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 consultant to COMCEC (part of OIC), CIBAFI and UNDP-IICPSD on various projects, who was also a member of 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.
His profile: https://www.durham.ac.uk/business/our-people/mehmet-asutay/

Erhan Akkas is currently an assistant professor at Sakarya University in Turkey. He graduated from Durham University with a Ph.D. in Islamic economics and finance in 2019, after obtaining his master’s in political economy from the University of Sussex. Akkas was a visiting research fellow at Durham University Business School as well as a lecturer at Agri Ibrahim Cecen University in Turkey between 2020 and 2022. An associate professorship was granted to him in February 2023 by the Turkish Interuniversity Board (ÜAK). Akkas has written many academic papers, policy briefs, and edited books. Akkas' most recent research focuses on political economy, Islamic economics, Islamic finance, economic develpment, and GCC countries.

Alija Avdukic is currently a Professor in Islamic Economics and Finance at Al- Maktoum College of Higher Education and is the deputy director of Ph.D. & MSc Islamic Finance programs at Business School of the University of Dundee. Alija holds a Ph.D. in Islamic Economics and Finance (2016) from Durham University; and has MA in Islamic Banking, Finance and Management (2010) from Gloucestershire University. Alija completed his BA (2003) and PGDip (2007) from Al-Azhar University, Cairo, and Damascus University, Damascus.
Alija’s research interest in Islamic economics and its various articulations, Islamic moral and political economy, and Islamic finance and banking. Alija teaches and supervises research on Islamic political and moral economy, Islamic banking, finance, and the political economy of development in the Muslim world. Alija’s recent research includes the construction of Islamic moral economy and Islamic political economy, both of which is considered as an incomplete project since the early 1970s. Secondly, Alija develops the discourse around the ‘social and developmental failure’ of Islamic banking and finance in relation to the expressed ideals of Islamic moral economy by essentializing sharing and collaborative economy nature of Islamic finance. Alija is also involved in empirical research in various aspects and dynamism of Islamic banking and finance.

Banjaran Surya Indrastomo is currently a lecturer at Islamic economics program, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia and a member of Board Advisor, Business Risk and Finance Working Group, School of Business and Management, Bandung Institute of Technology in Indonesia. He earned his Ph.D in Islamic economics and finance from Durham University in 2019, after obtaining M.A. in Islamic Finance from Durham University in 2013. Banjaran was an International Fellow at Fondazione per le Scienze Religiose (FSCIRE) in Bologna/Palermo Italy from 2020 to 2021 working on project Teologia, pensiero economico e prassi commerciali: feneratio, ribā e tasso d’interesse fra cristianesimo e islam' (Theology, economic thought and commercial practices: feneratio, ribā and interest rate in Christianity and Islam), co-funded by Banca d’Italia. He has published worked in peer-reviewed Journal, such as Heliyon and Journal of Business Ethics, and has numerous writings both in popular channel and in the form of policy briefs. Beside his academic work, Banjaran is currently involved in shaping Islamic economic and finance industry, acting as Chief Economist of PT. Bank Syariah Indonesia, Tbk, Indonesian largest Islamic/participatory bank and as member of Islamic Economic Board, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Mervan Selçuk graduated from the Business Department of Istanbul University in 2014. He received his MA and Ph.D. degrees from Islamic Economics and Finance Department at Sakarya University in 2016 and 2021, respectively. His doctoral dissertation is about the feasibility of a monetary union in Islamic countries. He was a visiting researcher at Kuwait University between November 2018 - May 2019. Since 2015, Assoc. Prof. Selçuk has been a research assistant at the Research Centre of Islamic Economics and Finance, Sakarya University. His research areas include Islamic economics, monetary unions, and cryptocurrencies.

He was born on 25 May 1983 in Dimetoka, Greece. In 2006, he graduated from Marmara University Faculty of Theology. He completed his postgraduate education at Marmara University in 2014 and received his doctorate degree in Islamic law. He is currently working as an Associate Professor at Sakarya University Faculty of Theology. His research interests include foundation law and history, classical-modern fiqh thought, late Ottoman legal thought and Islamic economics. Purpose in Waqf: A Research in the Framework of Hanafi Waqf Law, 40 Questions on Waqf, and The Literature of Islamic Law Studies in Turkey (1928-2012), as well as published articles and book translations.

İsa Yılmaz holds a bachelor's degree in Economics and Management from Istanbul Bilgi University and participated in the University of London double degree program, receiving academic guidance from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He pursued his master's degree in Islamic Finance at the University of Durham (UK) and completed his Ph.D. in Islamic Finance from the same institution. Currently, he serves as an associate professor in the Economics Department at Istanbul Medeniyet University. He has published several academic papers on economic development, financialization and aspects of political economy in Islamic economics. In a broader context, he explores alternative economic and financial systems that strive to envision authentic models with positive developmental and welfare outcomes for emerging economies. To explore these areas, he engages with the literature on the moral economy, political economy, philosophy of economics, and alternative banking and financial models.

Murat Yaş Marmara Üniversitesi İslam Ekonomisi ve Finansı Enstitüsü'nde Dr. Öğretim Üyesi olarak görev yapmaktadır. Ayrıca Japonya'da Sophia Üniversitesi Asya, Afrika ve Ortadoğu Çalışmaları Enstitüsü'nde Ziyaretçi Araştırmacı olarak bulunmuştur. Yüksek Lisans ve Doktora eğitimini Malezya'da INCEIF Üniversitesi'nde İslami Finans alanında tamamlamış ve lisans derecesini Ekonomi alanında Boğaziçi Üniversitesi'nden almıştır. Ayrıca, İngiltere'de Reading Üniversitesi'nde ICMA Centre’da ziyaretçi yüksek lisans öğrencisi olarak bulunmuştur.

Araştırma alanları finansal piyasalar, İslami finans ve Asya çalışmalarıdır.