Prof. Dr. Azyumardi AZRA, M.A. was born on 4 March 1955. He is a professor of history at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN), and served as Director of the UIN Jakarta Graduate School from January 2007 to April 2015.
He also served as Deputy for People’s Welfare at the Secretariat of the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia (April 2007–20 October 2009). Prior to that, he was Rector of IAIN/UIN Syarif Hidayatullah for two terms (IAIN, 1998–2002, and UIN, 2002–2006).
Azyumardi obtained an MA (Middle Eastern Studies), an MPhil and a PhD (History/Comparative History of Muslim Societies) from Columbia University, New York (1992) with distinction. In May 2005, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in the humanities from Carroll College, Montana, USA. He was also an honorary professor at the University of Melbourne (2006–2009).
Furthermore, Azyumardi served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan (2005–12); and on the Academic Committee of the Institute for Muslim Society and Culture (IMSC), International Aga Khan University (London, 2005–2010).
In the field of science and research, he has been a member of AIPI since 2005 and a member of the National Research Council (2005–2009). He is also a member of the Southeast Asian Regional Exchange Programme (SEASREP, Tokyo, 1999–2001), the Asian Research Foundation-Asian Muslim Action Network (ARF-AMAN, Bangkok, 2004–present), The Habibie Centre Scholarship (2005–present), the Ford Foundation International Fellowship Programme (IFP-IIEF, 2006–12), the Asian Scholarship Foundation (ASF, Bangkok, 2006–10), the Asian Public Intellectual (API), the Nippon Foundation (Tokyo, 2007–2014), a member of the Selection Committee for the AMINEF-Fulbright Senior Fellow Programme (2008), and President of the International Association of Historians of Asia (IAHA, 2010–12).
In addition, he is a member of the Founding Board of the Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia (2004–present), the Advisory Board of the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF, New York, 2006–08), International IDEA (Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance), the Institute of Global Ethics and Religion, USA (2004–present), LibforAll, USA (2006–present), the Centre for the Study of Contemporary Islam (CSCI, University of Melbourne, 2005–07), the Tripartite Forum for Inter-Faith Cooperation (New York, 2006–present), and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the West-Islam Dialogue (Davos, 2008–present).
Azyumardi is the editor-in-chief of Studia Islamika: Indonesian Journal for Islamic Studies (Jakarta, 1994–present), the Journal of Qur’anic Studies (SOAS, University of London, 2006–present), the Journal of Usuluddin (University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 2006–present), Jurnal Sejarah (University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 2005–present), The Australian Journal of Asian Law (Sydney, Australia, 2008–present), IAIS Journal of Civilisation Studies (International Institute of Advanced Studies, Kuala Lumpur, 2008–present), Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (JRAS, London, 2009–present), Journal of Islamic Studies (Islamic Research Institute, Islamabad, 2010–present), Jurnal Akademika (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 2010–present), and Journal of Islamic Studies (Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, 2013–2016).
Azyumardi has written more than 36 books, including *Indonesia, Islam and Democracy: Dynamics in a Global Context* (Jakarta & Singapore: TAF, ICIP, Equinox-Solstice, 2006), Islam in the Indonesian World: An Account of Institutional Development (Mizan International: 2007), Islam Beyond Conflict: Indonesian Islam and Western Political Theory (London: Ashgate: 2008), Varieties of Religious Authority: Changes and Challenges in 20th Century Indonesian Islam (Singapore: ISEAS, 2010),
Indonesia in the Flow of History: Volume III, The Arrival and Civilisation of Islam, Jakarta: Ministry of Education and Culture & Ichtiar Baru-Van Hoeve, 2012, and contributing editor, History of Indonesian Islamic Culture, Jakarta: Ministry of Education and Culture, Volume III, 2015.
In 2005, he received The Asia Foundation Award to mark the organisation’s 50th anniversary, in recognition of his significant role in the modernisation of Islamic education. On 15 August 2005, to mark Indonesia’s Independence Day, he was awarded the Bintang Mahaputra Utama of the Republic of Indonesia for his contribution to the development of moderate Islam.
In September 2010, Azyumardi was awarded the title of CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom for his services to interfaith relations and civilisation. Then, on 28 August 2014, he received the ‘MIPI Award’ from the Indonesian Society of Government Studies (MIPI).
On 4 August 2014, he was awarded a ‘Commendation’ by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs for his services in strengthening mutual understanding between Japan and Indonesia. On 18 September 2014, he was selected as one of three recipients of Japan’s prestigious 2014 Fukuoka Prize for his significant services and contributions to enhancing the international community’s understanding of Asian culture.
Then, on 25 June 2015, he received the ‘Dedicated Scholar’ award from the Kompas daily newspaper. On 20 August 2015, he was selected to deliver the ‘LIPI Sarwono Memorial Lecture’ to mark LIPI’s 48th anniversary, and on 21 August 2015, he was selected to receive the ‘Achmad Bakrie Award’ in the field of Social Thought.
In 2022, Azyumardi Azra was elected Chairman of the Indonesian Press Council. Azyumardi passed away in Malaysia on 18 September 2022, whilst attending the “Cosmopolitan Islam” International Conference in Kajang, Malaysia, where he was due to speak. Azyumardi had been a member of the AIPI Culture Commission since 2004.