Dr. Syed Nazim Ali is Research Professor and Director of the Research Division at CIS.. He has spent the last 30 years spearheading interdisciplinary research in Islamic finance and faith-based initiatives in finance as well as community development. He was formerly the founding director of the Islamic Finance Project at Harvard University and Acting Executive Director of the Islamic Legal Studies program at Harvard Law School.
Dr. Ali has previously been actively involved with the US Treasury, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, US Department of the Treasury, and central banks in other countries, working to improve understanding and combat misconceptions about the Islamic finance industry. Most of his work focuses on social financing, Islamic finance, and Islamic information systems.
Dr. Ali received his PhD from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.
CIS, HBKU
2017 - PresentCenter for Islamic Economics And Finance (CIEF), CIS, HBKU
2014 - PresentHarvard University
1995 - 2014University of Bahrain
1984 - 1994King Faisal University, Al Hasa, Saudi Arabia
1976 - 1983University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
1983Emporia State University, Kansas, USA
1975Osmania University, Hyderabad, India
1970Fintech, Digital Currency and the Future of Islamic Finance in the GCC. Springer Nature.
The Edinburgh Companion to Shari‘ah Governance in Islamic Finance. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN: 978 147 4436007.
2020Fintech in Islamic Finance: Theory and Practice. London: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1138494800.
2019Takaful and Islamic Cooperative Finance: Challenges and Opportunities. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. ISBN 978-1-78536 335-1
2016Islamic Finance and Development. Cambridge: Harvard Law School, Islamic Finance Project. ISBN 0-9702835-8-X
2014Building Bridges across Financial Communities: The Global Financial Crisis, Social Responsibility, and Faith-Based Finance. Cambridge: Harvard Law School, Islamic Finance Project. ISBN 0-9702835-9-8
2012Shari‘a-Compliant Microfinance. London: Routledge. ISBN 978041578266-1
2011Islamic Finance: Innovation and Authenticity, Cambridge: Harvard Law School, Islamic Finance Project. ISBN 0-970-2835-7-1
2010Integrating Islamic Finance into the Mainstream: Regulation, Standardization, and Transparency. Cambridge: Harvard Law School, Islamic Finance Project. ISBN 0-9702835-6-3
2007Islamic Finance: Current Legal and Regulatory Issues. Cambridge: Harvard Law School, Islamic Finance Project. ISBN 0-9702835-5-5
2005Information Sources on Islamic Banking and Economics 1980-90. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-7103-0486-2
1994Islamic Finance at Harvard University. In Belouafi, A., Belabes, A., & Trullols, C. (Eds.), Islamic Finance in Western Higher Education: Developments and Prospects. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. 209-228.
2012Big Data, Islamic Finance, and Sustainable Development Goals. King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics. 33(1). 83-90. DOI:10.4197
2020Publishing Islamic Economics & Finance Research: Polemics, Perceptions and Prospects. International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, 12(3). 346-367.
2019Building Trust in Islamic Finance Products and Services. Society and Business Review, 12(3). 356-372.
2017Moving Towards Community Driven Islamic Finance. Journal of Islamic Business and Management, 7(1). 11-27.
2017Islamic Economics and Finance Education: Consensus on Reform. Journal of Islamic Economics, Banking and Finance, 12(3).75-97.
2016The Significance of Faith-based Ethical Principles in Responding to the Recurring Financial Crises. Journal of Islamic Banking and Finance, 33(4). 24-35.
2016Financing Sovereign Developmental Activities Through Non-Interest Bearing Instruments. Journal of Islamic Finance, 5(1). 26-44.
2016Post-9/11 Perceptions of Islamic Finance. International Research Journal of Finance and Economics, 39. 27-39.
2010Islamic Finance: The New Global Player. Harvard Business Review. 43.
2008Islamic Finance and Economics as Reflected in Research and Publications. Review of Islamic Economics, 12(1). 151-168.
2008A Roadmap for Making Islamic Finance Sources More Accessible: The Role of Secondary Services in the Dissemination of Research. In Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Islamic Economics and Finance Conference Papers. Jeddah: King Abdulaziz University. 225-34.
2008