THE new president of the National Union of Students once said she wanted to “oppress white people” and see an “Islamic takeover”. Zamzam Ibrahim, 24, the former president of the Salford University students’ union, will become the union’s third Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic president in a row. She will take over from Shakira Martin, […]
THE new president of the National Union of Students once said she wanted to “oppress white people” and see an “Islamic takeover”.
Zamzam Ibrahim, 24, the former president of the Salford University students’ union, will become the union’s third Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic president in a row.
She will take over from Shakira Martin, 28, a self-confessed former drug dealer who once claimed to be more radical than Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Ibrahim sparked controversy for online posts she made on Twitter in 2012. She insisted her views had changed since then but “would not be silenced”.
Using the hashtag ‘If I Was President’ she wrote: “I’d oppress white people just to give them a taste of what they put us through!”
In response to a question on AskFM asking what book she thought everyone must read, she said: “The Quraan. We would have an Islamic takeover!”
The 24-year-old has also slammed Prevent, the government’s counter-extremist strategy, calling it “disastrous” and “racist”.
In another question about mixed sex friendships she wrote: “I’ve had this debate with many friends! Maybe in some cases but Islamically it’s incorrect for girls to be friends with a guy anyway!
“So I’m gonna say NO not the kind of friendship they can have with the same gender…there is always boundaries”.
Ibrahim said her remarks had been taken “out of context” and were from a time when she was “struggling” with her view of the world.
She said: “I was grappling with the deep injustices I could see around me and trying to figure out how I could make the world a better place.
“I said these things when I was young, impressionable and still developing my personality and opinions”.
Ibrahim said she wanted to tackle racism at universities and “extortionate” tuition fees during her presidency.
She said yesterday: “I have been fighting for liberation, equality and against injustice throughout my time both within and out of the student movement.
“In response to media outlets deliberately targeting out of context, misrepresentative social media posts, they purposefully undermine young people – particularly young Muslim women – from coming forward to make a positive difference to society”.
