Utilising the Race Equality Charter to embed religious equity for Muslim students and staff in Higher Education

In order for transformational change to occur in the UK Higher Education (HE) sector, this chapter proposes that national schemes such as the Race Equality Charter (REC) must be made mandatory. The REC is a nationally recognised charter mark which aims to improve the representation, progression, and success of racially minoritised students and staff in HE (Advance HE, 2023a). Drawing upon primarily qualitative data and author reflexivity, the chapter will centre the lived experiences of racially minoritised Muslim students and staff to argue how nationally recognised diversity schemes can be used to similarly serve religiously minoritised communities in HE. Using an institutional case study, the chapter will describe a number of tangible actions that were developed by Muslim students and staff. The chapter will argue that the REC is a useful starting point for other universities to begin having courageous conversations about Islamophobia and the need to address racial and religious barriers facing Muslims in HE.