society (HJS) has written to University College London and the Department of Education to raise the red flag after a UCL student society mourned the death of Ayatollah Khamenei on social media. The post, shared by UCL’s Ahlul-Bayt Islamic Society, called Khamenei’s death an “unimaginable loss” and claimed his demise is “not the end to resistance”.
The HJS is now asking UCL if it has launched a review into the post, and whether it “distinguishes between lawful religious expression and political advocacy connected to foreign state leadership“. The HJS is also calling for “clearer national guidance” from the Department of Education how universities should handle cases like this, where student societies “appear to promote foreign political narratives” while still gladly belonging to an institution which relies on the taxpayer. HJS Research Fellow Emma Schubart said:
“Universities must remain places of free speech and open debate. However, there is a clear difference between private religious observance and political mobilisation linked to foreign state ideology. When that line becomes blurred, institutions have a responsibility to provide clarity. This is not about faith, it is about governance, transparency and maintaining public confidence that UK campuses are not being used as platforms for foreign political influence.”
Speaking on the phone to Jonathan Karl, Chief Washington Correspondent at ABC News, about Khamenei, Trump said:
“I got him before he got me. They tried twice. Well, I got him first.”