Validated Programmes
Born in 1946, Dr Muhammad Manazir Ahsan began his education with traditional Islamic schooling, which he successfully completed in 1964, attaining Mumtaz al-Muhaddithin, the highest academic degree in Islamic theological learning in Bangladesh. Dr Ahsan then moved to the UK and completed his PhD in Middle Eastern History from SOAS, University of London in 1972.
Dr Zahid Parvez is the Principal of the Markfield Institute of Higher Education and Head of Quality. Prior to joining the Institute, Dr Parvez was a Senior Lecturer in Information Management at the University of Wolverhampton Business School for 20 years. He also served as an external examiner at University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Hertfordshire University and also Staffordshire University (for Oman delivery).
Dr Ataullah Siddiqui is a Professor in Religious Pluralism and Inter-Faith Relations at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education where he was also the Principal of the Institute from 2001 to 2008. He is a Visiting Professor at the University of Gloucestershire and a Visiting Fellow at York St. John’s University. He was founder President and Vice Chair of the ‘Christian Muslim Forum’in England, and a founder member of the Leicester Council of Faiths.
Alija Avdukic holds a PhD in Islamic Economics and Finance (2016) from Durham University. He also completed his MA in Islamic Banking, Finance and Management (2010) from Gloucestershire University. He became an associate fellow of the Higher Education Academy in (2015). Before that, he also completed his BA (2003) and PGDip (2007) from Al-Azhar University, Cairo.
Emir joined Markfield Institute of Higher Education in February 2016. He studied BA in Islamic Studies from the European Institute of Human Sciences, followed by Masters in Islamic Banking Finance and Management from The University of Gloucestershire. He completed his PhD in Islamic Finance from the University of Bolton. Emir’s research interests centre on the intangible asset of the Islamic financial institutions and exploring the ways in which it can be effectively managed and measured.
Shaikh obtained his BA (Honours) in Islamic Studies, LLB, Diploma in Advanced Labour Law and Diploma in Advanced Banking Law from the University of Johannesburg (ex Rand Afrikaans University). He also has an MA in Islamic Management, Finance and Banking from Loughborough University and a Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education from IFS University College. He graduated as an Alim Fadil through the Darse Nizami system from Madrassah Arabia Islamia (South Africa).
Usaama al-Azami read his BA in Arabic and Islamic Studies at Oxford University, and his MA and PhD in Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. He came to Islamic studies after a gap year studying Arabic and Islamic studies convinced him to turn down an offer to study medicine at Imperial College London. During his undergraduate career, he also pursued Islamic studies in seminarial contexts alongside his academic studies, covering much of what would be studied in the advanced years of an Indian madrasa curriculum.
