Meet Our Team

Umer Suleman studied Economics at the Royal Holloway University of London, and is further qualified from Manchester Business School aswell as Harvard University. Umer is a regular khateeb in the city and his locality and also delivers lectures across different platforms. Umer started his career as an auditor within the big 4 then moving to a major global finance firm in the city. At both organisations, Umer led the Muslim Networks.Additionally Umer has been actively involved in Islamic Finance for the last decade, working with some of the most notable UK scholars on shariah structuring and process reviews. Umer currently is and Global Head of Risk, Compliance & Shariah for Wahed, he sits on the board of the UKIFC, is an advisor for the finance arm of the Islamic Council of Europe and is co-Founder of the National Waqf Fund. Umer has also been an advisor for a number of other Islamic Fintechs. Umer was recognised for his work in 2016 as "one to watch" in the city of London by Brummel magazine for not only his work in Islamic Finance but also his role as a member of the board for the Cube Network, an umbrella organisation for professional corporate Muslim Networks.

Tahir Talati pursued a journey in Islamic Education from a young age by completing his memorisation of the Holy Quran at the age of 14. Thereafter he enrolled onto a 7 year Alimiyyah programme at Imam Zakariya Academy (IZA) London graduating with an equivalent to Bachelor’s degree.He currently pursues his passion of teaching the Quran and Hadith in the Alimiyyah programme at IZA and is a visiting Khateeb and Imam when he isn’t busy at his day job in accounting.

Wahid Aziz is a qualified financial adviser and a professional engineer. He has over a decade of experience in the technical safety aspects of chemical plants, as well as investment in public equities. He has completed several training and development programmes in Islamic studies, and has been an instructor to date delivering the Sabeel Development Programme. He is also a part-time Khateeb in Southampton.

Aadil completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics at SOAS University of London after which he was awarded a Jameel Scholarship to complete his Masters at Cardiff University’s Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK. Aadil started his career in Tax Advisory with one of the big 4 professional services firms. He then went on to take an in-house role in the tax team of a global pharmaceutical company. Aadil has also completed Alimiyyah studies at Imam Zakariya Academy London following on from which he continues to be involved in teaching Islamic Studies in various different capacities.

Sheikh Dr. Sajid Umar is a qualified Mufti and Judge with expertise in Islamic Finance. Dr. Sajid is the first British, English speaking graduate of the faculty of Shariah and also the first from the Higher Institute of Judiciary at Al-Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh. He is an international lecturer and teacher, well known for sharing Islamic knowledge at every level.

Imam Muhammad Nurullah Shikder is a Barrister-at-law and Imam at Tunbridge Wells Mosque. He received an LLB degree from the London Guildhall University and is pursuing an LLM degree from University College London. He has been involved in advising individuals and businesses on Islamic finance and mortgages and has also delivered speeches at the International Islamic Annual conferences from 1997 to 2001.

Shaykh Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera is a British Muslim scholar educated in both the Islamic and Western traditions. He memorized the Qur’an by heart and graduated from the Darul Uloom seminary Bury, UK, and later earned a specialized license to issue the fatwa (legal responses) at Mazahir ‘Ulum Saharanpur, India. He earned his BA from the University of Johannesburg and completed his MA and Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He holds an honorary fellowship at the Cambridge Muslim College and at The Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, Amman, Jordan. Shaykh Abdur-Rahman has the unique experience of serving as an imam in Muslim communities on both sides of the Atlantic, eight years in Southern California and over five in the great city of London—and his continued work as an international speaker and lecturer enables him to address and offer pertinent advice on current challenges that face Muslims in the West. He is the founder of Whitethread Institute, a post-graduate institute for Islamic scholars. He is an avid traveler and continues to teach hadith and work on scholarly publications through White Thread Press