Anissa Jrad is a Project Analyst at the Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE) at the College of Islamic Studies. In this capacity, she oversees the management and development of the center’s website, including content updates, structural optimization, and data migration to enhance accessibility and functionality. She also manages CILE’s social media channels, effectively disseminating the center’s activities and research outputs to a broader audience. Anissa is responsible for organizing academic events, workshops, and conferences at CILE while also supporting research initiatives and publications. Additionally, she manages various administrative tasks to streamline the center’s operations.

Before joining HBKU, Anissa worked at Qatar University and Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, focusing on Arabic corpus annotation and metadiscourse analysis. She also worked at the Linguistic Data Consortium (LDC) at the University of Pennsylvania, where she contributed to research projects in corpus linguistics, Arabic natural language processing (NLP), and computational linguistics. Her expertise includes text analytics, discourse analysis, and the development of annotated datasets.

She has co-authored papers on bias detection, propaganda annotation, and social media discourse analysis. Anissa’s work has contributed to widely used Arabic linguistic datasets and advancements in machine translation and Arabic dialect identification.

Dr. Mohammad Ismail Albakri is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s College of Science and Engineering. Dr. Albakri earned his PhD in Engineering Mechanics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in 2017. Before Joining Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Dr. Albakri held academic positions at Tennessee Technological University and Texas A&M University at Qatar.

Dr. Albakri’s research interests span the areas of smart materials and applied mechanics with a particular emphasis on additive manufacturing and nondestructive evaluation. Dr. Albakri is the founder of the Smart Materials and Structures Research laboratory where his research group combines analytical, numerical, data-driven, and experimental approaches to conduct research at the forefront of functional materials, mechanics, and manufacturing.

Dr. Albakri has authored numerous publications in leading scientific journals and has presented his work at prestigious conferences. He is also the recipient of several research and teaching awards in recognition of his achievements.

Dr. Seda Özalkan is a Research Fellow at the College for Islamic Studies (CIS), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU). She holds a PhD in Philosophy in Civilization Studies from Ibn Haldun University, with a dissertation on Ibn Khaldun’s political and educational theory and its philosophical foundations. She is trained in the philosophy of politics and education as well as in Islamic studies and continues her research at the intersection of these fields.

Mohammed Muslehuddin Musab is a researcher at the College of Islamic Studies (CIS) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU). He is a multi-skilled professional with expertise in scientific research. His professional track record includes professional training, teaching, editing, auditing, translation, and interpretation. He also specializes in Shariah governance and supervision, Islamic jurisprudence, and principles of Islamic jurisprudence, especially in the law of inheritance in Islam.

He has deep interests in artificial intelligence, regulatory technology, and blockchain technology, as well as their practical applications. He applies a rigorous approach to knowledge and methodology. Mohammed is dedicated to bridging gaps between theoretical concepts and real-world implementation and fosters collaboration. His ultimate goal is to enhance community development and scholarly understanding.

Eman Khaled is an Arabic language instructor with extensive experience teaching Arabic to non-native speakers. She holds a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics and is a certified Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) tester by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).

Before joining Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Khaled worked as a lecturer at the Language Center at the University of Jordan, where she taught Arabic to non-native speakers, including diplomats and international students. Khaled has taught at various institutions, including the University of Jordan and Qasid Institute, where she also developed curricula and presented the Qasid Arabic Podcast to support Arabic learners.

She focuses on engaging and practical language instruction. In addition to teaching, Eman has worked as a researcher, editor, and voiceover, contributing educational content to several media and language platforms.

Dr. Umar Farooq is a Research Fellow at the College of Islamic Studies and also a seasoned finance professional with over 15 years of experience across academia and the corporate world in India and the Middle East. He currently manages the research division, overseeing the annual research clusters grant program, policy formulation, and the research reporting and repository administration.

He was an Assistant Professor at Rizvi Institute of Management Studies and Research (RIMSR) in India. He also directed daily operations for the MBA program, collaborating with industry for curriculum development and fostering industry-academia partnerships.

Dr. Farooq was an accredited trainer with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), conducting management and communication skills workshops. He partnered with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) to enhance financial literacy, conducting targeted sessions across Mumbai, India. He also delivered workshops on financial acumen for non-finance professionals to senior executives of a Fortune 500 company in India.

