Islam activist Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has defended and apologised to a Muslim student at Oxford University after she faced a barrage of abuse and anger from prominent right-wing personalities in Britain and the US, over a video clip from an Oxford Union debate which was taken out of context.
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The debate at the prestigious debating society, held on 17 June, was on the motion “This House believes the West is right to be suspicious of Islam”.
Robinson was debating on the motion’s proposition team, which lost the debate.
A clip circulating online after the debate was published on YouTube late last week showed Aisha Khan-Aziz, a student speaker delivering the first speech for the opposition, introducing the speakers on the side opposite to her by making a joke about each of them, as is union tradition.
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She introduced “Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known to his hooligans as Tommy Robinson”. Robinson could be seen chuckling in response.
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Khan-Aziz added in a light-hearted manner: “Stephen, there is a crowd outside rioting against you tonight, and without the protection and generosity of a Muslim Palestinian president and a largely South Asian executive committee, you would be quite literally cooked.”
The comments seemed to be aimed at stressing the commitment of Muslim students at the union to free speech, and there was laughter and applause from the crowd.
The large left-wing protest outside had barred many people, including Khan-Aziz’s own family members, from entering the debate.
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