Professor Dr. Muhammad Sirajuddin Syamsuddin (Former President of Muhammadiyah)
Widely known as Din Syamsuddin, he is a prominent Islamic scholar and public intellectual best known for serving as Chairman of the Central Board of Muhammadiyah for two consecutive terms, from 2005 to 2015. Throughout his career, he has been widely recognised for promoting interfaith relations, dialogue among civilisations, and religious moderation at both national and international levels. Din Syamsuddin received his early education at Nahdlatul Ulama Islamic schools in Sumbawa before continuing his studies at Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor in East Java. His leadership journey began at a young age when he served as head of the Nahdlatul Ulama Student Association branch in Sumbawa. During his university years, he became actively involved in the Muhammadiyah Student Association (IMM) and later the Muhammadiyah Youth movement, eventually rising to senior leadership positions within Muhammadiyah. As an academician, he earned a bachelor’s degree in Comparative Religion from IAIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta and later pursued postgraduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he obtained both his Master’s and PhD degrees. He also served as Chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) in 2014.