A Shepherd of Souls

Imam Fode Drame

Imam Fode Drame was born in the Senegambian region of West Africa. He descends from the Jakhanke tribe, which is primarily known for producing erudite and distinguished Islamic scholars.

The curriculum vitae of the Jakhanke are of an excellent quality, nurturing children with value placed in learning in their natural environment as early as age six. Many still remain active as scholarly Muslim teachers.

The Jakhanke highly value education and scholarship and are known for their success in all areas of Islamic Education and beyond. You can read more about his family in the book “The Jakhanke Muslim Clerics: A Religious & Historical Study of Islam in Senegambia” by Lamin Sanneh (ISBN 0819174815).

Imam Fode learned the formal recitation and memorization of the Qur’an at a very early age and was fully immersed in all his formal studies of Hadith, Fiqh, Arabic Grammar, Language Acquisition, and Tafseer (Qur’anic Exegesis). Imam Fode’s desire for learning lead him to Senegal to pursue further studies in French. He remained in Senegal as a teacher until he departed to Canada.

Upon moving to Canada, he pursued further education in Montreal, while being the resident Imam of the West Island Islamic center. He studied in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Quebec. As a multilingual speaker, Imam Fode Drame is acquainted with several African and European tongues, Hebrew, as well as with a mastery of Arabic.

He left Montreal in 1999 and subsequently moved to Vancouver. Along with reading and writing at a hectic pace, he currently heads the Zawiyah Foundation, where he gives regular classes on a variety of topics, including Islamic spirituality or Tasawwuf. He has become a lead figure in the community acting as an Imam, scholar, and teacher.

Some of Imam Fode’s writings termed the “Expansions” are due for publication in the next few months. Imam Fode Drame is also quite active in Multifaith work both locally and globally.

May Allah make us benefit from him, Aameen.