President of Al Sharq Forum

Dr. Emad El-Din Shahin is a professor and former dean of the College of Islamic Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. He served as the Al-Shawwaf Visiting Professor at Harvard University and is a Senior Fellow at Georgetown University’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. Dr. Shahin holds a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University and has taught at prestigious institutions including Harvard, Notre Dame, and Boston University. He is the editor-in-chief of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics and has authored six books and over 80 scholarly publications. His research focuses on Islam and politics, democracy, and political reform in the Middle East.

Blogger / Influencer

Muna el-Kurd is a Palestinian activist based in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem. Alongside her twin brother, Mohammed el-Kurd, she drew international attention for her involvement in the Sheikh Jarrah controversy, which served as a key trigger for the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis.

Hania Chalal is a prominent figure in Muslim youth activism, currently serving as President of the European Forum of Muslim Youth and Student Organisations (FEMYSO) since October 2023. She was the first woman to lead EMF, a major Muslim student federation in France. Rooted in Islamic values of justice and equity, Hania has held various roles in French and international NGOs. She champions grassroots activism, believing it to be a key expression of Islamic principles and a powerful force for societal change.

Hisham Nourin is a seasoned executive with over a decade of leadership at Qatar Foundation, where he has spearheaded transformative initiatives aligning with Qatar’s National Vision. His strategic leadership has driven key projects such as the Qatar National Reading Campaign and Akhlaquna Award. With 24 years of global experience across four continents, Hisham’s expertise spans organizational transformation, innovation, and impactful change. He holds an Industrial Engineering degree from Toronto Metropolitan University and an Executive MBA from HEC Paris.

Leanne Mohamad is a British-Palestinian activist who ran as an independent candidate in the constituency of Ilford North in the 2024 general election, against the Labour Party incumbent and then Shadow Secretary for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting.

Ashraf Motiwala, the fourth-generation leader of the Motiwala legacy and Head of Design at A S Motiwala Fine Jewellery, draws inspiration from his global travels to create exceptional diamond pieces. His visionary collection, FAITH by ASM, reflects the modern woman—effortless, fierce, and always making a statement. Designed to seamlessly transition from day to night, FAITH celebrates the strength of women, honoring their versatility and empowerment with every piece. Motiwala’s passion for quality and innovation shines through his work.

Faizal Dawjee is a seasoned public affairs, media, and communications specialist with a rich background in journalism. He has been featured on prominent platforms such as Al Jazeera, CNBC Africa, and BBC World Service. Currently advising a global communications company, Faizal has provided strategic counsel to major financial institutions in the UK, focusing on ethnic communities. He served as Director of Media Services in the South African Government during President Thabo Mbeki’s tenure and worked on communications for Nelson Mandela’s Reconstruction and Development Programme. Faizal has also advised South Africa’s Olympic Committee and Durban’s Commonwealth Games bid.

Fasiha Hassan is a South African lawyer, politician, and youth leader. She is the youngest Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature and has held key roles such as Secretary General of the WITS Student Representative Council, Deputy President of the South African Union of Students, and Candidate Attorney at ENS Africa. She also served as Gauteng Provincial Treasurer (SASCO) and Political Education and Development Whip for the ANC Gauteng Caucus. Recently, Hassan was elected as a Member of Parliament in the 7th administration.

Professor Khaled A. Beydoun is a law professor at Arizona State University and a Scholar-in-Residence at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center. He is the author of “American Islamophobia” and co-editor of “Islamophobia and the Law”. A leading scholar in constitutional law and civil rights, his work appears in top journals and major media outlets. Beydoun has received several accolades, including the Frederick Douglass Educator Award, and has a significant social media presence. He is recognized for his expertise in Arab and Muslim identity and conducts training for Fortune 100 companies.

