Mohamed El-Tahir El-Mesawi, citizen of Tunisia, is a professor of Islamic legal theory and Islamic contemporary thought at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). His academic background is in economics and sociology, and he has been engaged for many years in interdisciplinary research, with a particular focus on Maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah, human nature and values, and social theory. He has published extensively, with over 30 journal articles and 14 books in Arabic, English and French to his credit. Moreover, he has delivered a substantial number of conference papers in Malaysia and in other countries. He serves on the editorial and advisory boards of several academic journals. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he currently serves as editor of the International Journal of Muslim World Studies, published by the International Institute for Muslim Unity.