​Dr. Hamid Slimi

Chairman of the Conference Advisory Committee

​Dr. Hamid Slimi is an Academic scholar, a spiritual leader, a teacher and a Community Developer. He is: the current chairman and senior lecturer of the Canadian Centre for Deen Studies (a Muslim Theological Seminary for educating and training future Imams and chaplains). He is also the Founder and President of Faith of Life Network (A Charitable organization focused on providing spiritual and educational programs as well as bridge building with other faiths for peace building and harmony)  and Board member of different Interfaith and Community bodies/groups, TV Producer of Faith of Life TV Shows, videos and documentaries and CEO of a Management and Marketing Solutions Business in Ontario.
 
In addition to the traditional degrees known as Ijazah, he holds two Masters degrees with High Honors in both disciplines from Morocco and the US and a PhD in Islamic Law from the U.K. He received both his traditional and academic learning in Morocco and attended other renowned institutions and universities in other parts of the world.
 
From 2009 till 2018, Dr. Slimi has been featured by Georgetown University as one of the 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World for his community development and building as well as his spiritual leadership and interfaith work.

Onder Ozturk

​Member of the Conference Advisory Committee

Onder Ozturk is currently a Director, Business Development at Maple Leaf Foods. In this capacity, Mr. Ozturk has responsibility for leading Maple Leaf Foods’ retail selling efforts across a diverse portfolio which includes the development of both the Company’s Branded and Private Label businesses with Canada’s largest Retailer.

Mr. Ozturk has over 20 years of progressive experience in the Canadian consumer packaged goods marketplace working with top tier companies. He has diverse cross-functional experience in Foodservice, Trade Marketing, Optimization and Sales. Mr. Ozturk’s background and career progression reflect his talent and passion for sales, demonstrated leadership skills, fostering strong people relationships coupled with his ability to continuously create shared value for all stakeholders alike.

Sheikh Omar Subedar

​Member of the Conference Advisory Committee

Shaykh Omar Subedar was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. In 1990 he was inspired by a very close friend to memorize the entire Qur’ān. He thus enrolled in the Institute of Islamic Education located in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, U.K. Upon committing the entire Qur’ān to memory in 1993, he decided to further his Islamic education by taking the institutes’ Aalimiyah Program where he was taught the Dars-i Niẓāmī curriculum. The curriculum covered advanced Arabic, Aqīdah, Tafsīr of the Qur’ān, Hadith, Fiqh according to the Hanafi School of Islamic Law and the 10 major recitations of the Qur’ān.
By the grace of Allāh, the Shaykh graduated from the program in 2001 with an average of 93% in his final exams. He was then granted the certificate of Scholar of Islamic Sciences and Arabic Literature from the institute.

​Currently, the Shaykh serves as the Director of the Mathabah Institute, the Chief Operations Officer at the Halal Monitoring Authority, the Founder and President of Bukhari Publications and Bukhari Academy, the Founder of Muslims4Canada and the Khaṭīb at the Islamic Society of Peel. He has authored Plan your Day the Prophet’s Way, Rethink your World, How to Live the Life of the Prophet (peace be upon him), The First Steps in Practising Islam, and The Commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari.

Rehan Khan

​​Member of the Conference Advisory Committee

Mr. Khan has an MBA in Islamic Finance and Banking from the International Islamic University of Malaysia and a CPA from Boston, USA. Since 2006 he has been regularly conducting seminars and certification courses on Islamic Finance especially in the areas of debt & equity-based instruments. He is frequently invited as a speaker at various conferences and by business schools at York University and the University of Toronto. His area of interest lies in training and product structuring especially in the re-engineering of conventional financial products into Shariah-compliant counterparts.
Currently, he works as a Liaison to develop Shariah compliant financial products for Canadian Corporations. He also acts as an advisor to Ontario Credit Unions developing Shariah-compliant financial instruments on both sides of the balance sheet. ​

Faisal Kutty

​​Member of the Conference Advisory Committee

Faisal Kutty is an accomplished lawyer and esteemed law professor who has provided invaluable legal, business, non-profit, strategic, and crisis management advice for nearly thirty years. He has advised corporations, institutions, individuals, and government agencies alike, while also imparting his expertise as a teacher at law schools throughout Canada and the United States. Furthermore, Mr. Kutty is a highly sought-after public speaker, writer, and commentator, and has been prominently featured in numerous prestigious media outlets around the world, including the New York Times, Al Jazeera, BBC, PBS, CBC,and many others. For 14 years running, he has been included in The Muslim 500: The World's Most Influential Muslims. In addition, the editorial board of Canadian Lawyer Magazine has twice nominated him in the Changemaker category for the 25 most influential lawyers in Canada.

Younes Baaja

​​Member of the Conference Advisory Committee

sadas"Younes Baaja is the current Business Director of Halal Montreal Certification Authority (HMCA) in Montreal Quebec. He has traveled to many international Halal seminars, conventions, expos and training events and met with many international Halal certifiers and Halal industry officials in Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Jakarta thru the years. Younes was born and raised in Montreal Canada. He graduated from the University of Quebec in Montreal with a Bachelor degree in communication and Marketing.
Younes speaks fluent French. English and Arabic.He started working for HMCA in 2012 as a Compliance Auditor for the Quebec Province and is now the Business Director."Younes Baaja is the current Business Director of Halal Montreal Certification Authority (HMCA) in Montreal Quebec. He has traveled to many international Halal seminars, conventions, expos and training events and met with many international Halal certifiers and Halal industry officials in Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Jakarta thru the years. Younes was born and raised in Montreal Canada. He graduated from the University of Quebec in Montreal with a Bachelor degree in communication and Marketing.