You are here: Home » About Us

About Us

Overview

DinarStandard™ is a specialized research, advisory and business media firm empowering Emerging Muslim Markets for growth and global impact.

Since 2005, DinarStandard.com has been a pioneer in business media, analyzing and highlighting the Emerging Muslim Markets globally. Its anchor report, the DS100–Top 100 Businesses of the Muslim World, and other original reports such as Social Responsibility Survey of Islamic Financial Institutions, Leading Brands of the Muslim World, and others are regularly covered by global media such as The Economist, Forbes, Zaman (Turkey,) Malaysian Star and many others.

Editorial Vision

We believe that businesses are a critical force of change for tackling global human development challenges. The Emerging Muslim Market businesses, representing a quarter of the world’s population, have a unique opportunity to play a development leadership role within their own societies as well as the broader global community.

DinarStandard.com business media will strive to provide facts driven, actionable insights, and global best practice resources. It is geared towards business executives, managers, and other decision makers engaged in the Muslim markets.

We will do so by delivering success stories, best practice case studies, expert advise, and benchmarking surveys covering:

Innovation and technology trends
Marketing strategies
Social business models
Macro-environment challenges
Finance strategies
Business ethics and leadership
DinarStandard produced rankings.

Editorial Team

Managing Editor Rafi-uddin Shikoh (USA)	Co-Editor Maria Zain (Malaysia)	Digital-Media Consultant Saad Malik (USA)

Media/ Research contributors:

Zainab Mansoor (UAE)
Sherin Deghedy (UAE)
Mubasshir Ahmed (India)
Yakup Kocaman (Turkey)

Research & Advisory Support:

Reem ElShafaki (USA)
Shahzad Sadozai (USA)

Co-Founder: As of Sep 2009, Sajjad Chowdhry is no longer associated with DinarStandard. As co-founder, and Director of Operations, Mr. Chowdhry played an invaluable role in shaping DinarStandard.

Editorial Advisors

DinarStandard™ is honored to have the following distinguished professionals as members of the Editorial Advisory Panel:

Dr. Shereen ElFeki, Egypt / UK
Former Economist magazine correspondent and Al Jazeera English Host
Dr. Shereen ElFeki is an expert on social change in the Arab World. Her extensive media experience, including correspondence with The Economist and Al Jazeera English makes her an invaluable asset to the fast-paced digital world. Dr ElFeki continues to write for Prospect, International Affairs and Arab Media & Society and is currently a guest editor of Al Raida.

Dr. Rafik Beekun, USA
Professor of Management and Strategy
University of Nevada, Author: Islamic Business Ethics; Leadership: an Islamic Perspective (with Dr. Jamal Badawi)

Mr. Aamir Rehman, UAE
Managing Director at Fajr Capital Limited, UAE. Previously, Global Head of Strategy for HSBC Amanah, as well consultant with the Boston Consulting Group. Author of Gulf Capital & Islamic Finance (McGraw-Hill, 2010), and Dubai & Co. (McGraw-Hill, 2007); MBA – Harvard Business School

Mr. Abdul Hamid Evans, UK/ Malaysia
Managing Director, Imarat Consultants (Leading Halal market consultancy) & Publisher of HalalFocus.com. Previously, Director of Research and a regular contributor at The Halal Journal magazine in Malaysia, and one of the co-Founders of the World Halal Forum in 2006.

Dr. Andreas Schotter, USA
Assistant Professor of Strategic Management, Thunderbird, School of Global Management
Dr. Schotter was recognized as Wall Street Journal – Business Professor of the Year in 2011. As visiting professor at Nordic Network for Climate Adaptation, Mitigation, and Economic Policy (N-CMAEP), Dr. Schotter is able to share his insights on interdisciplinary climate strategy research. Prior to his academic career his experience stems from employment in the automotive, industrial equipment, and consumer goods industries; including an appointment as Asia-Pacific Managing Director of Bitzer International.

Dr. Saiful Azhar Rosly, Malaysia
Head of The International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) – Banking Department. Previously, Professor of Economics at IIUM and Director of Research at Malaysian Institute of Economic Research. Also an independent director for EONCAP Islamic Bank and the Federation of Malaysian Unit Trust Management (FMUTM).

Mr. Monis Rahman, Pakistan
Founder / CEO, Naseeb Networks, Inc
Mr. Monis Rahman founded the first and largest Muslim social networking site, Naseeb Networks in 2002, a media company focusing on consumer internet applications. Naseeb Networks defied the odds of dot com failures, when it reached profitability a month after deploying paid services. Mr. Rahman also runs ROZEE.PK, Pakistan’s leading job-search site and RingPakistan.com, a calling card system between Pakistan and the US.

Ms. Sarah Joseph, UK
CEO and Editor, Emel Magazine
Ms. Sarah Joseph is a writer, activist and broadcaster who has strongly championed interfaith understanding ever since her reversion to Islam. Joseph is the CEO and Editor of emel magazine, the first Muslim Lifestyle Magazine in the UK – a publication that has garnered significant Muslim and non-Muslim interest. emel is now recognised as the forefront of Muslim media.

Mr. Hussein Rifai, Australia
Managing Director, Fund Management, Sharea Compliant FinancePerpetuity Capital
Mr. Hussein Rifai is Managing Director of Sharea Compliant Finance at Perpetuity Capital, a Sydney-based fund management and advisory institution that provides a suite of advisory services. Mr. Rifai’s business exposure covers various sectors, including technology, communications, media and entertainment, financial services, pharmaceutical, medical, and FMCG.

Mr. Arif Zaman, UK
Director, Reputational Risk Strategy, UK; Adviser, Commonwealth Business Council