Meet the Chaplains

Imam Omer Bajwa

Director of Muslim Life at Yale

Imam Bajwa serves as Director of Muslim Life in the Chaplain’s Office at Yale and is a Lecturer at Yale Divinity School. He has been engaged in religious service, inter-religious engagement and educational outreach since 2000. He earned his Graduate Certificate in Islamic Chaplaincy from Hartford Seminary, has an MA in Near Eastern Studies and an MS in Communication from Cornell University, and a BA from Binghamton University. Imam Bajwa has also studied several classical Islamic sciences with traditional scholars from Pakistan, Turkey and the United States. His interests include Islam in the United States and the intersections of culture, media, politics and spirituality. He regularly lectures about these and other topics around the country. He is a co-editor of the book, “Mantle of Mercy: Islamic Chaplaincy in North America” by Templeton Press. Additionally, Imam Bajwa mentors contemporary Muslims on exploring their intellectual and spiritual lives in today’s world. He loves taking long hikes with his family and friends, and when not working, he can often be found sampling local desserts.

Leenah Safi

Assistant Muslim Chaplain

Chaplain Leenah grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan and graduated from Zaytuna College in Berkeley, CA with a B.A. in Islamic Law and Theology in 2014.  She went on to complete a Master of Divinity degree in Interreligious Engagement and Chaplaincy Studies at Chicago Theological Seminary in 2018.  She has three years’ experience as a frontline college chaplain at the University of Michigan and Wayne State University.  She has also been a community educator and scholar, teaching with a variety of Muslim community organizations on subjects such as purification of the heart, early women in Islam, and convert care.  Chaplain Leenah has since been immersed in teaching and writing in the fields of pastoral care and practical theology as a part of her PhD work at Chicago Theological Seminary.  Her dissertation project is entitled: “Shūrā: A Practice of Relational Care in the Formation of Muslim Selves.”