As a student about to begin my final year of studies at Royal Holloway University, I see the same things across the London-based campus every day. The University, nestled next to some of the wealthiest parts of Britain, like many others, has become a welcoming home to Islamist extremist ideologies.

You do not need to walk far before you see a ‘Boycott Israeli Apartheid’ Palestine flag sticker or text along the lines of ‘Globalise the Intifada’.

Supporters of the Palestinian cause refer to intifada as ‘resistance’, as ‘uprising’, but having spoken to people who lived through the Second Intifada, it realistically translates to suicide bombs and civilian deaths, as opposed to ‘resistance’. But if you question this on campus, it regularly invites accusations of Islamophobia or even ‘anti-Palestinianism’. As a student focused on diplomacy across the Middle East, along with combatting extremism and promoting free speech, I truly believe that we must distinguish between legitimate political debate and clear support for terrorist organisations.

From Solidarity to Extremism: ‘Friends of Palestine’ & Islamic Societies:

The University’s ‘Friends of Palestine’ society prides itself on promoting Palestinian culture, but has clearly overstepped the mark and postured towards Islamist extremism. In 2025, it supported efforts to de-proscribe Hamas, the Islamist movement designated as a terrorist group by the UK Government in 2001, and then fully in 2021 – the jihadists who pride themselves on carrying out the most bloody massacre of Jews since the holocaust.

This adds to students casually telling me that they support Hamas, that it’s not a terrorist group, and that ‘if someone kept poking you, you would eventually bite back’.

Over the summer, I discovered that this same group, which prides itself on Palestinian identity, had made a series of suspicious donations, including £1,820 to Zayir Charity Association/ Zayer UK – an unregistered group in the UK that has documented links to Hezbollah. Yet another proscribed Islamist terrorist organisation. Further donations to Zayer/Zayir were also made public via their RHUL Friends Of Palestine Instagram Page, including in January 2025. We’re talking thousands of pounds.

Student donations should not be financing groups that are committed to violence against jews and others; it is not activism; it raises alarm bells.

The patterns of Islamism go further; they extend to the Islamic Society at Royal Holloway. The society, like many others, affiliates with the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS), which is known for its........

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