Professor Dr. Mohammad Masum Billah, a Bangladeshi-born international economist and scholar of Islamic finance and investment, has received the Leader of the Islamic Economy Award 2026 for his renowned scientific works in research, academia, professional education, leadership and advancing Islamic finance worldwide.

The Leaders of Islamic Economy Award 2026, was presented on 25th September at the main block of the Parliament of Malaysia in conjunction of the World Islamic Economy Week 2026.

Billah is Senior Professor of Finance & investment at the King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia. His academic and corporate career spans more than two decades in different parts of the world, which includes academia, applied and strategic research, corporate leadership, global trade & investment cooperation, and strategic advices to Corporate and Government sectors.

His areas of specialization include finance, investment, digital transformation, industrialization, energy-power and foreign investment cooperation model structure.

His research has also explored the intersection of finance and financial technology, including emerging development in halal cryptocurrency and crypto-asset.

Billah has authored more than 64 books and published over 200 research papers and scholarly articles, according to biographical information provided about his academic career.

His publications covers applied Islamic finance and investment and their technical structures appreciable to the contemporary global financial system.

Beyond academia, he has been involved in corporate leadership in management and strategies in different parts of the world.
The Leader of the Islamic Economy Award 2026 adds to a career that has included scientific and corporate engagement with financial institutions and corporate organizations as well as governments across the Asia-Pacific, Arab regions, Europe and Africa.

The recognition also brings international attention to the career of a scholar of Bangladeshi origin who has established himself in the field of Islamic economics and finance through academic and corporate contributions as well as governmental corporate strategis in the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Europe and other international markets.