Ibrahim Abdurrahman Farajajé (December 19th 1952 – February 9th 2016) was a scholar, educator, cultural activist and public intellectual who embodied the intersectionality that he taught. Through his presence and his teachings, he fostered the development of hundreds of teachers, artists, activists, spiritual leaders and scholars.
At the core of his teaching and being was always a focus on social and racial justice, educating to counter oppressions and champion inclusivity, and supporting creative expression as a means connecting with one another and breaking down barriers.
He spoke out regularly and often at the forefront on critical issues, including race, gender, sexuality, the environment and injustice, using social media when it was still in its infancy.
A polyglot who mastered over ten languages, he received his doctorate from the University of Berne, Switzerland, in History of Religions, and subsequently worked as a professor for thirty years at Howard University Divinity School and then at the Starr King School for the Ministry, where his courses covered a mind-boggling range of subjects, including, among the many—multi-religiosity; politics of identity; bodies and performances of embodiment/genders/ sexualities/identities; environmental politics and aesthetics within religious contexts; ritual music; critical theory and feminisms; Andalusian studies; Islam and the African diaspora in the Indian Ocean world; history of Sufism in Turkey; Hindu-Muslim relations; histories of Mizrahim, Sefardim, and other Jewish communities; Jewish, Eastern Orthodox and Islamic mysticism; responses to the HIV pandemic; postcolonial/ decolonial/ transmodern theory; and notions of borders, mixities, and fluidities.
At Howard in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Dr. Farajajé was in the vanguard of thought leaders in the development of compassionate approaches that faith communities of color conducted in response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, including . In 2011, Dr. Farajajé accepted an appointment to the editorial board of the Abhishiktananda Desk for Interreligious dialogue(Delhi Brotherhood Society) as editor of the books of Swami Abhishiktananda.
Provost and professor of cultural studies and Islamic studies at Starr King School for the Ministry for over two decades, he led a renowned immersion program in Turkish culture and Sufism, the last one of which was in late 2014, a little more than a year before his untimely passing. He also served on the core doctoral faculty of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA.
In the last years of his life, Ibrahim Baba was a beloved Sufi leader in the Chishty lineage of India. After years of fierce political and cultural activism, he led a more contemplative life, yet during which he continued to connect with people and have a profound impact on them.