Muslim students have urged the government to act on its promise to roll out shariah-compliant student loans, as it emerged tens of thousands of young people are forced to abandon or self-fund study because of a lack of alternatives.

A coalition including MP Stephen Timms, data collection organisation Muslim Census and the National Zakat Foundation, a charity, on Tuesday called on prime minister Boris Johnson to take steps to roll out alternative finance for Muslim students by September 2022.

The intervention follows a letter sent in June from dozens of organisations including the Muslim Association of Britain, The National Union of Students and educational equality charity Fair Access Coalition, demanding that “future cohorts of students should not be deprived of accessing a university education, simply because of their religion”.