Dr. Shakir Ullah's & Dr. Muhammad Kabir Hassan's
Welcome Message
Message from the Conference Chair and Co-Chair
As the Chair and Co-Chair of the conference, we welcome you to the First North American Conference on Islamic Finance (NACIF) on behalf of NACIF’s Organizing and Academic Committees and the Board of Trustees of Guidance College, Texas. The conference theme, Prospects and Opportunities, has been carefully chosen to emphasize the tremendous opportunities for Islamic financial products in the untapped North American market. The United States is home to over five million Muslims, who desperately need reliable Shariah-compliant financial products. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs) that can cater to the financial needs of this growing Muslim population.
Guidance College has served the country's Muslim community by imparting quality religious and Islamic finance education to the community over the past ten years. The College has made notable contributions in teaching, research, and community activism, resulting in substantial social and economic uplift of the community. NACIF is just one more courageous step the College took to provide a platform for scholars, academics, and practitioners to share their knowledge and experience so that the latent opportunities for Islamic financial products and services in the North American market are discussed. Our future vision is to create even greater value in all corners of the Islamic finance community of North America.
This conference will allow us to share our thoughts and exchange ideas on charting our journey forward to reach new heights in promoting Islamic finance education and outreach in the region. The conference will also serve as a networking venue to connect the North American Islamic finance scholars and practitioners community with the rest of the world to gain broader impacts and pave the way for a more developed Islamic finance industry in the region. The hope is also to use this opportunity to celebrate the College’s past accomplishments, renew friendships, extend networks, and jointly explore current and future research directions. We hope you will have a productive and fun‐filled time at this unique conference. We want to thank the sponsoring organizations for their generous financial support. Lastly, we would like to thank all the conference participants for their contributions which are the foundation of this conference.
We are looking forward to meeting you at the conference in October.
Sincerely,
Dr. Shakir Ullah and Dr. Kabir Hassan
Dr. Shakir Ullah:
Conference Chair Associate Professor of Finance at Fayetteville State University North Carolina, United States.
Dr. Muhammad Kabir Hassan:
Conference Co-Chair Professor of Economics University of New Orleans Louisiana, United States.
Guidance College has served the country's Muslim community by imparting quality religious and Islamic finance education to the community over the past ten years. The College has made notable contributions in teaching, research, and community activism, resulting in substantial social and economic uplift of the community. NACIF is just one more courageous step the College took to provide a platform for scholars, academics, and practitioners to share their knowledge and experience so that the latent opportunities for Islamic financial products and services in the North American market are discussed. Our future vision is to create even greater value in all corners of the Islamic finance community of North America.
This conference will allow us to share our thoughts and exchange ideas on charting our journey forward to reach new heights in promoting Islamic finance education and outreach in the region. The conference will also serve as a networking venue to connect the North American Islamic finance scholars and practitioners community with the rest of the world to gain broader impacts and pave the way for a more developed Islamic finance industry in the region. The hope is also to use this opportunity to celebrate the College’s past accomplishments, renew friendships, extend networks, and jointly explore current and future research directions. We hope you will have a productive and fun‐filled time at this unique conference. We want to thank the sponsoring organizations for their generous financial support. Lastly, we would like to thank all the conference participants for their contributions which are the foundation of this conference.
We are looking forward to meeting you at the conference in October.
Sincerely,
Dr. Shakir Ullah and Dr. Kabir Hassan
Dr. Shakir Ullah:
Conference Chair Associate Professor of Finance at Fayetteville State University North Carolina, United States.
Dr. Muhammad Kabir Hassan:
Conference Co-Chair Professor of Economics University of New Orleans Louisiana, United States.