Dominic Asquith

Chevening Scholarship scheme

This week we celebrated - and not because my country was described by Iran's Supreme Leader as "the most evil and treacherous" in the world (who feeds him these ideas?).  No, we celebrated because we welcomed back almost 40 young Egyptian men and women who had been doing Masters and further studies at British universities under our Chevening Scholarship scheme.  And we said good luck to almost 20 more going off to do the same this year.  This is a programme that the Foreign Office funds, with generous co-sponsorship from mainly British companies operating in Egypt, and managed by the British Council.  It is a real collaboration between those who want to make a practical difference to people's lives here in Egypt.  

We all met at my house.  Every one of the guests was bright and enthusiastic and doing something really important - from making buildings more energy efficient to trying to establish the equivalent of the European Convention on Human Rights for the Arab World. Some came with their husband or wife or mother or father or sister.  A band of dufuf drummers insisted on involving some of us in their dancing.

We listened to an inspirational short speech from a former Chevening scholar: she now runs two of her own companies.  One of her most important messages to this year's scholars was that, to benefit from the year in Britain, they needed to be willing to operate outside their comfort zone.  Indeed they should push themselves to do so.  This comfort zone was both intellectual and social.  They had to explore the subject they were working on and challenge the assumptions. But they also needed to throw themselves into their surroundings, even though they would meet situations they were not used to.  Throwing themselves into the local culture did not mean losing hold of their own values.  Indeed, the combination merely made the British respect them even more deeply.  "I still came back a good Muslim", she said.  

Her comments clearly echoed the experience of the returning scholars.  We had asked them each to exhibit one photograph that best described their experience of the past year in Britain - and the winner was invited to dinner with me and my family at my house, and bring with them five other friends.   One photograph showed the student with a group of friends at Warwick University, clearly at ease and happy in each other's company.  Underneath he had written "with the best friends I have made since childhood".  What more could one ask for?

It also made me think that the results of a recent Gallup Coexist Index opinion poll of British Muslims were probably right. The poll showed that British Muslims felt less isolated than the average British citizen and appreciated the freedom and respect they enjoyed in Britain.  

Posted at 10:00 25 June 2009 by Dominic Asquith  |  Comments[3]