Professor Datuk Dr. Osman Bakar is the Rector of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and the President of the Islam-Confucianism Dialogue Society. A distinguished scholar who earned his doctorate in Islamic philosophy from Temple University, Philadelphia, he also serves as the Holder of the Al-Ghazali Chair of Epistemology and Civilizational Studies and Renewal at ISTAC-IIUM and is an Emeritus Professor in Philosophy of Science at the University of Malaya.   

Throughout his prestigious career, Professor Osman has held several high-level academic leadership positions. He was formerly the Distinguished Professor and Director of the Sultan Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Centre for Islamic Studies (SOASCIS) at Universiti Brunei Darussalam. He also served as the Malaysia Chair of Islam in Southeast Asia at the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, Washington D.C., and was the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic and Research) at the University of Malaya.   

A leading global authority on Islamic science and philosophy, Professor Osman has authored or edited 44 books and numerous articles on Islamic thought and civilization. His seminal works include Classification of Knowledge in Islam (1992) and Tawhid and Science (1992). His most recent publications include Colonialism in the Malay Archipelago: Civilizational Encounters (2020), Environmental Wisdom for Planet Earth: The Islamic Heritage (2022), and Islam-Buddhism Eco Dialogue (IBED): Application of Religion and Science to Ecology and Sustainability (2023).  

In recognition of his intellectual contributions, he has received various honors, including the national Ibn Ishaq Al-Kindi Intellectual of the Year Award (2020) and the 13th Farabi International Award on Humanities and Islamic Studies (2022). His writings have been translated into over eight languages, including Arabic, Chinese, and Spanish. Since 2009, he has been consistently named among the 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World.   

Professor Osman is a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (Akademi Sains Malaysia) and a member of the Akademi Profesor Malaysia. He was honored with the title of Dato’ by the Sultan of Pahang in 1994 and the title of Datuk by the King of Malaysia in 2000.