Durham Global Research Group (DGRG)

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Professor Habib Ahmed holds the Sharjah Chair in Islamic Law and Finance at Durham University Business School, where he has taught since 2008. Before Durham, he held positions at the National Commercial Bank and the Islamic Development Bank Group's Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) in Saudi Arabia, and taught at the University of Connecticut, the National University of Singapore, and the University of Bahrain. His research spans Islamic banking and finance, Islamic commercial law, product development in Islamic finance, zakat and waqf, and inclusive finance. He has authored or edited more than 100 books, monographs, and journal articles, and has advised international organisations on Islamic finance policy and regulation. In 2022 he was awarded the First Prize IsDB Award for Impactful Achievement in Islamic Economics. His work has drawn over 8,200 citations on Google Scholar (h-index 38), led by widely cited studies on risk management in the Islamic financial industry, the role of zakat and awqaf in poverty alleviation, and Islamic microfinance.

Professor Mehmet Asutay is Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Political Economy & Finance at Durham University Business School, where he directs the Durham Centre in Islamic Economics and Finance and leads its Islamic finance master's programmes. He holds a BA and MSc in Public Finance from Istanbul University, a Postgraduate Diploma in Economic and Social Policy Analysis from the University of York, and an MA and PhD in Political Economy from the University of Leicester. His research centres on Islamic moral economy, Islamic political economy, Islamic banking and finance, and Islamic governance and management. He is Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Islamic Society and of the Review of Islamic Economics. On Google Scholar his work has drawn over 7,700 citations (h-index 40). His most-cited paper, on corporate social responsibility disclosure and financial performance in GCC Islamic banks, has been cited more than 1,100 times, alongside influential work on the "social failure" of Islamic finance and Maqasid al-Shari'ah performance indices for Islamic banks.

Dr Banjaran Surya Indrastomo is Chief Economist of PT Bank Syariah Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, a role he has held since March 2021, leading the bank's strategic economic research and policy analysis. He holds a PhD in Islamic Economics and a Master's in Islamic Finance from Durham University, and a Bachelor's degree in Finance from the Australian National University. Alongside his role at PT Bank Syariah Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, he is a lecturer and senior researcher in the Islamic Economics programme at the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Indonesia, where he previously headed the Islamic Digital Economy Research Cluster. He is Vice Chair of the Islamic Economy Board at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), sits on the editorial board of the Turkish Journal of Islamic Economics, and is a Research Fellow at FSCIRE, working on projects with the Bank of Italy. His research covers Islamic economics, Islamic finance, and the digital Islamic economy, including published work on digital payments and banking stability in dual banking systems, and on how religiosity shapes investor behaviour in Islamic stock markets.

Dr Ikram Nur Muharam is Head of Macroeconomic and Financial Research at PT Bank Syariah Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, where he leads the bank's macroeconomic and financial-markets research function. He also serves on the Islamic Economy Board at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), within its Islamic Finance Development arm. He holds a PhD from the University of Surrey's School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, where his doctoral research — supervised by Professor Iis Tussyadiah and Dr Albert Kimbu — examined the acceptance and design of blockchain-based sharing economy platforms. He also holds master's degrees in tourism and in finance, and brings over a decade of industry experience spanning IT consulting, event organisation, and banking. His published research includes work on user acceptance of blockchain-based peer-to-peer accommodation, the decentralisation of platforms such as Airbnb, and online disclosure practices of halal-friendly hotels (co-authored with Professor Mehmet Asutay). His work bridges macroeconomic and financial research with digital transformation, blockchain and fintech, and Muslim-friendly, Shariah-aligned tourism and consumer behaviour.