PAMPHLETS by a radical preacher who has been banned from the UK were handed out during a week aimed at getting people to discover more about Islam.

The book, written by Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who was banned from entering the UK in 2010, was given out to students at Durham University during its Discover Islam week in March.

The Durham University Islamic Society (DUISOC), which was responsible for the stall, says it rejects the teachings of the pamphlet and has apologised, saying it was distributed unintentionally.

The pamphlet, titled Answers To Non Muslims Common Questions About Islam, says every Muslim, should be a terrorist against anti-social elements of society and encourages women to wear hijabs to prevent them from being molested.

He has previously expressed homophobic and anti-woman views.

Mr Naik was due to come to the UK in 2010 but had his visa revoked by then Home Secretary Theresa May.

Students Martha Muir and Sabrina Steuer wrote to DUISOC to complain about the leaflets, after being handed them at the library.

First year politics student Ms Muir, 20, said: "When I read it I was amazed that they would have decided to give it out or done it by accident.

"It says some really bad things about the status of women and things about rape. I thought it shouldn't just be left uncommented on.

ISOC President Mohammed Alatiyyah said: "The Durham University Islamic Society is very sorry if anyone was upset or offended by these pamphlets which we believe were from an old box from our storage, and were distributed unintentionally by honest mistake. ISOC strongly rejects prejudice and the divisive sentiments put forward in the pamphlets.

"The messages don’t represent the views of our society and we very much regret that they were displayed as we feel the misrepresent Islam and what is important to us. We strive to be an open, welcoming and informative society and promoting respect and acceptance amongst our community is very important to us.

"In the future, we will ensure that content we display is checked thoroughly before we display it at events. As President of the society, I can only reiterate that this was an honest mistake during a very busy period and that these views in no way represent the views of our society, and they are not views that we want to spread or promote."

A Durham Students' Union spokesperson said: "Durham SU and ISOC are looking into how these pamphlets came to be present at the event, when they clearly do not represent the views of the society of the students’ union.

"We’ll continue to work together to make sure all events are supported by materials that reflect our views and values, and we regret the fact that this pamphlet wasn’t picked up in planning the event. We aim to support our student groups to hold great, inclusive and informative events and activities."