ICI material states that “silence, neutrality, and business-as-usual in education are no longer options” and calls for curricula that place Palestine “at the heart” of pupils’ understanding of justice, faith, and responsibility.
Its website describes Palestine as “a litmus test of our moral clarity” and says the curriculum is designed to make Palestine “not a footnote, but a formative part of identity”.
Among the material aimed at 12 to 14-year-olds is a lesson on the Palestinian “Nakba”, in which the October 7 attacks are presented as part of what the course calls the Palestinian “great march of return”.
The lesson states that the more than 200 Israelis captured during the attack were taken as “prisoners of war”.
Hamas, the ICI tells children, is “the biggest excuse that Israel uses to justify its attacks on the Gaza Strip”.
The project also publishes a guide aimed at parents and children after October 7 which asks: “What is the reward of a shaheed [a martyr]? How does this make you feel when you think of all the children of Gaza who are now shuhada [martyrs]?”
It then quotes the Quran, saying: “Never say that those martyred in the cause of Allah are dead – in fact, they are alive but you do not perceive it.”
The ICI also makes claims about Jewish indigeneity and antisemitism that are disputed by historians. One section argues against what it calls the “Zionist narrative” that Jews are indigenous to Palestine, stating instead that “the Canaanites were the indigenous inhabitants of Palestine”.
It also tells pupils that the claim that Jews are a Semitic people is “unsound” because “most Jews lived outside Palestine for 1,900+ years” and “many modern Jews are not from the region.”
The IELC describes itself as “hosted by” and “partners with” the Cambridge Teacher Research Exchange, known as Camtree.
Camtree is a project of Hughes Hall, the Cambridge college where Ahmed is a governing fellow. Ahmed is also listed as an affiliate of Camtree, according to The Spectator.
Cambridge University's quad (Credit: Getty)[Missing Credit]
The project forms part of a wider series of concerns surrounding Ahmed – who was appointed as an assistant research professor in the university’s faculty of education last year – and education activity connected to Cambridge.
Earlier investigations into Ahmed’s record by The Spectator and The Telegraph revealed that she was a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, which was subsequently proscribed as a terrorist group in 2024.
Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international pan-Islamist group which aims to establish a worldwide Islamic caliphate and implement sharia globally.
It views jihad as an essential aspect of its vision and an imperative duty to combat disbelief until all submit to Islamic rule.
The dates of Ahmed’s membership are unknown, but she confirmed in 2010 that she was no longer a member and that she “does not agree with all Hizb ut-Tahrir’s views as a political organisation”.
The University of Cambridge has been approached for comment on the curriculum, its relationship with the IELC and whether it endorses or has reviewed the material promoted through the project.
The JC has contacted the IELC and Ahmed for comment.
