Born in 1934 in The Gambia, Prof. Omar Jah earned a degree in religious studies at Al-Azhar University in 1960, a diploma in French at the French Cultural Center in Cairo in 1965, and a bachelor’s degree in Humanities at Cairo University in 1966 with the second-highest honours. His Eminence also earned a master’s degree in Islamic Thought and Civilization and a doctorate in History, Islamic Thought and Civilization at McGill University in Montreal, Canada in 1970 and 1973, respectively. Prof. Jah has held significant positions in education, administration and diplomacy, including secondary school teacher at Armitage High School in The Gambia (1966-1967), a visiting professor at Hamilton College in New York, USA (1970- 1972), a lecturer at the University of Toronto, Canada (1974), an associate professor at York University, Toronto, Canada (1974), a lecturer at McGill University, Montreal, Canada (1974), a lecturer at Bayero Kano University, Nigeria (1973-1980), an assistant professor at Imam Muhammad University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (1980-1982), Assistant Vice President of the Islamic Development Bank (in the Office of Special Assistance), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (1991-1996), Professor of Islamic Thought and Civilization at the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ASTAC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1997-2005), and Advisor to the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (2005). His Eminence has served on the Boards of Trustees of the International Islamic University in Islamabad, Pakistan, the Islamic Dawah Organization in Sudan, a member of the Organization of the Islamic World Conference in Pakistan, Aal al-Bayt Foundation for Islamic Thought in Jordan, as a former chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Research Center for Islamic History, Arts, and Culture (IRCICA) and chairman of the Sheikh Abdullah Jah Charitable Foundation. His Eminence is currently the head of several institutions and a part-time professor of Islamic philosophy at the University of The Gambia. His Eminence served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of The Gambia to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, Ethiopia and Somalia. He has been awarded the Order of the Republic of Sudan, the King Abdul Aziz Medal and the Order of the State of the Republic of The Gambia, on two occasions. As a member of the Council of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, H.E. Prof. Omar Jah has been representing the Republic of the Gambia since November 19, 1984.