Mehmet Asutay is a Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Political Economy & Finance at the
Durham University Business School and the Director of the Durham Centre in Islamic Economics
and Finance.
Mehmet’s teaching, research, publication, and supervision of research is all in Islamic moral
economy/Islamic economics, Islamic political economy, Islamic finance and banking, Islamic
governance and management and the Middle Eastern political economies.
His articles on his research interest have appeared in various international academic journals
and professional magazines. He has also published manuscripts and edited books on aspects of
Islamic moral economy and Islamic finance, the latest of which are: A Model for Islamic
Development: An Approach in Islamic Moral Economy (with S. Jan, 2019), Mapping the Risks
and Risk Management Practices in Islamic Banking (with W. Eid, 2019).
Mehmet’s recent research includes the construction of Islamic moral economy and Islamic
political economy; and their articulation in economic and sustainable development. In addition,
his research focused on locating Islamic banking and finance within the expressed ideals of
Islamic moral economy by essentialising sharing and collaborative economy nature of Islamic
finance. Mehmet is also involved in empirical research in various aspects and dynamics of
Islamic banking and finance, as well as examining the political economy determinants and
consequences of various Islamic finance industry development models.
Mehmet has acted as a consultant to COMCEC (part of OIC), CIBAFI and UNDP-IICPSD on
various projects, and was also a member of the Board of Directors of Albaraka Turk Islamic Bank
from 2018-2020.
Mehmet is the Editor in Chief of the American Journal of Islam and Society, the International
Journal of Islamic Economics and Finance Studies, and the Review of Islamic Economics.
Mehmet is also a Board Member of the International Association for Islamic Economics.

Mohammed Ashour is a serial entrepreneur and visionary leader, currently serving as Deputy CEO of Yaqeen Institute and Co-Founder/CEO of Visionary Group. He previously founded Aspire, a global tech pioneer in insect agriculture, after winning the prestigious Hult Prize. Mohammed is recognized for his expertise in social enterprise and innovation, with features in top publications like The Wall Street Journal and Forbes. A Forbes 30 under 30 honoree, he holds multiple degrees from McGill University and the University of Toronto, and is a recipient of numerous accolades, including the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award.

Dr. Asim Qureshi holds a Law degree (LLB Hons, LLM) with a focus on International and Islamic Law and completed his Ph.D. in International Conflict Analysis at the University of Kent. He is the Research Director at CAGE International, specializing in the global impact of counterterrorism practices since 2003. Dr. Qureshi has published extensively, including NGO reports and academic articles, and authored several books, such as “Rules of the Game” (2009) and “A Virtue of Disobedience” (2019). Since 2009, he has advised legal teams defending terrorism trials in the US and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Umer is the Chief Risk Officer (Global Head of Risk, Compliance & Shariah) at Wahed, with a degree in Economics from Royal Holloway University of London and further qualifications from Manchester Business School and Harvard University. He began his career at Ernst & Young and held senior roles at HSBC and Daiwa Capital Management. Umer sits on the boards of the UKIFC, Cube Network, and the Islamic Council. He founded the National Waqf Fund in 2020 and oversaw its merger with another fund in 2023. An advisor to fintechs, Umer is also an international speaker on Islamic Finance, recognized as “one to watch” by Brummel magazine in 2016.

Riyaad Minty is the ex Manager of Digital Strategy at TRT World. Previously, he founded AJ+, one of the world’s largest news publishers for a digital generation, in San Francisco as part of the Al Jazeera Media Network. Riyaad spent a decade at Al Jazeera as part of the network’s New Media team, building the networks global strategy across social platforms as the Head of Social Media. He is recognised as a leader in the space of digital media and regularly speaks at conferences and universities around the world on the shifts within the media industry. He joined TRT World in Istanbul in 2016 to help build the digital arm of the new network.

Thembisa Fakude is a senior research fellow and director of Africa Asia Dialogues (Afrasid),a think tank based in Johannesburg, South Africa.  He holds a Master’s degree in Politics from the university of the Witwatersrand. He is a columnist with the Middle East Monitor in London and a research fellow at Al Sharq Forum in Istanbul, Turkey. He also serves on the board of Common Action Forum (CAF) in Madrid, Spain and on the board of Mail and Guardian publication in South Africa.

Thembisa is the chairperson of Gauteng Industrial Development Zone (GIDZ), a government owned special economic zone (sez) located at OR Tambo International Airport in South Africa. He also serves as a Deputy Chairperson of Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA) a government investment promotion agency in South Africa.

He is the former Bureau Chief of Al Jazeera Media Network in Southern Africa, former head of English unit of Al Jazeera Centre for Studies and a former chairperson of Foreign Correspondents Association of Southern Africa (FCA).

Hasan Abo-Shally is a visionary tech entrepreneur and social innovator committed to creating scalable solutions with lasting social impact. He is currently the CEO and co-founder of GoodDeeds.AI — a tech startup utilizing advanced AI to help impact-organizations efficiently generate, fund, and execute high-impact projects at any scale. With GoodDeeds.AI, Hasan envisions a world where everyone is empowered to amplify and fulfill their goodness potential.

Hasan’s tech journey commenced in high school, where he developed and sold his own software. Following diverse software-engineering and product-design roles, he transitioned to product-management, contributing to Microsoft’s cybersecurity team and several startup companies in fintech, healthcare, and education.