He has worked as an industry analyst at the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) and as a consultant in the economic risk division of Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Financial Services, specializing in economic and policy analysis. He also served as a senior economic research consultant at Deutsches Asienforschungszentrum (DAfz), where he developed an economic model for the Malaysian Palm Oil Council.

Dr. Ruslan Nagayev is an Assistant Professor of Islamic Finance at the College of Islamic Studies. He holds a PhD in Islamic Finance from INCEIF University. His doctoral research earned him the President’s Award. He also has a Master’s degree in Islamic Finance and a BA in Business Administration.

Before academia, Dr. Nagayev worked in the oil industry, rising from a Cost Control Assistant to Chief Internal Auditor at multinational corporations. His experience has informed his research and teaching approach. With over a decade of teaching experience, he has taught over 150 credit hours across undergraduate and graduate courses at various institutions. His dedication earned him the Best Academic Performance Award at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University in 2018, 2019, and 2021.

Dr. Nagayev’s scholarly contributions include 20 articles in reputable journals like Energy Economics, Finance Research Letters, Borsa Istanbul Review, and Research in International Business and Finance. His research interests include Islamic finance, energy economics, capital markets, sustainability, and applied econometrics. He is involved in significant international projects, such as COMCEC initiatives and a project for the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and has provided consultancy services to the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB). He also served as the Vice Editor of the Journal of Islamic Economics and Finance (JIEF).

Dr. Hanan Al-Qudah is an Arabic language instructor at the College of Islamic Studies (CIS), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU). She holds a PhD in Islamic Jurisprudence and its Foundations from the University of Jordan and has published several research papers in this field. She has worked as a part-time lecturer at the University of Jordan and the Islamic College (Islamology) in Vienna, affiliated with Novi Pazar University, Serbia.

Dr. Al-Qudah has extensive experience in teaching Arabic to non-native speakers at all levels and for various purposes, including classical, diplomatic, and media Arabic. She has designed specialized curricula and assessment methods, especially during her tenure at Qasid Institute for Teaching Arabic to Non-Native Speakers.

Dr. Al-Qudah sees herself primarily as a seeker of knowledge and an academic researcher, driven by a passion for learning and serving knowledge. She believes teaching is the best way to transmit scholars’ messages and preserve authentic Islamic heritage, especially by enabling non-Arab students to connect with the heritage through the language of the Qur’an. She views this as a significant responsibility and continually seeks to improve her skills and stay updated with modern teaching methods to fulfill this noble mission.

Dr. Fadi Al Shatnawi is an Advanced Classic Arabic Language Instructor at the College of Islamic Studies. He holds a PhD in Quranic Readings and specializes in the linguistic and interpretative aspects of the Quran. Since 2008, he has been teaching Arabic as a foreign language (TAFL) at the Qasid Institute for Languages, where he has worked with learners of various levels, departments, and backgrounds. In 2023, Dr. Al Shatnawi served as a visiting professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah, USA. He has also designed several Arabic-language curricula, trained fellow instructors, and coordinated numerous academic programs at the Qasid Institute.

Asma Salman is a classical Arabic language instructor at the College of Islamic Studies (CIS) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU). With extensive experience in Arabic language instruction, curriculum design, and content creation, she is dedicated to advancing foreign language teaching methodologies and enhancing academic Arabic proficiency for non-native speakers.

Asma has held multiple academic and professional roles throughout her career. She began as a translator and content editor at a distinguished publishing house in Jordan, where she honed her linguistic and editorial skills. She later served as an Arabic language instructor at Istanbul 29 May University, contributing to Arabic language education in Turkey. Additionally, Asma played a key role at Al Jazeera’s Learning Arabic website, where she worked as an editor, developing engaging and pedagogically sound language content.

Before joining HBKU, Asma was an editor at the Doha Historical Dictionary of Arabic, contributing to one of the most significant linguistic projects dedicated to documenting the evolution of the Arabic language. Her work reflects a deep commitment to Arabic language education, linguistic research, and curriculum innovation.