The arrest of Nottingham University postgraduate student Rizwaan Sabir
and a Nottingham administrator Hicham Yezza in relation to the
downloading of an Al Qaeda manual for Rizwaan's dissertation research
has highlighted the emerging and ongoing difficulties of teaching about
?terrorism? and political violence in the current climate.

C-Sap is establishing a working group to examine issues surrounding
teaching about terrorism. This is an open invitation to the inaugural
meeting of the network. The agenda is open for participants to
determines how the network should function, but it is important that the
meeting thinks concretely about outcomes and about the function and
purpose of future meetings. Goals might include collaborative work on
teaching resources, guidance on difficult issues and discussion about
collective projects in this area.

In recent months the question of the relationship between teaching or
research materials and the commission of 'terrorist' acts has become an
important public issue with university researchers arrested under
terrorism legislation and a large number of terrorism cases in the UK,
US and Australia recently under way in which the charges relate to
possession of literature including literature potentially useable in
teaching.

The aim of this initiative is to explore how the subject of terrorism
which is inherently sensitive and subject to contest can and should be
approached. The subject is sensitive for at least four reasons:
1. the definition of terrorism or how to apply it are contested as
expressed in the phrase one persons terrorist is another person?s
freedom fighter.
2. Recent developments in official counter terrorism have identified the
ways in which terrorism is handled in education as a potential area for
concern in relation to 'radicalisation'.
3. The war on terror and official counter terror activities have put
pressure on the space for independent and objective study of political
violence.
4. Many of the 'expert' sources available through the media, policy and
other arenas particularly but not exclusively from outside the academy
have a questionable evidential basis.

Accordingly this initiative attempts to work through the issues
associated with teaching about terrorism and will consider whether it is
possible to provide guidance to teachers in school, FE and HE about
reliability and about the contested nature of 'terrorism'. A number of
other initiatives in the area have already been undertaken outside the
UK. These will be evaluated to see what they can tell us about the
issues involved.


The working groups is being convened by David Miller of Strathclyde and
Bela Arora of C-SAP and supported by the Public Interest Research
Network (www.publicinterest.ac.uk). The inaugural meeting is being held
on Friday 12 September at the University of Strathclyde. The meeting
will take place from 2-5pm in Room 5.10 Graham Hills building 50
Richmond St, University of Strathclyde. A map is here:
http://www.strath.ac.uk/maps/grahamhillsbuilding/

The meeting is free and open to all, but space is limited and in order
to make catering arrangements please register if you want to attend by
sending an email to Kayleigh MacAskill (kayleigh.macaskill@strath.ac.uk).


PS you might be interested in the following from today's Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/26/terrorism.research

Research on terrorism is invaluable - but we do it under fear of arrest

The current situation regarding the study of violent extremism needs to be
clarified, says Sally Hunt

Sally Hunt

The Guardian, Tuesday August 26 2008

The fact that terrorists do not all look the same and that "MI5 has
concluded that there is no easy way to identify those who become involved
in terrorism in Britain" (Terror: secret MI5 report challenges views on
extremists, August 21) is no doubt a setback to those who deal only in lazy
stereotypes. It also makes knowing thy enemy a bit trickier, but must act
as a catalyst for clarification of the legal situation regarding research
on terrorism and violent extremism.

If we really want to tackle violent extremism and terrorism, then we need
to be safe to explore the issues and get a better understanding. Your
report describes the MI5 briefing note as providing "a unique insight into
current thinking within the security service about how a modern-day
terrorist is made". No doubt MI5 and the government would welcome greater
intelligence in this area, but one stumbling block might be that it remains
an area where staff and students who conduct research can find themselves
arrested and held without charge.

The arrest of a student and a staff member at Nottingham University under
the Terrorism Act in May highlighted the levels of confusion in our
universities around academic freedom, sensitive research areas and violent
extremism. Hicham Yezza and Rizwaan Sabir were arrested because Sabir had
emailed Yezza a declassified open-source document, called the al-Qaida
Training Manual, available on a US government website.

The MI5 analysis, said the Guardian, is "based on hundreds of case studies
of those involved in or closely associated with terrorism". But if
university staff or students had that sort of close contact with "those
associated with terrorism", they might find themselves locked up.
Guidelines for universities in dealing with violent extremism say "we
should never overstate the menace we face from violent extremism", and the
higher education minister, Bill Rammell, has said that the academic study
of terrorism must extend to the "furthest limit of inquiry" and that it is
"entirely acceptable and indeed necessary for academics to seek to
understand and explain what motivates violent extremists".

All this would lead one to believe that we have a sensible and reasoned
approach to the problem, but in reality we had a man locked up for a week
for possessing a document downloaded from a US government website. Reading
Yezza's account of how he doodled in Mills and Boon novellas and compiled
lists in his mind to stay sane in his cell (Britain's terror laws have left
me and my family shattered, August 18) really brought home the need to get
the situation resolved.

Last month I spoke to a UCU member who is an expert on terrorism. He told
me that we have learned the most from in-depth studies of the written
materials of terrorist groups, and in-depth interviews with their members.
The government has to clarify the current legal situation regarding
research on terrorism and violent extremism and clearly articulate that to
universities, staff and students. Research in difficult and dangerous areas
must continue - without the fear of arrest for students or staff.

Sally Hunt is general secretary of the University and College Union
press@ucu.org.uk