by Jules Gomes, Focus on Western Islamism
Islamists Will Manage Loan Fund
The U.K. government is set to introduce one of the world’s first state-supported student loan schemes compliant with Islamic law. Officials promise to pass “secondary legislation” for its implementation.
Students will no longer be required to pay interest on government loans under the new sharia-compliant finance system, which will provide funds to cover tuition fees and living costs, the Department of Education (DoE) announced on June 9, 2025.
“Some people feel unable to use existing student loans due to their faith. This is most common among some Muslims because their religion prohibits engagement with interest, which is applied to all student loans,” a statement on the DoE website explains.
The scheme, dubbed the Alternative Student Finance (ASF) provision, will follow the Islamic principle of Takaful—a sharia-compliant system in which money is pooled and invested. It will be offered to students in late 2026.
Students will submit “contributions” to a Takaful fund after completing their education. These “contributions,”—based on a student’s earnings—will fund future sharia-compliant student loans, the DoE noted.
The ASF provision will be certified by an Islamic Finance Supervisory Board (IFSB). The DoE has designated the U.K. Islamic Financial Council (UKFIC) to serve as the secretariat for the IFSB.
Agitators Linked to Promotion of Sharia Finance
The U.K. Islamic Financial Council serves as the secretariat to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Islamic and Ethical Finance, administered from the office of controversial MP Naz Shah, Focus on Western Islamism (FWI) reported in late 2024. In 2016, Shah apologized for a 2014 Facebook post in which she called for the relocation of Israel to North America.