Muhammad Khalid Masud is the former chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology, Government of Pakistan; and former professor at the International Islamic University in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He also served as academic director of the International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World in Leiden, The Netherlands. Dr. Masud has taught Islamic law at various universities in Pakistan, Nigeria, France, Malaysia and The Netherlands, and has published extensively on Islamic law and contemporary issues and trends in Muslim societies. He holds an M.A. in Islamic studies from Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan; and a Ph.D. and M.A. in Islamic studies from the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.