Osman Bakar عثمان بكر

Dr. Osman Bakar hafidhahullah is a Malaysian scholar, teacher, and author whose work is known across the Islamic world and among Western scholars of Islam. Born in Temerloh in the state of Pahang, Malaysia, he completed his undergraduate degree with honors and an M.Sc. in Mathematics specializing in Algebra at London University. In 1981 he entered Temple University, where he completed an M.A. in Comparative Religion and a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Science and Islamic Philosophy. He served as Deputy Vice Chancellor and Vice President of Academics at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, where he was also the first holder of the Chair of the Philosophy of Science, a position he occupied until 2001. He is one of the founding members of the Islamic Academy of Science of Malaysia and has served as its President. His research interests include Southeast Asian Islam (particularly Malaysian and Indonesian Islam), contemporary Islamic thought, and the relationship between religion and science in both classical and contemporary Islamic contexts. His major works include The History and Philosophy of Islamic Science and Classification of Knowledge in Islam.