Muslim Community Push for Sharia-Compliant Loans for Religious Students
There is a growing trend among some students who qualify for universities and colleges to reject government loans due to religious beliefs.
The Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) has noted that some Muslim students are abstaining from applying for loans offered by Helb because they believe that it is against their faith to take loans that accrue interest, which is prohibited under Sharia rules.
King’ori Ndegwa, the lending manager at Helb, acknowledged this issue, stating, “Some of our Muslim students do not apply for Helb loans because, according to their faith, we understand it is prohibited to take out loans that are paid back with interest.”
This has become a concern, particularly with the implementation of a new university funding model that heavily relies on loans to finance students’ education.
Muslim students who recently took the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams have expressed their concerns about this new funding model.
For instance, Abdi Abdirahman, who scored a Grade B, shared that his father had advised his sister not to take a Helb loan when she joined university, and this advice would apply to him as well when he starts in September.
The spokesperson for Jamia Mosque, Abu Ayman, highlighted that interest is viewed as a mechanism that perpetuates the cycle of poverty for the poor while benefiting the wealthy.
Consequently, this viewpoint has resulted in Muslims being excluded from government opportunities such as the Hustler Fund.
Ayman and Said Abdallah, an executive officer at the mosque, have been engaging with the government to introduce student loans that align with Sharia law.
Ayman stated, “We have raised the issue of student loans with Helb and have written to them seeking more inclusive parameters to include students of the Islamic faith…. This funding would be Sharia-compliant and overseen by a Sharia advisory committee.”
However, Abdallah noted that amending the Helb Act to accommodate these changes would be a challenging task.
He compared the situation to a similar adjustment made in the UK back in 2014, which created a pathway for Muslim students to access financial aid that complied with their religious beliefs.
Another proposed solution is the establishment of a special pool from which Muslim students could borrow.
Muslim students have expressed their appreciation for these proposals, as they would remove the barriers hindering their educational aspirations.
Currently, these students are primarily dependent on scholarships, bursaries, and loans from family and friends.
The new university funding model classifies students into different categories based on their level of need, such as vulnerable, extremely needy, needy, and less needy.
Scholarships and loans will be provided to students based on their level of need, with the expectation that those in the vulnerable and extremely needy group will repay their loans after securing employment, while those from well-off families will be responsible for paying their fees directly.
Muslim Community Push for Sharia-Compliant Loans for Religious Students