A gift from the COSARAF Charitable Foundation will support a Masters scholarship for Islamic Education in the Centre for Education Studies at the University of Warwick. The university is one of four leading UK higher education institutions chosen by the COSARAF Charitable Foundation for its new higher education support programme.
The Sheikh Family Scholarship will be open to Muslim home students who are facing financial hardship, and, ideally, are students who are the first in their families to attend university. Priority will go to those students for whom this will make most difference and who have a clear commitment to giving back to society and their communities.
Beneficiaries of the scholarship will be required to contribute to an alumni programme for all scholars, commit to the mentoring and leadership support provided, demonstrate ongoing commitment to social causes relevant to the Foundation’s priorities and champion the programme externally.
For the first year, the scholarship will be offered to students undertaking the Postgraduate Award in Islamic Education who are eligible to progress onto the Masters course, and then opened up to all students on the MA Islamic Education programme from year two onwards.
Dr Abdullah Sahin, Reader in Islamic Education and Course Leader, said: “We are delighted that this gift will support a Masters student studying Islamic Education.
"Our pioneering graduate courses, designed to facilitate a professional approach to Islamic Education practice, are making an important contribution towards improving the quality of teaching and learning within formal and informal Islamic educational settings such as madrassa, mosques and Islamic schools.
"Students enrolled on the course gain reflective pedagogic competence, develop their social science research skills and engage with the foundations of spiritual and critical education in Islam.” Haroon Sheikh, Chairman of the COSARAF Charitable Foundation, said: “The COSARAF Charitable Foundation wants to help people who have or will have important leadership roles within their communities, but who would have difficulty studying because of financial barriers.
"Our comprehensive package of support is designed to help overcome these challenges. We are very pleased to be able to help young people in minority ethnic and faith communities who aspire to come to one of the UK’s leading universities.”
