11. Bodies of Evidence and Why Thanxgrieving?

Subjugated Voices and Religion - Souad T. Ali

Ibrahim Abdurrahman Farajajé [+-]
Ibrahim Abdurrahman Farajajé was a scholar, activist, queer theologian, artist, and Sufi spiritual leader. He received his bachelor’s degree in religion at Vassar and went on to earn an M.Div. from St. Vladimir’s Eastern Orthodox Seminary in New York. Following this, Farajajé, then known as Elias Farajajé-Jones, earned his doctorate in theology from the University of Bern in Switzerland. Throughout his life, Farajajé was a prominent HIV/AIDS activist. Among his notable work, Farajajé published In Search of Zion: The Spiritual Significance of Africa in Black Religious Movements in 1990. He taught for ten years at Howard University School of Divinity and then joined the Starr King School for the Ministry where he remained for twenty-one years. He was fondly known as “Ibrahim Baba” and was the provost and a professor cultural and Islamic Studies when he passed away in 2016.

Description

The late Ibrahim Abdurrahman Farajajé’s was a guerilla scholar; he viewed social media as a forum for subaltern voices to use to express themselves. His chapter is composed of two pieces: “Bodies of Evidence,” an address for the 1998 AIDS and Religion in America Conference held in Atlanta, and an essay written for social media entitled “Why Thanxgrieving?” In the first, Farajajé introduces the terms HIV the@logies, innovative theologies derived from experiences and movements that seek to address and serve those with HIV in ways that traditional theology has fallen short, and HIV-in-intersection, which encourages people to acknowledge the intersecting issues and oppressions that are part of the HIV/AIDS crisis in an effort to liberate the self. The second piece, “Why Thanxgrieving?,” dedicated to the late Jon Paul Hammond, shares the origin story of a yearly celebration within Farajajé’s circle meant to take the place of traditional Thanksgiving and the historical baggage that accompanies that holiday. These writings continue Farajajé’s legacy of love, solidarity, and resistance.

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Citation

Farajajé, Ibrahim Abdurrahman . 11. Bodies of Evidence and Why Thanxgrieving?. Subjugated Voices and Religion. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. Aug 2025. ISBN 9781800506725. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=46630. Date accessed: 21 Nov 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.46630. Aug 2025

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