Goldsmiths Islamic Society president steps down amid homophobia allegations

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a pink background.

The head of the Goldsmiths University Islamic Society has quit amid allegations that he sent a series of homophobic tweets.

Muhammed Patel was the president of the university’s Islamic Society. He resigned after “a meeting was called to discuss a motion of no confidence”, reports the Evening Standard.

Muslimsoc1

The resignation was reported on the society’s Facebook page, and attributed it to “recent allegations”.

The society wrote: “The committee would like to extend gratitude to all societies on campus – specifically the FemSoc and LGBTQ societies – for their continued support in the face of inaccurate assertions, threats and Islamophobic messages.

“Hate speech of any kind has no place in our society.”

Despite not putting specific details of the allegations in the Facebook post, now deleted tweets from a closed tweeted account were understood to have caused the motion.

“In the interim, the committee will appoint an acting president to serve for the remainder of the academic year,” the society wrote Facebook.

One tweet from the account, obtained from cached versions, said: “Homosexuality is a disease of the heart and the mind.”

A second tweet read: “Can you fag lovers get out of my mentions pls, thanks.”

The Students’ Union was alerted to the tweets after the LGBT Society showed support for the Islamic Society during a debate with the Atheist, Secularist and Humanist Society.

The tweets were apparently sent by members of the LGBT society who were unhappy with the backing of the Islamic Society.

The Students’ Union said it “welcomed” Patel’s resignation.

The SU added: “Equality, diversity and respect for others within the Goldsmiths community are core values at Goldsmiths SU and we welcome this news.”

The Standard has approached Mr Patel and the Islamic Society for comment.

Advertisement Remove ads

Comments (0)

MyPinkNews members are invited to comment on articles to discuss the content we publish, or debate issues more generally. Please familiarise yourself with our community guidelines to ensure that our community remains a safe and inclusive space for all.

Loading Comments