OPINION – In an open letter, 31 Radboud University students and staff are calling on the Executive Board to prevent Mohammed Khatib, from the controversial organisation Samidoun, from speaking on campus. ‘Providing a podium to an extremist hate preacher has nothing to do with academic freedom and stands in the way of respectful dialogue.’

We were bewildered to read that Mohammed Khatib, a prominent representative of the highly controversial organisation Samidoun, is coming to give a lecture at our campus on Monday 28 October.

Samidoun appears on international terror lists in Germany, Canada, and the US due to its close links to the PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) – a group marked as a terrorist organisation by several countries. With this open letter, we want to strongly speak out against the visit of this extremist hate preacher. We would also urge the Executive Board to do everything in its power to prevent Khatib’s visit.

On 7 October 2023, the Hamas terrorist organisation carried out a brutal attack in Israel. This was followed by a heavy armed conflict in the Middle East with many casualties on all sides. Samidoun has openly expressed support for the brutal attack of 7 October and other forms of terror. This cannot and should not be ignored. The fact that Khatib, who was banned from Belgium earlier this year, is being given a podium to speak at our University, is therefore completely opposed to the values that we as an academic community should represent and promote.

No room for extremist thinking

Our University should be a place for robust substantive dialogue. With the current situation in the Middle East, this is also much needed. The organisers are therefore to be commended for holding a series of lectures on the subject. At the same time, Radboud University has a responsibility to protect its students from hate speech and extremist ideas that cause division and fear. The presence of a figure like Khatib does not help us with this, especially not when it comes to our Jewish and Israeli fellow students. We cannot allow our University to offer a platform for an ideology of hatred and violence.

While academic freedom is a cornerstone of our education, there are limits to what falls within that freedom. Because with the freedom to express your views comes the responsibility to think about what you say. Allowing extremist organisations, directly or indirectly involved in justifying and enacting violence against civilians, crosses those boundaries. Free speech does not mean that every opinion deserves a podium, especially if it incites hatred or violence.

‘The Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into Samidoun because of its links to extremist groups’

As students and staff, we believe our University and the Executive Board should communicate more clearly that extremism has no place within our walls. Simply warning the organisers to keep to the rules, as a university spokesperson said in an earlier article in VOX, is not enough. Extremist views must be prevented from entering the walls of our University in the first place.

Moreover, the House of Representatives recently passed a motion calling on the Dutch government to also ban Samidoun in the Netherlands, following the example of other countries. The Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into Samidoun because of its links to extremist groups. In this context, it is irresponsible for us to invite representatives from this organisation.

Promoting academic dialogue

We have a duty to maintain our University as a safe place. The recent rise in anti-Semitic incidents in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe highlights how sensitive our society is to extremist messages. It is up to the University to protect its students from the spreading of hate. We therefore urge the Executive Board to take a clear stand against the visit of Mohammed Khatib and preempt his visit.

Instead of providing a platform for hate speech, we should strive for an academic dialogue that focuses on respect for human dignity and rejection of violence. This should be at the heart of our University. Because that is how we move the dialogue on the worrying situation in the Middle East forward in a good way.

Let us not forget that the ultimate goal of the University is to contribute to a better and safer world. Giving a platform to an extremist hate preacher like Khatib actually works against that goal.

* The names of these signatories are known to the editors.