The Government is asking the UK's Muslim community what they think of the post-2012 student loans & fees system, and whether Muslim students feel unable to access loans as they may not be compliant with Sharia guidance on personal finance and the use of interest-bearing financial products.

Imperial College Union is working with its Islamic and Muslim Medics societies to gather student opinion on a proposed Sharia-compliant student loan system, to be run by the Student Loans Company alongside the current loan system.

The proposed system is based on the long-standing takaful practice of Islamic finance, based on the principle of group mutual assurance. It has been developed by experts in Islamic finance, and given preliminary approval by the Sharia supervisory committee of the Islamic Bank of Britain. A full explanation of the proposal can be found here.

Any student wishing to express an opinion on the proposals is encouraged to fill out the survey here. Imperial College Union, with representatives from Islamic & Muslim Medics Societies, will collate the responses into a single ICU submission to the Government consultation.

The deadline for receiving student submissions is 5pm on Wednesday 4 June. Click here to give us your views.

For further information, please send any queries to Marissa Lewis, Deputy President (Welfare).