IANA Financial

Our History

Iana Educational Lending is an interest-free lending program inspired by a good deed: a few people in the Edmonton community gave some money to help a sister who was struggling with her student debt.  But they did not want that money back!  Once her loan was paid back, that money was to go to help someone else. From this spirit of help, Iana Educational Lending was born.

Our Team

Tarick Fadel, Applications & Evaluations

Tarick was born and raised in London Ontario where he studied at the University of Western Ontario and attained an honors degree in Actuarial Science and Statistics. Upon graduating from Western, he was also awarded a diploma in Operational Research from the Canadian Operations Research Society. Once in Edmonton, Tarick began working with Statistics Canada and eventually found a permanent home with a large not-for-profit organization.

Faraz Ahmed, Marketing & Fundraising

Sharafe Elladen, Coordinator

Sharafe is currently a Project Manager in the construction industry, having received his Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is pursuing a
Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree through the University of Alberta.  Sharafe has been President of the Muslim Students’ Association at the University of Alberta and is commonly asked to translate Arabic lectures at the Mosque.  In his spare time, Sharafe is an avid reader who enjoys swimming, hockey, and tennis.

Who Else is Involved?

Rabia Sheikh: University of Lethbridge Bachelor in Management. She has been involved with various non profit organizations such as the Alberta Diabetes Foundation, EMAAN, Toastmasters and the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights.

Mohammed Assaf: University of Alberta B.Sc Specialization Degree in Economics and Mathematics, in 2008 Mohammed obtained the Certified Credit Professional designation from the Credit Institute of Canada; currently National Director of Credit for a multi-billion dollar Canadian public company overseeing a credit team of 65 staff.

Iana has enjoyed the support of many others the likes of: Mohammed Rauf, Rema Darwiche, Abdallah Fares, and Murtada Shah.

Advisory Board

Dr.Monzer Kahf

Dr. Monzer Kahf has more than thirty years experience in Islamic finance, banking and economics. He is one of the principal pioneers of structuring Islamic financial products, currently a Consultant, Trainer, Lecturer. He served as a Professor of Islamic Economics and Banking in the graduate program of Islamic economics and banking, Yarmouk University, Jordan, a Senior Research Economist, for fifteen years, and Head of the Research Division at the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He provides expert opinions to courts and on the internet. His experience also includes directing scores of training seminars on Islamic finance and banking, presenting more than 75 papers in conference and seminars and organizing scores of courses, conferences and seminars on the same in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa and South and South East Asia. Prof. Kahf is continuously active in writing, with more than 27 books and more than 60 articles published in professional journals. He has a Ph. D. in Economics from the University of Utah (1975), a B A in Business and a strong training in Islamic Law (Shari’ah). He is the Laureate of IDB Prize in Islamic Economics, 2000.

Sheikh Tamir Ali

Imam Tamir Ali was born in Egypt and received his B.A. in Islamic Studies from Al Azhar University in Egypt.  He is an Imam at the Canadian Islamic Centre in addition to being a religious Instructor at the Edmonton Islamic Academy.

Sheikh Maher Abbas

Imam Maher received his Introductory Masters Degree and Bachelors Degree in Arabic Language and Islamic Sciences from the Faculty of Dar Al-Ulum at the University of Cairo in 1982/1983. Currently, he is the Imam of Al-Rashid Mosque and the Director of the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies. Also, Imam Maher is involved in public speaking, workshops, educational courses, Quranic memorization training and Islamic studies research.

 

How Can I Help?

There are many ways you can help out, here are some:

• Pray - ask Allah (God) to bless this initiative.

• Donate - give Allah a loan, He will pay you back in ways you can’t imagine.

• Volunteer - want to help out?  Contact us and let’s put your skills to use!

• Advise - have an idea?  Feedback?  We won’t know if you don’t tell us!

• Encourage others to support Iana Financial, refer them to our site.