Are Muslims allowed student loans?

Caporegime
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Surely all are free to finance their educations however they wish. SLC loans are just one way to achieve this. The market is out there and if they can find someone to lend them money at 0%, or structure it differently such that it sidesteps the rules, or whatever, then fine. I'm not sure how UKGOV can intervene.
If the government started offering interest free student loans to Muslims, they would surely have to offer them to everyone.
 
Man of Honour
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There's government plans to introduce compliant loans for Muslims, not sure how it works but they'd work out the same (in terms of repayment) as standard loans without interest added. There doesn't seem to be any rush to get them up and running though.
 
Soldato
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So they be cheaper than loans given to Christians, Jews, Sikhs or anyone else?

I think it costs the same in the end, just there's a lot of hand waving accounting to bypass the "Not paying interest bit". In the end they are paying the same amount as an interest loan but not calling it "interest"
 
Caporegime
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Warwickshire
"...the Takaful contract requires the applicant to make a unilateral promise to make future charitable donations in exchange for the Takaful fund paying for the applicants tuition fees."

Sounds like a great way to fund 'charities' to me ;).
 
Soldato
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My daughter did well enough to get a University place for this September. We were all very pleased. However, she was crying.
I asked her how her application for a student loan was going. She stated that she cannot get a student loan as it involves giving interest (6.1%).
She then said the options were for her to work and save money to pay for the course or that the bank of mummy and daddy will pay the fees.
I asked her where she obtained this idea that Muslims cannot get student loans. She refused to answer. My impression is she got it from the Internet.
It looks like I will pay the fees and my daughter will return the money to me when she starts work. My concern is I will probably not want the loan paid back!
Am I a mug?

Call it a tax and play semantics.

Depending on the course and future value derived from it, I'd think carefully about paying it unless you are so rich it doesn't matter.

But there are interest rates, how does that work? :confused:

Semantics. Call it rent a transfer of equity over time as you pay rent and all is fine.

To be fair, interest and return on equity/capital is very closely linked and almost interchangeable.
 
Associate
OP
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18 Jul 2015
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London
so they can't pay interest so how the hell are they going to buy a house then later on in life pay cash ?
Thats where it goes pearshaped.
The Muslim scolars say you can get a mortgage to purchase a house. You can even go to Mecca on pilgrimage when in debt (mortgage). No doubt most of these scolars have mortgages, so need to move the goal post.
 
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