Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy

at-Taʾṣīl (التأصيل) · Foundation Diploma in Islamic Studies · International Islamic College, Leicester

Ref: TSL-POL-008 · Version: 1.0 (draft) · Date: 7 September 2026 · Owner: Programme Lead (Ustādh Emran Ahmed) · Review: before the Programme opens, then annually.

1. Purpose

This policy states how the International Islamic College ("the College") treats everyone connected with the Foundation Diploma in Islamic Studies ("the Programme"): equally, fairly and with respect. It also explains, plainly and without embarrassment, the features of the Programme that touch protected characteristics — its religious character, its minimum age, and the seating arrangements at Masjid Fida — and the basis for each.

2. Scope

This policy applies to admissions, teaching, assessment procedure, the award, events and the handling of concerns and complaints — every session at Masjid Fida and every dealing with the College about the Programme. It binds the Programme Lead, any staff or volunteers assisting the Programme, and students. Scholarly and academic judgement itself is governed by the assessment arrangements in the syllabus; this policy governs the fairness of every process around it.

3. Our commitment

The College does not tolerate unlawful discrimination, harassment or victimisation on the basis of any protected characteristic in the Equality Act 2010: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation. Decisions about admission, teaching, marking and the award rest on the published entry requirements and on academic judgement — nothing else.

4. Who the Programme is for

The Programme is open to brothers and sisters aged 16 or over on 1 September 2026, of any background, with no upper age limit and no cap on numbers. There are two entry requirements: the applicant can read the Qur'an fluently in Arabic script, and has a short conversation with the teacher before a place is confirmed. Nothing else — ethnicity, nationality, language background, schooling, which madrasah someone attended or none, disability, or family circumstances — is ever a criterion.

One published requirement engages a protected characteristic, and we name it plainly: age. Students must be 16 or over on 1 September 2026, because the Programme is designed for the stage after madrasah — evening study at a foundation level of higher study, in an adult setting. Students aged 16 or 17 are fully welcome: they enrol with written parental consent, and their parents are told of every absence. That is a safeguarding arrangement, not a limit on what they may study; an under-18 receives exactly the same teaching, assessment and award as everyone else.

The Foundation Diploma is the College's own award. The College is independent: the award is not a regulated qualification, is not accredited, and carries no university credit.

5. The religious character of the Programme

The College is an Islamic college and the Programme is a single-faith curriculum: creed, fiqh, tafsīr, ḥadīth and Qur'anic Arabic, taught from within the Islamic tradition as a believer studies it — not as comparative religion. We state this openly so that no one applies under a misunderstanding. Applicants are not asked to sign a statement of belief; anyone who meets the entry requirements and wishes to study this curriculum, taught in this way, is welcome.

6. Brothers and sisters

Brothers and sisters are admitted on the same terms and belong to one cohort: the same curriculum, the same contact hours, the same examinations and tasmīʿ, the same coursework and marking, and the same Diploma, presented at the same ceremony.

Two arrangements follow the religious practice observed at the masjid: brothers and sisters are seated separately in class, and the sessions on personal fiqh are taught separately to each. The Equality Act 2010 permits an organisation relating to religion to organise its provision in line with the doctrine of the religion or the strongly held religious convictions of its followers, and that is the basis for these arrangements. They organise the room; they do not ration the teaching. Nothing on the Programme — no text, no strand, no assessment, no endorsement, no part of the award — is withheld from sisters, and the Programme Lead checks at each review that this remains true in practice, not just on paper.

7. Disability and reasonable adjustments

The pre-admission conversation asks — optionally — whether an applicant has any access or learning needs. Choosing not to disclose is never penalised, and disclosing never counts against an applicant.

The College makes reasonable adjustments to how things are done. Examples of what we can arrange: attention to physical access and seating at the masjid, materials in larger print, extra time in examinations, and adjusted scheduling of a missed paper. Requests go to the Programme Lead, at any point in the year, and are answered before the need arises where we know of it in advance.

One thing does not move: the competence standards of the Programme. Memorisation must be passed, and the Arabic Level 1 examinations test the published standard, for everyone. Adjustments change the process around a standard — never the standard itself.

8. Fees and fairness

Every student pays the same fee, published before enrolment, with the total for the year always shown alongside the monthly amount. The College does not offer bursaries or fee reductions, and this policy promises none: we would rather say so honestly than raise hopes we cannot meet.

9. Dignity and respect

Everyone at the Programme — students, parents, the teacher, volunteers and visitors — is entitled to an environment free of harassment, bullying and victimisation, as a right, not a courtesy. That means courteous speech, respect for the variety of backgrounds and languages in the room, and no tolerance for remarks or "jokes" that demean anyone.

10. Raising a concern

Anyone who experiences or witnesses discrimination or harassment may speak informally to the Programme Lead where they feel able, or use the formal route in the Complaints and Academic Appeals Policy, which goes to Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq at-Turkmānī, Academic Lead of the College, who is independent of the teaching of this Programme. A concern raised in good faith never disadvantages the person raising it. Contact: 07436 436363 · info@theiic.uk.

11. Responsibilities

• Programme Lead (Ustādh Emran Ahmed) — owns this policy; decides reasonable-adjustment requests; checks at each review that sisters' participation is full and equal in practice.
• Academic Lead (Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq at-Turkmānī) — hears formal complaints under this policy.
• Staff and volunteers — uphold this policy in conduct and speech; route adjustment requests to the Programme Lead.
• Students — treat everyone with dignity; report conduct that falls short.

12. References

Equality Act 2010 (including its provisions for organisations relating to religion or belief) · Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance for service providers.

Programme documents: the Syllabus (TSL-SYL-001); Admissions Policy; Safeguarding Policy; Complaints and Academic Appeals Policy; Fees and Refunds Policy; Privacy Notice.

Revision history

International Islamic College, Leicester · 07436 436363 · info@theiic.uk · theiic.uk