Yaqub Muslim Eneborg

BA (HONS) ISLAMIC STUDIES, CAMBRIDGE MUSLIM COLLEGE

Yaqub is an aspiring theologian currently studying for a BA (Hons) in Islamic Studies at Cambridge Muslim College. He has previously studied Arabic at Stockholm University, and worked as a personal care assistant.

Shayma Bakht

MA JOURNALISM, CITY UNIVERSITY

Shayma graduated from Nottingham University with a First-class honours in English. She then spent a year freelancing for different print and online publications like the Guardian, VICE and Gal-Dem. Shayma worked alongside the editors of AZEEMA magazine, which is a publication for women from the MENASA regions. With them, she interviewed Nike athlete Nesrine Dally, co-hosted an Eid event at WAH nails, and helped plan their next edition. While she began to pave a career in journalism, Shayma knew that she would need formal training to compete as a broadcaster or television reporter – especially as the industry is 94% white and 55% male.

It has only been one term of her Masters at City University in Broadcast Journalism, and she has already produced news packages for television and radio, created data journalism stories, and learned essential media law and ethics. Shayma has also secured placements with Channel 4 News and Unreported World, and she will be helping LBC cover the election on air.

Part of this scholarship will be completing an internship at the Sun. Shayma is excited to be a part of the new generation that are diversifying the media, and she wants to create change within the Sun, as it is an established platform that speaks to millions of people every day. She hopes that her experiences will enable doors to open for other minority women in journalism.

In the future, she would love to become a foreign correspondent. She believes it is so important for the news to become more diverse, and she would encourage more women from South Asian and Muslim backgrounds to be brave enough to become the change they want to see.

Hafsa Zadran

MA ISLAMIC STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK

After successfully completing a five year comprehensive study of Islamic theology at a Dar-u- Uloom (Islamic seminary), Hafsa began to teach Islamic sciences such as Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) Hadith (prophetic traditions) and Seerah (biography of the Prophet Muhammad SAW). The quest for learning is a fundamental factor in Islamic education. This is why along with the teaching, her goal after graduating was to continue studying to acquire advance knowledge and understanding of the background literature in the area of Islamic education and professional practice.

The purpose behind studying the masters at the University of Warwick was to gain the skills needed for her to become a reflective professional practitioner in her own field. As a Muslim educator Hafsa sees it as her responsibility to think educationally about Islam, and to facilitate in bridging the gap between the values/beliefs of the Muslim youth and their practices.

The COSARAF Scholarship has opened many doors of opportunities for her, and she is certain that it will make a significant contribution to continuing her education and career.

Ali Anis

BM BCh MEDICINE, ST ANNE'S COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

Medicine is not a path that Ali has chosen lightly, however it is one to which he hopes he can make a lasting contribution in his lifetime. His reasoning is clear: a career as a doctor will allow him to use his love of science in the context of helping others, to continuously learn and develop and most importantly, to make a difference.

Growing up in one of the most deprived areas of East London and having received free school meals all throughout his formal education, he has a deeply personal experience of the challenges faced by those of lower socio-economic status. It is his passion to address these issues and ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to realise their potential, irrespective of their background. As such, he recently interned at the social mobility charity upReach, an organisation recognised for their work in helping less-advantaged students secure competitive graduate jobs.

He is also involved in a range of university access initiatives and most notably, was part of the delivery team for the annual Oxford Muslim Access Conference.

In the future, with the help of the COSARAF Charitable foundation and St. Anne’s college, he looks forward to coming up with fresh approaches that encourage more Muslim students to apply to institutions like Oxford.

Momodou M Touray

MA INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISM, CITY UNIVERSITY

Momodou Musa Touray is an accomplished journalist, writer and filmmaker. He was a former editor-in-chief of The Gambia’s Daily Observer newspaper.

Momodou is passionate about telling stories of social justice. His writing focuses on politics, human rights, Africa, minority and refugee issues. He recently worked with the Guardian Foundation and London College of Communication on a Refugee Journalism Project for exiled journalists.

Momodou is a writer and contributor to The Guardian newspaper on Africa and Gambian issues. His journalism work has been published extensively in leading newspapers in both U.K and the Gambia.

Momodou is the founder of Gambiana, a Gambia-focused media platform. Gambiana has been praised for its excellent journalism and balanced coverage of the news.

In addition to Momodou’s journalism work, he is being lauded for his filmmaking talent. Momodou graduated with a BA (Hons) in Filmmaking from the Arts University College in Bournemouth. He was awarded a trailblazing prize in 2008 by the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) and was named as one of 20 emerging UK talents in 2008 by the UK Film Council at EIFF for his award-winning short film Sweet Mother. The film also received a Special Mention award at the Royal Television of Society Students’ Award. Momodou’s short films have been shown in film festivals in the UK, Poland and Mexico.

Momodou is currently an MA student in International Journalism at City, University of London.