Guyanese-born Imam Shaykh Safraz Bacchus is a brilliant spiritual leader whose inspiring journey from his homeland began at the tender age of 16 when he said he had the unique blessing of living and studying in North Africa.

Bacchus, who serves on the advisory council of the 106 Precinct and Police Academy Program and currently serves as a member of the clergy advisory council of Queens’ District Attorney Melinda Katz, delivered a moving reflection on July 31 at an Emancipation observance hosted by the Guyana Consulate at Medgar Evers College.

Imam, a distinguished faith leader who has served his New York Community for over ten years, told Caribbean Life that while living and studying in North Africa, Cairo, Egypt, it was a time of growth, learning, and deep reflection.

“During those years, many of my closest companions were from West Africa—Senegal and The Gambia, Mauritania and Mali.”

“Through them, I not only learned about scholarship and culture, but I was introduced to stories that pierced the soul—stories of struggle, survival, and the scars of slavery that have shaped generations, said Bacchus, who in 1993, was granted a full scholarship by the government of Egypt in collaboration with the government of Guyana.

At that young and tender age, he reflected, “I listened to accounts passed down from their fore parents, stories of ancestral pain and unimaginable suffering.” 

“What haunted me most were the tales of families torn apart: how slave masters would beat, abuse, and then separate husbands from their wives, children from their mothers. That trauma, the deliberate shattering of human bonds, left an impression I have never been able to forget.”

Bacchus, who immigrated to the United States in 2013, earned his master’s degree in Islamic Studies and completed four units of clinical pastoral education with Northwell Health. He said he learned of Gorée Island in Senegal and Kunta Kinteh Island in The Gambia—”places etched with the pain of our African brothers and sisters and their ancestors.” 

“Last year, I had the opportunity to visit The Gambia and Senegal. I traveled to West Africa twice. While I took out pictures, I felt conflicted emotionally- should I stand and take a picture- is it appropriate,” he questioned himself. 

However, he went ahead and stood before the dungeons. “I saw the shackles, the chains, the tools of torture on display. I stood at the “Door of No Return,” the final passage through which our brothers and sisters were forced onto slave ships—many to be sold into bondage, others to perish at sea, becoming food for sharks.”

“One thing the tour guide said still echoes in my heart: “The only living witnesses to these horrors are the trees that still stand here today. If they could speak, they would tell us everything that happened.”

“Perhaps, that is what we must become—the voices that speak, so their stories are never forgotten,” expressed Bacchus, a humanitarian and champion of causes in his Queens community.

Through his indelible work, and constant presence at numerous Guyanese events, this young scholar, felt the anguish Africans endured while living and supporting families, whether, distributing food and school supplies, or praying at gatherings, he had a deep connection to the African nations, as seen in his interactions when he returned to the continent in 2024.

“I do not look at people’s color, or race, he said during his reflection. As a son of Guyana, I remember our national motto: One People, One Nation, One Destiny. These words are not just political but a call to empathy, unity, and shared humanity. We must feel each other’s pain, celebrate each other’s triumphs, and commit ourselves to remembering the past, not to dwell in sorrow, but to ensure such atrocities never happen again in this so-called civilized world,” urged Bacchus.

“Let us be the voices the trees never had, said Imam Bacchus, recipient of the Life-Time Achievement Award for his contributions to his community from the Office of the President of the United States in 2002.

His advocacy to end gun violence through faith has earned him the recognition of Speaker of the New York City Council, Adrian Adams. He was also appointed to deliver the invocation for the opening season of the New York State Assembly.

The Guyanese community applauds and thanks Imam Bacchus for his extraordinary commitment to making his community a better place through faith and prayer.