Azyumardi Azra

Azyumardi Azra was an Indonesian public intellectual, Muslim scholar and Rector of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta. He graduated from Department of History, Columbia University in 1992. He was known as a prolific book writer; member of advisory board of a number of international organizations such as UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF), International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). After serving as Rector at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta, he was the Director of Graduate School. In 2010, he received the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire, an honorary order from the United Kingdom. Azra was born in Padang Pariaman, West Sumatra, on 4 March 1955. He was the third child of six siblings and the first son of Azikar and Ramlah. He showed his interest in Islamic studies since his childhood, when he studied at a traditional Islamic school (pesantren) in his hometown. He later moved to Jakarta and enrolled at the Faculty of Tarbiyah (Islamic Education) at the Jakarta IAIN (now UIN) in 1974. He graduated in 1982 and became a lecturer there in 1985. In 1986, he won a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue his master's degree at the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures, Columbia University, New York. He completed his MA in 1988 and continued his doctoral studies at the Department of History, Columbia University, with a Columbia President Fellowship. He obtained his PhD in 1992 with a dissertation on the origins of Islamic reformism in Southeast Asia. His dissertation was later published as a book by the University of Hawaii Press in 2004³. Azra returned to Indonesia and became a prominent figure in the academic and intellectual circles. He was appointed as the Vice Director of the Centre for the Study of Islam and Society (Censis) of the IAIN UIN Jakarta in 1993 and became the editor in chief of Studia Islamika, an Indonesian journal for Islamic studies. He also served as the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs from 1995 to 1998 and then as the Rector from 1998 to 2006. Under his leadership, the IAIN Jakarta was transformed into the UIN Jakarta, a state Islamic university with broader academic disciplines and programs³. Azra was also active in various national and international organizations and forums. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Islamic University Islamabad from 2004 to 2009, a member of the advisory board of the UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF) from 2006 to 2012, a member of the advisory board of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) from 2007 to 2012, and a member of the board of directors of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) from 2008 to 2012. He was also a visiting fellow or professor at several universities, such as Oxford University, New York University, University of Philippines, and Universiti Malaya³. Azra wrote and published extensively on various topics related to Islamic history, politics, culture, and education. He authored or edited 18 books and more than 100 articles in journals and newspapers. Some of his notable works include Islam Reformis (1999), Islam in the Indonesian World: An Account of Institutional Formation (2006), Indonesia, Islam, and Democracy: Dynamics in a Global Context (2006), and Islam Beyond Conflict: Indonesian Islam and Western Political Theory (2008). He also received several awards and honors for his academic and intellectual contributions, such as the Kawakami Prize in 1995, the Star of Mahaputera in 2005, the Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2010, and the Order of the Rising Sun in 2017³. Azra was married to Ipah Farihah, a lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology, UIN Jakarta. They had four children, two sons and two daughters. He died on 18 September 2022 in Selangor, Malaysia, due to COVID-19 complications. He was 67 years old¹.