Dr Osman Bakar, an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Malaya, is currently the Deputy CEO of the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies, Kuala Lumpur. A former Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and Research) at the University of Malaya (1995-2000) and Professor at the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), International Islamic University, Malaysia (2005-2008) Dr Bakar. is also a Senior Fellow at the Prince al-Waleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, Washington DC; Senior Research Fellow at Center for Civilizational Dialogue, University of Malaya; and Visiting Research Fellow at Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan. Formerly the holder of Malaysia Chair of Islam in Southeast Asia at Georgetown University (2000-2005), Dr Bakar was educated in London University where he obtained B.Sc and M.Sc in Mathematics. He earned his doctorate in Islamic philosophy from Temple University, Philadelphia.

A Fullbright Visiting Scholar at Harvard University (1992) he has published 15 books and more than 250 articles on Islamic thought and civilization, particularly Islamic philosophy and science, and on contemporary Islam, inter-religious and inter-civilizational dialogues. The founder of the Center for Civilizational Dialogue at the University of Malaya (1995), Dr Bakar has also served as advisors and consultants to various international academic and professional organizations and institutions, including UNESCO and The Qatar Foundation. He is a member of C-100 (Council of 100 Leaders) of The West-Islamic World Initiative for Dialogue established by the World Economic Forum based in Switzerland. He was awarded with a datoship by the Sultan of Pahang (1994) and another datukship by the Malaysian King (2000).

Dr Bakar’s best known works are Tawhid and Science (A History and Philosophy of Islamic Science), Classification of Knowledge in Islam, and Islam and Civilizational Dialogue. The former book has been published in a number of Muslim languages, including Persian, Turkish, Indonesian, and Albanian. Several of his other writings have also been translated into Spanish, Chinese, Urdu, Arabic, and Bosnian.