Cambridge’s Embrace of Jihadist Ideology
Spiked reported on 27 August that Cambridge University employs Farah Ahmed, an assistant research professor in its education faculty, who previously co-authored material for the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir calling for Muslims to study engineering and technology specifically to produce “advanced weaponry” and “machinery for jihad” to elevate Islam over other religions. The writings, from a 2002 pamphlet republished later, rejected Western concepts such as democracy, religious tolerance, evolution, and English literature as corrupt or haram, while advocating an education system solely for Islamic conquest. Ahmed has since distanced herself partially but co-authored recent materials promoting an “Islamic curriculum” that frames Israel’s actions critically and erases it from maps. This follows the earlier Jason Arday scandal at the same faculty involving embellished credentials and critical-race material.
Cambridge’s history includes foundational Western scientific and intellectual advances, from Newton and Darwin to Turing and the splitting of the atom. The appointment occurs amid broader institutional trends of “decolonising” curricula, trigger warnings on classics, and tolerance for anti-Western rhetoric. Factually, the university has retained her despite the documented past; analysis points to a pattern where elite European academia prioritises certain identity-aligned narratives over scrutiny of supremacist ideologies that reject core liberal values.
Key tensions include the contradiction between Cambridge’s Enlightenment legacy and hosting advocates of theocratic education, questions over vetting standards versus free inquiry, and whether such appointments accelerate cultural self-undermining in European institutions facing parallel pressures from Islamism and progressive orthodoxy. Open issues remain on how widespread similar cases are and the long-term effects on academic credibility and social cohesion.
Sources: Spiked.
Eurozone Stagnation and Industrial Policy Contradictions
InvestingLive data released 28 August showed France’s Q2 final GDP at 0.0% quarter-on-quarter (versus +0.2% preliminary), France’s August preliminary CPI at +2.4% year-on-year (in line), Spain’s at +4.3% (above +4.2% expected), and Germany’s August unemployment rising by 4k (versus 5k expected). German import prices also climbed in July, driven by energy costs linked to Middle East disruptions. Separately, The European Conservative highlighted Chinese SAIC’s planned factory near Spanish naval sites in Ferrol, amid EU efforts at “de-risking” from China.
These figures confirm weak growth in a major eurozone economy alongside sticky inflation in southern members, with energy pass-through persisting. The SAIC project illustrates Brussels’ dual track: von der Leyen’s rhetoric on reducing strategic dependencies and record EU-China trade deficits (around €360bn), while Chinese EV sales in the EU surged 63% in H1 2026 to nearly 10% market share, and Chinese firms dominate batteries and other sectors. European firms face heavy regulation that raises costs, while imports often evade equivalent scrutiny.
Tensions centre on fiscal and competitive pressures: northern states push budget restraint while southern ones resist cuts to agriculture/cohesion; industrial policy aims at autonomy yet facilitates Chinese capacity inside the single market. Open questions include whether new EU “own resources” (taxes) can fund defence and green goals without deeper stagnation, the sustainability of EV and battery dependencies, and if data weakness will force policy recalibration before 2027 elections.
Sources: InvestingLive, The European Conservative.