College Life
College Representatives
For many Muslims, university can be an unsettling prospect. Fresher’s week, in particular, can prove to be a quantity of unknowns and a difficult time as students try to involve themselves in college life whilst staying true to their own religious and personal beliefs.
To help Muslim students settle in as quickly as possible we’ve organised a system of college representatives to aid your integration and help you to adapt to your new academic and social surroundings. They’ll let you know about the ISoc events going on during the week, arrange our famous 5th week Pidge-a-Present (to combat 5th week blues) and of course just be there as a friendly fellow Muslim face for you in your own college!
If you can’t see a rep for your college, don’t worry! Please contact our Welfare representatives and we should be able to get a representative from a nearby college or a member of the ISoc Committee.
| College | Male Rep | Female Rep |
|---|---|---|
| Balliol | Yonis Nuur yonis.nuur@balliol.ox.ac.uk |
Hannah Raja hannah.raja@balliol.ox.ac.uk |
| Blackfriars | ||
| Brasenose | Husayn Sacranie husayn.sacranie@bnc.ox.ac.uk |
Nerjess Alfellani nerjess.alfellani@bnc.ox.ac.uk |
| *Campion Hall | ||
| Christ Church | Muse Ismaiel muse.ismael@chch.ox.ac.uk |
Asma Issa asma.issa@chch.ox.ac.uk |
| Corpus Christi | Mohamed Heikl mohamed.heikl@ccc.ox.ac.uk |
Taslima Sheikh taslima.sheikh@ccc.ox.ac.uk |
| Exeter | Imaan Khaliq imaan.khaliq@exeter.ox.ac.uk |
Haleema Khan haleema.khan@exeter.ox.ac.uk |
| *Green Templeton | Muscab Mohamed muscab.mohamed@gtc.ox.ac.uk |
Razneen Shah razneen.shah@gtc.ox.ac.uk |
| Harris Manchester | muhammad Awan muhammad.awan@gtc.ox.ac.uk |
Hibah Hassan hibah.hassan@hmc.ox.ac.uk |
| Hertford | Sara Malik sara.malik@hertford.ox.ac.uk |
|
| Jesus | Moosa Bajwa moosa.bajwa@jesus.ox.ac.uk |
Jubeda Salam jubeda.salam@jesus.ox.ac.uk |
| Keble | Zaheer Sidik zaheer.sidik@keble.ox.ac.uk |
Sarah Said sarah.said@keble.ox.ac.uk |
| *Kellog | ||
| Lady Margaret Hall | Chaudhary Mohammad Ibrahim Atif chaudhary.atif@lmh.ox.ac.uk |
Malaika Butt malaika.butt@lmh.ox.ac.uk |
| *Linacre | ||
| Lincoln | Alina Shafiq alina.shafiq@lincoln.ox.ac.uk |
|
| Magdalen | Kaamil Kaba kaamil.kaba@magd.ox.ac.uk |
Zuha Murtaza zuha.murtaza@magd.ox.ac.uk |
| Mansfield | Ahnaf Farabi ahnaf.farabi@mansfield.ox.ac.uk |
Nadia Zouaoui nadia.zouaoui@mansfield.ox.ac.uk |
| Merton | Basmala Saad basmala.saad@merton.ox.ac.uk |
|
| New | Saimur Rahman saimur.rahman@new.ox.ac.uk |
Imaan Haider imaan.haider@new.ox.ac.uk |
| *Nuffield | ||
| Oriel | Siddiq Islam siddiq.islam@oriel.ox.ac.uk |
Yasmin Mrabet yasmin.mrabet@oriel.ox.ac.uk |
| Pembroke | Hasan Shahzad hasan.shazad@pmb.ox.ac.uk |
Hanin Hassan hanin.hassan@pmb.ox.ac.uk |
| Queen's | Ziyad Mahmouod ziyad.mahmouod@queens.ox.ac.uk |
Rumaysaa Mannan rumaysaa.mannan@queens.ox.ac.uk |
| Regent's Park | Axel Marinho axel.marinho@regents.ox.ac.uk |
Sameeha Qureshi sameeha.qureshi@regents.ox.ac.uk |
| Reuben | ||
| St Anne's | Zainab Bhamji zainab.bhamji@st-annes.ox.ac.uk |
|
| *St Antony's | ||
| St Catherine's | Fahim Miah fahim.miah@stcatz.ox.ac.uk |
Zainab Shaik zainab.shaik@stcatz.ox.ac.uk |
| *St Cross | ||
| St Edmund's Hall | Zakaria Najjar zakaria.najjar@seh.ox.ac.uk |
Jemima Begum jemima.begum@seh.ox.ac.uk |
| St Hilda's | Abdullah Abid abdullah.abid@st-hildas.ox.ac.uk |
Aysha Adam aysha.adam@st-hildas.ox.ac.uk |
| St Hugh's | Zaid Abdulwahab zaid.abdulwahab@st-hughs.ox.ac.uk |
|
| St John's | Ebrahim Jadama ebrahim.jadama@sjc.ox.ac.uk |
Fadumo Hersi fadumo.hersi@sjc.ox.ac.uk |
| St Peter's | Sami Haroon sami.haroon@spc.ox.ac.uk |
Tharin Azad tharin.azad@spc.ox.ac.uk |
| St Stephen's House | ||
| Somerville | Enes Morina enes.morina@some.ox.ac.uk |
Sana Dar sana.dar@some.ox.ac.uk |
| Trinity | Omarr Belhaj omarr.belhaj-fahsi@trinity.ox.ac.uk |
Suleqa Warsame suleqa.warsame@trinity.ox.ac.uk |
| University | Ahmed Ali ahmed.ali@univ.ox.ac.uk |
Ayesha Ali ayesha.ali@univ.ox.ac.uk |
| Wadham | Mahirah Rahman mahirah.rahman@wadham.ox.ac.uk |
|
| *Wolfson | Usama Ali usama.ali@wolfson.ox.ac.uk |
|
| Worcester | Mujaahid Arian mujaahid.arian@worc.ox.ac.uk |
Mahrin Ahmed mahrin.ahmed@worc.ox.ac.uk |
| Wycliffe Hall |
Accommodation
Applicants always struggle to pick one of the colleges of Oxford. Our best advice would be to look through our alternative prospectus, college websites and attend college open days to really gauge whether or not you'd envisage yourself in a particular college.
