Professor Osman Bakar is currently Rector and Al-Ghazali Chair of Epistemology and Civilizational Studies and Renewal at the International Islamic University Malaysia and Emeritus Professor of Philosophy of Science at the University of Malaya. He is also the President of Islam-Confucianism Dialogue Society. He previously held posts at Universiti Brunei Darussalam and Georgetown University, Washington DC. Dr Bakar is author and editor of 43 books and numerous articles on various aspects of Islamic thought and civilization, especially Islamic science and interreligious and inter-civilizational dialogue. Several of his writings, especially his best-selling work, Classification of Knowledge in Islam, have been translated into a dozen languages. He has served as advisor and consultant to a variety of international academic and professional organisations, including UNESCO, the Qatar Foundation, and The European Science Foundation. He was awarded a Datukship by the Malaysian King in 2000.