Azyumardi Azra

Professor of history and Director of Graduate School, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, Jakarta, Indonesia. Prof. Azra was rector of this university for two terms (1998-2002 and 2002-2006); and was also Deputy for Social Walfare at the Secretariat of Vice-President of Republic of Indonesia (2007-2009). He earned his MA in Middle Eastern Studies, MPhil and Ph.D. degrees in history all from Columbia University (1992) with the dissertation “The Transmission of Islamic Reformism to Indonesia: Networks of Middle Eastern and Malay-Indonesian `Ulama’ in the 17th and 18th Centuries”. In May 2005 he was awarded Doctoral Degree Honoris Causa in Humane Letters from Carroll College, Montana, USA. He is also a Honorary Professorial Fellow, University of Melbourne, Australia (2004-9); and a member of Board of Trustees, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan (2004-9); and a member of Academic Development Committee, Aga Khan International University-Institute for the Study of Muslimin Civilisations (AKU-ISMC), London (2006-2008). He is also a life-time member of Indonesian Academy of Sciencies (AIPI), and a member of Indonesian National Research Council (DRN). He has been involved as a member of selection committees for research awards, such as SEASREP (Southeast Asia Studies Research Exchange Program (The Nippon Foundation & The Asia Center, Tokyo, 1998-on).He is also a member of Advisory/Management Board of Asian Research Foundation (ARF), Bangkok (2005-on); Asian Scholarship Foundation (ASF), Bangkok (2007-on); Asian Public Intellectual Fellowship Program, The Nippon Foundation, Tokyo (2007-on); Indonesia International Education Foundation (IIEF, Jakarta 2007-on). In addition, he is a member of advisory board of a number of international institutions such as the Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia (2004-on); Multi-Faith Centre (MFC), Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia (2005-on); the US Institute of Global Ethics and Religion (2004-on); Center for the Study of Contemporary Islam (CSCI), University of Melbourne, Melbourne (2005-2009); the UN Democracy Fund/UNDEF, New York (2006-2008); LibforAll (2006-on). He is also member of the Tripartite Forum [governments, UN offices and Civil Society organizations] for Interfaith Cooperation for Peace, Development and Human Dignity, launched at the UN in New York on March 24, 2006; International IDEA (Institute for Democracy an Electoral Assistance, Stockholm 2007-on); member of Council on Faith, World Economic Forum, Davos (2008-on); and chief of Indonesian members of United Kingdom-Indonesia Muslim Advisory Council, formed at the end of 2006 by British PM Tony Blair and Indonesian Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. He was also among one of five Indonesian Civil Society leaders to meet US President George W Bush (October 2003) in Bali. He was also invited to see other US dignitaries (State Secretaries) such as Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice and Hilary Clinton; Australian Prime Ministers John Howard and Kevin Rudd; and other dignitiaries such as Prince Charles; Netherlands Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende; New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and many others. In addition, he is editor-in-chief, Studia Islamika: Indonesian Journal for Islamic Studies (1994-now); advisory board of Journal of Qur’anic Studies (SOAS, London), Journal of Usuluddin (Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 2005 now); Australian Journal of Asian Law (2008-on); IAIS Journal (Institute for Advanced Islamic Studies, Kuala Lumpur, 2008-on); Jurnal Sejarah (Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 2007-on); Journal of Royal Asiatic Society (JRAS, London 2009-on); Prisma (Jakarta, 2008-on). He has been international visiting fellow at Leiden University; Oxford University, University of Philippines, New York University, Columbia University, University of Melbourne and many others. He regularly presented papers on various topics at national and international conferences. He has published 21 books; numerous chapters in internationally edited books; his English books are The Origins of Islamic Reformism in Southeast Asia (Crows Nest, Australia: Asian Studies Association of Australia and Allen & Unwin; Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press; Leiden: KITLV Press, 2004); Indonesia, Islam and Democracy (Jakarta & Singapore: ICIP & Equinox, 2006); Indonesian Islam: An Account of Institutional Development, (Bandung: Mizan International, 2007); and contributing editor, Beyond Conflict: Indonesian Islam and Western Political Theory (London: Ashgate, 2008); Variety of Religious Authority: Changes and Challenges in 20th Century Indonesian Islam (Singapore: ISEAS, 2010). In conjuction with the commemoration of Indonesian independence (August 17, 1945), on August 15, 2005, he was awarded by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono the ‘Bintang Maha Putra Utama’ [lit, the Star of the Greatest Son of the Soil], the highest star for Indonesia civilian, for his outstanding contribution to development of moderate Islam in the country. Early that year, in conjunction with its 50th year anniversary, The Asia Foundation (TAF) also awarded him for his outstanding contribution to the modernization of Islamic education on Indonesia.