Prof Azyumardi Azra Passes Away at 67

Rectorate, UIN News Online – Rector of UIN Jakarta for the period of 1998-2006 Prof. Dr. Azyumardi Azra M.Phil., MA., CBE., passed away at 67  on Sunday (09/18/2022) after previously falling ill while visiting Malaysia. Information on the death of Professor Azra immediately circulated widely among the academic community of UIN Jakarta. Rector of UIN Jakarta Amany Lubis specifically convey the death of Azyumardi Azra. “Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi rojiun. Prof. Dr. Azyumardi Azra has passed away on Sunday, September 18, 2022. May Allah SWT put him in the best place by His side,” said Rector Amany. “To the family of the late Professor Azyumardi Azra, we offer our deepest condolences. May Allah SWT forgive him for his mistakes, and may he be placed in His heaven. I testify Professor Azra is a very good person, khoir, khoir, khoir wa min ahilil Jannah,” she said. Previously, Professor Azyumardi was declared ill on his flight to Malaysia on Friday, September 16, 2022. His visit to Malaysia to attend an International Islamic Cosmopolitan Conference in Selangor at the invitation of the Malaysian Islamic Youth Force (ABIM). Chair of  University Senate, Dede Rosyada, also expressed his condolences for the death of the late Professor Azra. “Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi rojiun. My deep condolences. May he have a noble place in sight of Allah,” said Dede. Rector Amany added that the death of Professor Azra was a big loss for the academic community of UIN Jakarta. During his tenure as Rector of UIN Jakarta, he led the development of the university with his constructive and dedicated ideas. In addition, she added, Professor Azra is also a wise, trustworthy, and always prioritizes scientific progress. “He also provides a positive example for academics to hold fast to rationality in a strong spiritual nuance,” she added. Throughout his life, explained Rector Amany, Professor Azra has written many important works. The late Azyumardi Azra also made important changes in encouraging the advancement of the quality of education offered by State Islamic Religious Higher Institution (PTKIN) so that they can be more competitive and provide broad opportunities for graduates of madrasah, Islamic boarding schools, and public schools to achieve their goals. The change is to encourage the transformation of the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic Institute (IAIN) into the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta. During his tenure as Rector, IAIN Jakarta succeeded in transforming its status to UIN Jakarta with the issuance of Presidential Decree No. 031 Dated May 20, 2022. This puts UIN Jakarta as the first PTKIN with the status of UIN in Indonesia. Through this transformation, UIN Jakarta can further develop many faculties and study programs based on the integration of knowledge. This is marked by the presence of faculties in the UIN era such as the Faculty of Psychology, Faculty of Economics and Business, Faculty of Science and Technology, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, and Faculty of Medicine. In addition, UIN Jakarta continues to strengthen Islamic-based faculties and study programs in the era of IAIN Jakarta. Among them, the Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teacher Training, the Faculty of Adab and Humanities, the Faculty of Ushuluddin, Da'wah and Communication Science, and the Faculty of Dirasat Islamiyah. Not only encouraging the development of UIN Jakarta itself, this transformation eventually inspired a number of other PTKIN to change from STAIN or IAIN to UIN. Until now, there are 29 PTKIN with UIN status with the addition of five UIN in 2022, namely UIN Mahmud Yunus Batusangkar, UIN Sjech M. Djamil Djambek Bukittinggi, UIN K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan, UIN Sheikh Ali Hasan Ahmad Addary Padangsidimpuan, and UIN Salatiga. Meanwhile, as an academic, Professor Azyumardi Azra is one of the Professors of Islamic History at UIN Jakarta. In addition to teaching at the Faculty of Adab and Humanities, he also teaches and guides doctoral students at the Doctoral Program in Islamic Studies, Graduate School (SPs) of UIN Jakarta. In addition, he is also been a guest lecturer at a number of world universities such as the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies, Oxford University, England, including being a visiting professor at the University of the Philippines and the University of Malaya, Malaysia. As a professor of history, his expertise in the field of Islamic history has placed him as a very influential expert on Islamic history in the Southeast Asia. Throughout his life, Professor Azra is also known as a productive person despite being busy with his various teaching activities. He has published dozens of articles and books published in various leading journals and publishers at home and abroad. In addition, his analysis and sharp critical views on various contemporary social issues are regularly published in various national mass media. For his outstanding academic and social work, Professor Azra received many awards from various domestic and foreign institutions. Among them, the award for Most Prolific Writer from Mizan Publisher (2002), Sarwono Prawirohardjo Memorial Lecture from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (2017), Order of Rising Sun: Gold and Silver Star from the Emperor of Japan (2017), and most importantly the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire(CBE) of the United Kingdom (2010). (UIN Jakarta’s PR Office/zm/usa)