Student ESSSAT prize success

Congratulations to Haanya Ijaz on winning the ESSSAT Student Research Prize 2026

Haanya Ijaz, a postgraduate student at the School of Literature, Languages and Cultures (LLC), is currently completing the Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies MSc.

As part of her studies, Haanya chose to take an elective at the School of Divinity, enrolling on the newly introduced 'Islam and Science' course.

This 11-week postgraduate course offers an interdisciplinary exploration of the relationship between Islam and science. 

'Islam and Science' examines how Muslim scholars both classical and contemporary have engaged with scientific thought in response to modernity, colonialism, and philosophical challenges. It also critically analyses how scientific advancements have shaped theological discourse, ethical reasoning, and epistemological frameworks within Islam.

Colour head and shoulders photo of Haanya Iljaz smiling at the camera
Haanya Ijaz

Under the supervision of Dr Shoaib Malik, a lecturer in Science and Religion, Haanya developed her course essay, which she revised for the 2026 ESSAT competition. Her hard work has paid off as she won the Student Prize with her short essay “Grounded Theory and Islamic Psychology: A Methodological Critique.”; one of two ESSSAT Prizes for Studies in Science and Theology 2026.

Haanya will be honoured for her win at the upcoming European Conference on Science and Theology in Leeds, where she will present her work to an audience of scholars, theologians, and scientists.

I’m still a little in disbelief and beyond grateful to have received this prize. This paper grew out of Dr Shoaib Malik’s Islam and Science course, which I was lucky to take in its very first year here in Edinburgh while completing my MSc in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies. Working through the ideas in that class and then pushing the essay further for this prize has been one of the most rewarding parts of my degree. 

This recognition means a great deal to me and strengthens my drive to continue my research. I am beyond lucky to have received mentorship and support from Dr. Malik, the Divinity School, the Islamic and Middle Eastern studies Department and the AlWaleed center.

Haanya Ijaz

It is incredibly rewarding to see Haanya receive this award. I began my own journey with Edinburgh as a student on the online MSc in Philosophy, Science and Religion, at a time when Islam and Science was still a relatively small and emerging field of study. Years later, to now be a Lecturer in Science and Religion and to have developed a dedicated course on Islam and Science makes this moment especially meaningful. 

Haanya was part of the course’s very first cohort in 2025–26, and for an essay produced in that inaugural year to go on to win the ESSSAT Student Prize is simply remarkable. Her success is a wonderful indication of the growing maturity of Islam and Science as an academic field, and of the scholarship a new generation is now contributing to it. Haanya should be enormously proud of what she has achieved.

Dr Shoaib Malik

ESSAT

ESSSAT is a scholarly, non-confessional organization, based in Europe, which aims to promote the study of relationships between the natural sciences and theological views. ESSSAT has members from almost every European country as well as members from other continents. They have diverse confessional backgrounds, and may include believers as well as non-believers and atheists. As scientists, theologians, philosophers and historians they work on a better understanding of the interactions between two of the most powerful human pursuits, namely religion and science.

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