Zeenut Ziad is a mathematician and economist trained at the London School of Economics, and a specialist in Mughal history. Remarkably, she has built two distinguished careers. In her first, she taught economics at the University of Karachi, became the first woman executive in Pakistani banking, and served as a consultant for the World Bank. Her passion for South Asian history, particularly the Mughal era, inspired a second path: she organised a landmark lecture series on the Mughals at the Smithsonian Institution, which led to her acclaimed book ‘The Magnificent Mughals’ (2003). She later co-edited ‘Tablet & Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East’ (2011) with Dr. Reza Aslan. Ms. Ziad has taught Mughal history at George Mason University and American University in Washington, DC, and lectured widely. She has also been deeply engaged in Muslim advocacy.