When it comes to accommodation, you should look at how many years the college will provide accommodation for. Some colleges offer onsite accommodation for all three years, but at some colleges you might have to live further from the city centre or rent privately one year. You might also want to consider the kitchen facilities, especially if you’re looking to make your own food. An increasing number of colleges also offer Halal food (see table below). Oxford also has plenty of Halal restaurants and butchers within walking distance. Room sizes tend to be bigger than at other universities and the cost of rooms varies between colleges. Location is also quite important; whether it's proximity to the city centre or to the prayer room, check this out if it's important to you! The ISoc has representatives in numerous colleges so if you have questions about life at a particular college these are the people to ask (see table above).
Remember, if you don’t have a particular preference for a college you can always make an open application and you will be randomly assigned to one for interviews. Also, during the interview process you might be sent to different colleges as well as your first choice. This means many people end up at a college they didn’t originally apply to, but still end up enjoying their time there and become quite attached to their college.
Check this table to see if your prospective college provides halal food in catering and private en-suites.
If you have any queries or see any errors, please feel free to send us a message.
| COLLEGE | HALAL FOOD | FIRST-YEAR ENSUITE |
|---|---|---|
| Balliol | Yes (chicken, lamb, beef, turkey) | On request |
| Blackfriars | Yes (in-house events, most meals at Regent's Park) | Can request on faith grounds (limited) |
| Brasenose | (Halal Chicken/Beef most/all meals) | Can request on faith grounds |
| Christ Church | Yes (on request, all meats) | On request |
| Corpus Christi | Yes (chicken and beef 5-6 times a week) | Can request on faith grounds |
| Exeter | Yes (chicken and sometimes beef 5-6 times a week) | On request and if no en-suite then sink will be in room |
| Harris Manchester | No | Yes |
| Hertford | Yes (chicken and lamb) | No but sinks in rooms |
| Jesus | Chicken at formals on request | On request |
| Keble | Yes (on request) | Rarely, but most bathrooms are one between two |
| LMH | Yes (chicken and lamb on request) | Can request on faith grounds |
| Lincoln | Yes (on request) | Yes |
| Magdalen | (on request, chicken) | No |
| Mansfield | Yes | Yes (mostly, may need to request to make sure) |
| Merton | Only formals (on request) | Can request on faith grounds |
| New | Yes (on request) | Yes (most rooms en-suite, can make request to be sure) |
| Oriel | Yes (on request with sufficient notice) | Can request on faith grounds |
| Pembroke | Yes (on request) | Yes |
| Queen's | Yes (dinners and formal dinners) | Yes (mostly, may need to request to make sure) |
| Regent's Park | - | No |
| Somerville | No | No |
| St Anne's | Yes (on request, chicken sometimes lamb) | No (can request sink in room) |
| St Benet's Hall | Yes (on request, chicken) | No (can request low usage bathrooms) |
| St Catherine's | Yes (chicken halal most meals other meats on request) | No |
| St Edmund Hall | Yes (on request) | Can request on faith grounds |
| St Hilda's | (Chicken Halal almost all meals, other meats and formals on request.) | No |
| St Hugh's | Only formals (on request, chicken) | Can request on faith grounds |
| St John's | Yes (lunch sometimes dinner and formal dinners on request) | No |
| St Peter's | (On request only in formals) | No |
| Trinity | Yes | On request |
| University | Yes (chicken only, not regularly) | On request and if no ensuite then sink is available in room |
| Wadham | Yes (on request) | Can request on faith grounds |
| Worcester | Yes (on request) | Down to luck, but most are en-suite so chance high |
Note
Whilst we’ve tried our best to ensure this information is up to date, it is always best to check with the college directly to make sure the facts are correct if they are important to you. Also, even if en-suite accommodation is not generally available, requests can be made on medical grounds and many colleges also accept requests on faith grounds (even if not explicitly mentioned in the table – again, best to email/talk to colleges directly to make sure!).