Prominent Indonesian Muslim Scholar Azyumardi Azra Passes Away at 67
He had faced a health problem on Friday while visiting Malaysia to attend a conference hosted by the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM).
According to Jakarta Post, he played a leading role in modernizing higher Islamic education in Indonesia and was known across the world for his global influence as a promoter of interfaith dialogue.
Over the years, Azyumardi had gained a reputation not just as a Muslim intellectual championing the idea of moderate Islam but also for his contribution to Indonesian journalism and his incisive views on Islam and democracy.
According to tempo.co, he earned a bachelor's degree from the Tarbiyah Faculty of the State Islamic Institute (IAIN) Jakarta in 1982. He also earned 3 master's degrees from different departments at Columbia University, United States. Azyumardi also received a doctorate from the same campus before finally being appointed as a professor at IAIN Syarif Hidayatullah in 1998.
He worked as a journalist for Panji Masyarakat from 1979 to 1985. Much of his career was spent as a lecturer at the Faculty of Adab, UIN Jakarta. He also briefly served as rector at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, Jakarta.
Azyumardi Azra was then elected as Chairman of the Press Council in the composition of the management for the 2022-2025 period, on Wednesday, 18 May 2022.
Source: Agencies
