British universities are advertised as exam centres for online college set up by Islamist hate preacher banned from UK for 'extremist views' including saying gays should be put to death

• EXCLUSIVE: International Online University set up by hate preacher Bilal Philips
• Universities like Loughborough and Surrey are listed as 'approved exam centres' 
• Hundreds of schools and even a children's after-school club also on college's site
• All four universities denied having any official links to the radical preacher 

Four British universities have today distanced themselves from a radical Islamic preacher - who was banned from the UK for his extremist views - after they were listed as 'approved exam centres' for an online college he runs. 

Loughborough, Surrey, Gloucestershire and Cranfield in Bedford are listed on the website of the International Open University, which is run by Dr Bilal Philips, a cleric who has claimed that homosexuals should be put to death and there is no such thing as rape in marriage.   

Surrey University and the University of Gloucester were advertised as exam centres on the IOU site as of May 27 this year, while entries for Loughborough and Cranfield listed their student-run Islamic societies under the same category. 

All four universities told MailOnline they had no relationship with the IOU. Surrey said two IOU exams took place on their campus but without the university's knowledge and vowed the 'private arrangement' would not be repeated.  

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Bilal Philips - pictured in 2011 at a demonstration in Germany, from where he has since been banned - has called for gay people to be put to death 

Surrey University is among the UK institutions listed as 'approved exam centres' on the IOU's website

The University of Gloucestershire also appears on the site. Both universities have denied any official relationship with the IOU 

Another 83 UK institutions also appear on the site, including schools, mosques and Islamic community centres in London, Birmingham, Cardiff and Edinburgh. 

Philips was blocked from entering Britain in 2010 by Theresa May after preaching hate, including condoning suicide bombing as a legitimate military tactic.

He was also named by the US government as an 'unindicted co-conspirator' in the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing, when a truck bomb killed six people and injured more than 1,000. 

Philips, 72, who has also been banned from the US, Germany and Australia, has dual Canadian-Jamaican citizenship and lives in Qatar. He set up the IOU, previously called the Islamic Online University, in 2007 and remains its chancellor. The organisation has no connection to The Open University, the British public university. 

In a profile listed prominently on the college's website, Philips promises Islamic teaching in its 'original unadulterated form' and reviews posted on Reddit point to its adherence to Salafism, an ultra-conservative, hard-line form of the religion.

One unnamed pupil posted on the social media site three years ago: 'When I took courses there it felt like I was being indoctrinated.

'I was just told what the single correct belief was while any other beliefs were misrepresented and made into straw men. I can't recommend it as a serious course of study.'

Another wrote: 'It's [sic] good if you want to learn Islam according to the Salafi ideology which happens to be a minority school of thought in Sunni Islam.

'If you want something else idk [sic] where to recommend sadly. But if you already lean towards this ideology then go for it. Just be aware of its leanings and biases.'  

Philips has always claimed to abhor violence and denied involvement in any terrorist attacks, including the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing.  

But Joshua Lipowsky, senior research analyst at the Counter Extremism Project, warned that the IOU's teaching risked radicalising students as he urged mainstream institutions to disassociate themselves from it.

'Philips claims to abhor violence but he preaches an ultra-conservative form of Islam that leads people down a path to radicalization that concludes violence is necessary for the greater good,' he told MailOnline.

'University students are particularly at risk from his dangerous rhetoric because they are at stages in their lives where they are questioning and rebuilding their own belief systems. Universities should be open forums for ideas but not for promoting hatred and extremism.'

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In a profile listed prominently on the institution's website, Philips promises Islamic teaching in its 'original unadulterated form'

Hundreds of other UK institutions are listed by the IOU as approved exam centres, including Leeds Grand Mosque and others in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and London.

Several schools are also mentioned, including a secondary school in Cardiff and two primary schools in Derby and London.  

Bilal Philips has regularly appeared on Peace TV, a Dubai-based 24-hour satellite channel which along with its Urdu sister station was handed a £300,000 Ofcom fine earlier this year for broadcasting hate speech.

In notorious comments made in an online lecture, he suggested suicide bombing could be justified under Islamic law, unlike regular suicide, which is considered to be against it.

'When you look at the mind of the suicide bomber, it's a different intention altogether,' he said.

Philips suggested a suicide bomber was making a military decision, adding: 'The [enemy] is either too heavily armed, or they don't have the type of equipment that can deal with it, so the only other option they have is to try to get some people amongst them and then explode the charges that they have to try to destroy the equipment and to save the lives of their comrades.

'So this is not really considered to be suicide in the true sense. This is a military action and human lives are sacrificed in that military action. This is really the bottom line for it and that's how we should look at it.'

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Philips has condoned suicide bombing as a legitimate military tactic and was named by the US government as an 'unindicted co-conspirator' in the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing (pictured is damage following the blast) 

Steven Merley, a researcher specialising in global extremism, said Philips used the IOU to spread his Salafist ideology.

'Despite his banning from the UK and other countries, Bilal Philips, from his home in Qatar, is still able to direct influence through supportive Muslim Brotherhood and Salafi networks around the world,' he said.

'His online university is testament to that, and its ability to exploit some of the UK's best known educational establishments is an outrage. The UK government must investigate and give support to UK universities.'

A spokesman for the University of Surrey said: 'We have no connection to the International Online University and categorically does not operate as any kind of an 'exam centre' for this organisation. We have investigated the information provided to us by Mail Online. 

'We have determined that a member of staff was approached on a private basis to supervise the sitting of an exam by a single individual. This was repeated on one further occasion. These two exams took place on our campus, but without the knowledge of the University. 

'Our member of staff was not aware of the connection to Bilal Phillips. We take this matter seriously. We do not condone the views held by Bilal Phillips, and will take steps to ensure this private arrangement is not repeated. We thank Mail Online for drawing this matter to our attention.'  

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Philips regularly posts online sermons and appears on Peace TV, which was recently fined £300,000 by Ofcom for broadcasting hate speech 

Gloucestershire said: 'The University has not been contacted by the IOU with regard to the use of the Faith Spaces for exams.

'The University of Gloucestershire does not hire out the Faith Spaces to external organisations, nor works in partnership with any other academic institution in providing services to students from them.'  

Loughborough said: 'Loughborough University is not, and has never been, an examination centre for the "International Open University".' 

And Cranfield said: 'We have no relationship with this organisation and we do not act as an exam centre for them. We are not aware of any IOU exams taking place at the university.'