A MUM-OF-TWO fears her family will be separated and deported after funding for her studies was cut off from her government.

Haifa Alshamrani, 29, from Saudi Arabia was studying a medical degree at Glasgow University after being awarded a scholarship last year from the Saudi Government.

But Haifa’s dreams quickly turned to a nightmare after her funding was cut off in November 2015, leaving the family, including husband Abdulla, 36, and children Mohammed, 10, and Gadah, seven, destitute.

Haifa has been forced to sell her wedding ring to pay the rent for the next month, and started a crowd funder page to raise cash to help.

The family insist they have been cut off after husband Abdullah refused to help students from Saudi Arabia build a Wahhabi mosque in the UK.

Wahhabism is the dominant faith in Saudi Arabia but is considered by many to be ultra-orthodox and strict.

Before moving to Glasgow the family lived in Preston where Abdullah, a former maths teacher, mentored Saudi students and helped them with their studies.

However Abdullah, who is agnostic and does not practice Islam, did not want to get involved in religious activities with the students.

Haifa said: “The students were in the process of buying a church to convert into a mosque. They wanted him to help.

“My husband said this wasn’t really his duty, it was for him to assist them with academic issues.

“They reported him to the embassy, and the embassy started putting pressure on him to do what they wanted.

“His views, because he didn’t practice Islam, he was sacked.

“It was clearly indicted to the embassy that he was an infidel.

“It was a shock for us to see it here in the UK.”

Despite Abdullah’s disagreement with the students, Haifa was told her scholarship was still valid and the family came to Glasgow only to find out after three months that the scholarship was no longer in place.

The family claim embassy officials came to their home and threatened them with persecution when the return to Saudi Arabia due to Abdullah’s non-compliance.

Their bank accounts have also been frozen.

They have now filed an asylum claim in the hope of being given refuge in the UK, but are stuck in limbo as they wait for the Home Office to process their claim.

Haifa said: “We’re very worried about what will happen to us if we go back.

“We’ve spoken to the local MP about it, we don’t know what to do.

“I’m scared we will be put in a detention centre and split up. We can’t work either as we don’t have a visa.”

The Saudi Embassy and did not respond to requests for comment when contacted by the Evening Times.

The Home Office said it does not routinely comment on individual cases.

To support the family's online fundraising efforts, visit https://www.gofundme
.com/gzwuvt9b