An interest-free, Sharia-compliant student loan is being introduced in the United Kingdom to widen Muslim students' access to higher education, and several leading universities have already begun telling students about it. Amar Desh, citing a report in the British daily The Telegraph, says the scheme could start from the next academic year.
Paying or receiving interest is forbidden under Islamic law, so many Muslim students in the UK hesitate to take conventional student loans on religious grounds. The aim of the new system is that no one should miss out on higher education because of their faith.
The scheme is based on takaful, an Islamic finance principle of mutual cooperation and shared financial protection. Students will not pay interest on top of the amount borrowed; instead they will pay an equal sum as a "contribution". That money will not go to the Treasury but will be used to support future students taking Sharia-based finance. An Islamic finance supervisory board will certify the scheme as Sharia-compliant.
Universities say the amounts and timetable of repayment will be the same as for conventional student loans; only the form of repayment and the use of the money differ. Anyone may apply, though the scheme was designed mainly with Muslim students' religious needs in mind.
The University of Bristol has said the government's interest-free loan will be consistent with Islamic finance principles, and the University of Leeds has spoken of it possibly starting in the 2026-27 academic year. University College London (UCL) and City St George's have told applicants the new loan will not be interest-based, and Newcastle and De Montfort universities have also described it as Sharia-compliant finance.
According to the report, the Islamic Finance Council UK received more than 365,000 pounds of public money to develop the scheme. It has also drawn political criticism: Suella Braverman, Reform UK's education spokesperson, said it could create a two-tier structure in higher education and deepen divisions in society, and that taxpayers would carry the cost if the loans were not fully repaid.
Photo: Klafubra / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Amar Desh
Comments
(0)