Hina Khalid is the third beneficiary of the AGM Randeree Scholarship in 2018
I am deeply humbled and grateful to have been awarded the AGM Randeree Scholarship, which I believe will provide the perfect platform for me to both extend and deepen my current academic interests, as well as offering new opportunities for spiritual and intellectual growth.
For the past year, I have been working closely with St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace, and this experience has profoundly informed my understanding of what it means to serve one’s community from a place of humility, love, and compassion – across religious, social and ethnic boundaries. Witnessing ‘active’ spirituality has offered me an insight into the diverse ways that religious teachings are being embodied and lived in service to the local and global community. To see spiritual practice harmoniously interwoven with social action has deepened my appreciation of the fertile ground within my own tradition, from which a humble, inclusive and fundamentally sacred activism can emerge.
I have thus chosen to undertake an MPhil in Theology and Religious Studies, in order to integrate my academic background with my broader interest in the community and interpersonal relations. My research will focus on the parallels between Islamic and Buddhist spirituality and the implications these have for our lived experience. I believe that this course of study will equip me with the knowledge and sensitivity to devote myself to the path of spiritual activism, as well as discover new ways that religious teachings may shape our response to the outer world.