Author: Obiyathulla Ismath Bacha

PROFESSOR DR. OBIYATHULLA ISMATH BACHA is currently Professor of Finance and the Head of the Graduate Studies Department at the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (“INCEIF”), a post graduate university specialising in Islamic Finance, established by Bank Negara Malaysia. Prior to joining INCEIF, he was the Director of the International Islamic University Malaysia Management Center. Professor Obiyathulla began his working career as a Credit Officer at Maybank. Subsequent to completing his doctoral studies he was appointed an Assistant Professor of Finance at Boston University, where he taught at both the MBA and undergraduate levels and was awarded the Allen E. Beckwith Award for Teaching. Professor Obiyathulla is currently President of the Malaysian Finance Association. He has also been a trainer at several institutions such as the Securities Commission of Malaysia and the Central Bank of Malaysia. Internationally, he has conducted training programs in Islamic Capital Markets at the University of Luxembourg, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Waseda University, Japan, IDB Jeddah and elsewhere. He has published scholarly articles in numerous local and international journals and has presented papers at several international and Islamic finance conferences .Professor Obiyathulla is a member of the Shari”ah panels of Great Eastern Assurance Corp. Malaysia , HSBC Amanah, Malaysia and Five Pillars, Singapore. He received his Doctor of Business Administration (Finance), Master of Business Administration (High Honours) and Master of Arts (Economics) from Boston University and Bachelor of Social Science from the Science University of Malaysia in Penang. DR ABBAS MIRAKHOR, born in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, attended Kansas State University, where he received his Ph D in economics in 1969. From 1969 to 1984, he taught in various universities in the U.S. and Iran. From 1984 until 1990, he served on the staff of the IMF, and from 1990 to present; he has been the Executive Director for Afghanistan, Algeria, Ghana, Islamic Republic of Iran, Morocco, Pakistan, and Tunisia. Dr Mirakhor is the co-editor of Essays on Iqtisad: Islamic Approach to Economic Problems (1989), and Theoretical Studies in Islamic Banking and Finance (1987). He has received several awards including “Order of Companion of Volta” for service in Ghana, conferred by the President of Ghana in 2005; Islamic Development Bank Annual Prize for Research in Islamic Economics, shared with Mohsin Khan in 2003, and “Quaid-e Azam” star for service to Pakistan, conferred by the President of Pakistan in 1997. He is currently the First Holder of the Chair of Islamic Finance in INCEIF.