Hasan holds an MBA from the Technion and a B.A. in communication and interactive media from The Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC), where he also served on the research team of the Media Innovation Lab (miLAB), exploring human-computer interactions, experiences of life-long learning, and critical design.

Parallel to his tech career, Hasan has been actively involved in social innovation and entrepreneurship; over the past decade he has initiated and advised several local and international initiatives, leveraging his diverse expertise to foster effective social impact.

In 2013, at 22, Hasan established “Hasoub,” a grassroots nonprofit which raised over $10M to foster tech entrepreneurship as an economic lever for the Arab Palestinian minority in Israel. Three years later, he founded “Ibtekar,” a social enterprise offering affordable STEAM education to underserved kids and youth, with an emphasis on technology, craft, and digital creativity. Today, Hasan serves on Hasoub’s board and presides as chairman of Hasoub Labs.

Among several prestigious listings and fellowships, Hasan was featured in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in 2017, and his TEDx talk in 2019 was spotlighted by the TED team, reaching tens of thousands of people. His combined technological innovation and social dedication forge a unique path, pursuing a world of meaning, compassion, and prosperity.

Kamran Kiyani is the Managing Director at GEM, a Digital Transformation company. A serial entrepreneur, he has founded two AI technology companies: Scoute & Zaheen Systems. Kamran is a Mathematician by training. He has a B.S. from Purdue University, an MBA from the Krannert School and a Masters in Technology Design from Harvard University. Kamran has founded and worked with various not-for-profit organizations in the US, Singapore and Pakistan. His work focuses on leadership development, Artificial Intelligence and impact of technology on society.

ASK is the founder & CEO of Youth Impact, an award winning not for profit, having trained 26,000+ youth across five continents on earth. ASK, a cancer survivor, who has dedicated his second life to empower youth of the world, has introduced ‘Markhor’, Himalaya’s unique wilderness-based youth leadership conference held annually since 2013. A published author, founded leadership development organizations in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, has leadership development experience of more than 20 years. ASK is specialized in wilderness and adventure-based leadership development programs. Being an adventure enthusiast, he is first Pakistani to graduate from National Outdoor Leadership School, USA. He is also certified in ‘Train the Trainer’ from American Management Association, Chicago. ASK holds multiple Leadership Fellowship including at Stanford University’s ‘Executive Program for Nonprofits, International Visitors Leadership Program by US State Department, South East Asia Leadership Academy, Executive Endeavor Award in Australia and many more.

Abdullah is the current team lead at Al Sharq Youth and has been an active part of the organization since 2018. He is an Educational Psychologist by training and has a Masters in the field while currently pursuing his PhD in the same. He has 11 years of experience in multiple areas such as Program Management, Strategic Planning, Curriculum and Content Development, Training and Mentoring. His expertise lies in developing effective and efficient networks and has been a key person in establishing and managing Al Sharq Youth Hubs around the world.

Mohammad Affan is the director of Al Sharq Strategic Research and Al Sharq Academia. A medical doctor by training, he holds a PhD from the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, in 2020. He obtained his MA degree in Comparative Politics from the American University in Cairo in 2015. In addition, he holds a post-graduate diploma in Civil Society and Human Rights from Cairo University, a diploma in Political Research and Studies from the Institute of Arab Research and Studies in Cairo, and a diploma in Islamic Studies from The Higher Institute for Islamic Studies, Cairo. He is the author of “Secularism Confronts Islamism: Divergent Paths of Transitional Negotiations in Egypt and Tunisia.” Also, his master’s thesis was published in Arabic as a book titled: “Wahhabism and the Brotherhood: The Conflict on the Concept of the State and the Legitimacy of Power”. His research interests include Islamism and democratization in MENA region.

Zamzam Ibrahim is a British-Somali activist; she has spent the past decade representing students and young people advocating on various causes related to social justice, education, and the environment. As a young climate activist, she co-founded Students Organising for Sustainability UK (SOS-UK), She is also a co-founder and Chair of the Muslim Leadership Foundation. In 2019, launched the Climate Education Bill, which calls for mandatory climate education in schools throughout the UK. She’s the Former Vice President of the European Students Union (ESU), Chair Muslim Leadership Foundation (MLFUK) and the former National President of the National Union of Students in the UK (NUSUK). She currently serves as a board member of SOS International and SOSUK, works as a consultant for Julie’s Bicycle, amongst various other projects and has been selected as a Youth Advisor on UN Green Jobs Pact.