Guidelines issued for campus Islamists

LONDON, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- The British government Friday released new guidelines for universities on dealing with Muslim extremist political and terrorist groups.

The guidelines include a set of specific scenarios and suggestions on how to deal with such groups. They cite, for example, a lecturer who finds pamphlets in English and Arabic in a classroom that appear to advocate violence, or a library employee who notices two men going to jihadi Web sites.

"The guidance provides a recognition -- that I believe must be faced squarely -- that violent extremism in the name of Islam is a real, credible and sustained threat to the (United Kingdom)," said Bill Rammell, the minister for higher education.

Muslim groups and the education association, Universities UK, said the guidelines are targeted too much toward Islamic groups. The Federation of Student Islamic Societies, the National Union of Students and other groups issued a joint statement.

"Demonizing Muslims is unacceptable and dangerous, whether in educational institutions or in communities," they said. "Students and staff should be assured by their institutions that there is no intention of adding to a climate of Islamophobia."