Conclusions
These research findings show that the higher education research agenda can become distorted by imperatives coloured by political ideologies and a caricatured polarization of religion and secularity. These impulses originate outside the higher education sector and should be challenged. The UK universities need to improve the religious literacy of university students and to tackle ignorance towards Muslims in order for campuses to be inclusive spaces where all students can learn from the diversity around them. Islamic colleges need to interrogate some of their patriarchal assumptions about gendered roles in line with the important feminist work that their syllabi explore. This would be aided by recruitment of high profile women Islamic Studies lecturers and critical reflection on gender roles on campus. We call for the prophetic role of the universities and the Islamic colleges to be reclaimed through a transparent, joint programme of robust and critical cultural engagement for all.