Taymullah Abdur-Rahman Biography

Imam Dr. Taymullah Abdur-Rahman is a Black American Muslim educator, interfaith leader, and prison-abolition advocate based in Massachusetts. Born Tyrone Sutton, he had an unusual early life: at twelve he was a member of the R&B group Perfect Gentlemen, which scored a top-ten hit, toured with New Kids on the Block, and appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show. After the group's fame faded he returned to Roxbury, Massachusetts, and embraced Islam in his mid-twenties — a turning point he later credited with anchoring his life and work.

Abdur-Rahman holds a diploma in Islamic Sciences from Al Baseerah International Institute in Saudi Arabia, and licensure in Islamic theology and classical Arabic from a number of teachers including Mufti Yusuf Mullan and Dr. Suheil Laher. He earned a Master's in Global Interreligious Leadership from Andover Newton Theological School and a doctorate in Transformational Leadership from Boston University's School of Theology. He served for a decade as a chaplain in the Massachusetts Department of Correction before becoming the first paid Muslim chaplain at Harvard University from 2015 to 2017, where he also taught Islamic Polity at the Divinity School. He currently serves as a senior educator in Islamic and Interreligious Studies at Hebrew College and faculty at Boston Islamic Seminary.

His 2024 memoir American Imam: From Pop Stardom to Prison Abolition (Broadleaf Books) traces his journey from teen pop star to convert, prison chaplain, and Harvard imam, and weaves the contemporary Black American experience with the history of Black Muslim leadership in the United States. He is the founder of Spentem, a youth-focused prison-abolition initiative, and creator of the American Muslim Daily podcast. He received the St. Elizabeth Episcopal Church's award for Promoting Interfaith Understanding in 2011 and serves on the board of Kids 4 Peace.