Datuk Prof. Dr. Mohamad Akram Laldin is the recipient of Zaki Badawi Award 2010 for Excellence in Shariah Advisory and Research. He has participated and presented papers in numerous local and international conferences. He is currently the Member of Bank Negara Malaysia Shari’ah Advisory Council (SAC), Member of Shariah Advisory Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Member of HSBC Amanah Global Shari’ah Advisory Board, Member of Yassar Limited (Dubai) Shari’ah Advisory Board, Member of EAB (London) Shari’ah Advisory Board, Chairman of Islamic Advisory Board of HSBC Insurance Singapore, Shari’ah Advisor to ZI Syariah Advisory Malaysia, Member of Shari’ah Advisory Council International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM), Bahrain, Committee member of AAOIFI Shari’ah Standards, Bahrain and other Boards locally and internationally. In addition, he is also the Member of the Board of Studies of the Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance, IIUM.
Prof. Dr. Ashraf Md Hashim has vast experience in providing Shari’ah views on retail and investment banking products, sukuk structuring and unit trusts. He was also actively involved in advising Takaful and Retakaful companies such as ACR Retakaful, ARIL and Takaful Malaysia. Currently, he is a member of the Board of Directors of Lembaga Tabung Haji Malaysia. He is also a member of Central Bank of Malaysia (BNM) Shari’ah Advisory Council (SAC) and National Fatwa Council of Malaysia. He is also a Shari’ah Committee member of the Securities Commission and the Chairman of Shariah Committee, Bursa Malaysia. He also serves as a member of Technical Committee of IFSB for matters related to retakaful. In addition, Dr Ashraf is also a Shari’ah Advisor to a number of Islamic Financial Institutions in Malaysia and abroad.
Associate Professor Dr Said Bouheraoua is currently a Senior Researcher and Director of Research Affairs Department at the International Shari’ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance. He is the editor-in-chief of ISRA International Journal of Islamic Finance, member of the of Affin Islamic Bank Board of Directors, Shariah member of the Central Bank of Oman, Chairman of Affin Islamic Shariah committee, Shariah member of MNRB Retakaful, Shariah member of ISRA Consulting and a registered Shariah Adviser with Securities Commission Malaysia. Dr Said has published four books, five chapters in books and several articles in refereed journals. He has also presented several papers in international conferences including the International Fiqh Academy of the OIC and Islamic Fiqh Academy of Muslim World League. He conducted several trainings in Islamic law, Islamic banking and finance in Malaysia and abroad.
Sheikh Dr. Mohamed Ali Elgari is a Professor of Islamic Economics and the former Director of the Centre for Research in Islamic Economics at King Abdul Aziz University in Saudi Arabia. Dr Elgari is the recipient of the Islamic Development Bank Prize in Islamic Banking and Finance and holds the KLIFF Islamic Finance Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Islamic Finance (Individual). He is a member on the editorial board of several academic publications in the field of Islamic Finance and Jurisprudence, among them Journal of the Jurisprudence Academy (of the IWL), Journal of Islamic Economic Studies (IDB), Journal of Islamic Economic (IAIE, London), and the advisory board of Harvard Series in Islamic Law, Harvard Law School. Dr. Elgari is also an advisor to numerous Islamic financial institutions throughout the world and is notably on the Shariah board of the Dow Jones Islamic index as well as a member of the Islamic Fiqh Academy and the Islamic Accounting & Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institution (AAIOFI).
Marjan Muhammad is the Head of the Research Quality Office and Senior Researcher at the International Shari’ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA). In her current capacity, she oversees the quality of research output for projects undertaken by ISRA. She is currently a member of the Shariah Committee of Maybank Islamic Berhad and a member of the Shariah Committee of SME Bank Berhad. Dr. Marjan has published many articles in international and local refereed journals, produced a number of research papers on Islamic finance, written several book chapters, contributed to industry reports, and presented papers in various local and international conferences. She is the Editor of ISRA’s main textbooks including Islamic Financial System: Principles and Operations (2nd ed.), Sukuk: Principles & Practices, and Islamic Capital Markets: Sukuk: Principles & Practices. Dr Marjan is the project manager for both market reports on ‘The Role of Sukuk in Islamic Capital Market’ and ‘Islamic Fund Management’ funded by the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC).