Cambridge University faces scrutiny for appointing Farah Ahmed, a former activist for a now-outlawed terror group, as an Assistant Research Professor and Governing Body Fellow.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Cambridge University has appointed Farah Ahmed, a former activist in the banned Islamist terror group Hizb ut-Tahrir, as an Assistant Research Professor at its Faculty of Education. Ahmed, who is also a Governing Body Fellow at Hughes Hall, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching, has previously urged Muslims to study engineering and computing “to produce advanced weaponry for Jihad in order that the deen [Islam] may dominate over all other deens.” 📰 DETAIL: Ahmed co-authored a chapter in a Hizb ut-Tahrir pamphlet advocating for an Islamic education system that excludes teachings on democracy and evolution. “Nothing will be contained within the curriculum that contradicts with Islam, such as the teaching of the ideas of freedom, nationalism, democracy or evolution in a positive light… Even the non-Muslims need to be educated under the educational curriculum of Islam,” she stressed. The pamphlet also suggests that Muslims should focus their studies on fields allowing them to develop weaponry for Islamic holy wars. Despite claiming in 2010 that she no longer supports all of Hizb ut-Tahrir’s views, Ahmed has not clarified her current stance on these issues. 💬 KEY QUOTE: “[T]he Islamic education system has a very specific objective compared to the Western secular education system, which is to develop the Islamic personality. Each child needs to develop a strong unshakeable understanding of his purpose in life worshipping Allah and seeking His pleasure, where this requires a cultivating process rather than just passing information to the child… Any topic or subject that emanates from a culture or viewpoint of life that differs from the Islamic Aqeedah should not be taught at any level of education.” – Farah Ahmed 🎯 IMPACT: Ahmed’s appointment raises concerns about the influence of extremist ideologies in educational institutions and their potential threat to national security. Cambridge’s decision to hire Ahmed has sparked debate over the university’s role in shaping future educators and the values they impart, especially following its recent scandal involving accused plagiarist Jason Arday, now believed to have committed suicide. |
Cambridge asst professor Farah Ahmed wrote that Muslims should study computers to produce "weaponry for jihad." Here are scans of the Hizb ut Tahrir pamphlet chapter (co-written with Nazreen Nawaz) in which she said this. The jihad quote is on page 10. pic.twitter.com/AgL4vwMQdP
— Andrew Gilligan (@mragilligan) August 25, 2026
Image via Hughes Hall, Cambridge.
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