Azyumardi Azra

Professor Azyumardi Azra "is one of Southeast Asia’s most prominent liberal Muslim intellectuals. He is Rector and Professor of History at the Univeritas Islam Negeri (UIN), Jakarta Indonesia. In 1982, Professor Azra graduated from the Faculty of Tarbiyah (Islamic Education) at the Jakarta IAIN (now UIN). He was appointed Lecturer there in 1985 and in the following year was selected for a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue advanced studies at Columbia University, New York City. He graduated with an MA from the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures in 1988. Winning a Columbia President Fellowship, he moved to the Department of History, Columbia University where he undertook further studies; MA (1989), MPhil (1990) and PhD (1992). He was also Vice Director of the Centre for the Study of Islam and Society (Censis) of the IAIN/UIN Jakarta before his appointment as Vice Rector for Academic Affairs. Professor Azra has been a visiting fellow of Southeast Asian Studies at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, Oxford University; a Visiting Professor at the University of Philippines, Diliman and the Universiti Malaya; a Distinguished International Visiting Professor at the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, New York University; member of Board of Trustees, International Islamic University Islamabad (2004-9); editor-in-chief, Studia Islamika, Indonesian Journal for Islamic Studies (1993-now); member of editorial board Journals Ushuluddin (University Malaya); Quranic Studies (SOAS London). He has presented numerous papers at international conferences and has lectured at such universities as Columbia, Harvard, ANU, Kyoto, Leiden, and many others. He has published 18 books. The latest is The Origins of Islamic Reformism in Southeast Asia (Crows Nest, NSW, Allen&Unwin-AAAS, 2004; University of Hawaii Press; 2004; Leiden: KITLV Press, 2004)."

• United Nations Democracy Fund
• International Board of Consultants, Global Ethics and Religion Forum