The Exchange

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was one of us. He was President of the UCL Islamic Society between 2006 and 2007. This is not the place to analyze why and how Umar did what he did.

Now is the time to remember certain basic truths.

On campus we are blessed by the opportunities given by one of the best universities in the world. UCL is by tradition a place of radicals and free thinkers. It was born out the idea of a group of rebellious students. When Campbell and Brougham (two of the founders of the University of London) began to organize a university for London, the only existing universities in England were those long established at Oxford and Cambridge. The “two great public nuisances”, Bentham called them, “storehouses and nurseries of political corruption”.

Membership of the Church of England was required for admission to the one and for graduation to the other. All non conformists were excluded. UCL was the first university to open the door for people of race, religion, gender with no discrimination. This why the UCL SHRP could have born only at UCL.We undoubtedly posses nowadays an higher degree of freedom.

Let’s not waste it, and let’s remember that freedom carries with itself a great degree of responsibility. We hold certain truths: that respect for every other human being is a fundamental tenet of the political morality of a Liberal Democracy, that women are to be treated equally, that we are free to chose our own way of life. That in the light of our best tradition, we all ought to respect every other human being and that the responsibility for what happen in our classroom remains, first of all, on the respect of these basic fundamental values.

This is what UCL stands for.