Zaineb Istrabadi was a beloved Arabic professor at IU who left her touch on every person she encountered. She made a lasting impact on her family, friends and students. From her first impression, anyone who met Istrabadi never forgot her kind attitude and selfless actions.
Senior Morgan Hoffman said Istrabadi was one of the best people she’d ever met.
“She was so positive, and she brought that into the classroom,” Hoffman said. “She wanted to be friends with her students and really wanted to be there for you as a support.”
Istrabadi lost a 15-year battle with breast cancer Saturday. She was 65.
[Related: IU Arabic professor Zaineb Istrabadi dies at 65]
Her dedication to teaching was evident, and her brother, former United Nations ambassador and current IU professor Feisal Istrabadi, said she instilled a love for the Arabic language in her students. After her initial breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in 2006, she made a point to come back to Bloomington to teach, Feisal Istrabadi said.
Professor Stephen Katz of the Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures Department said he has known Istrabadi since her time as a doctoral student at IU. He said she was a natural teacher and a key member of the Arabic program, and her passing is a significant loss to the department.
“She was in many ways the foundation upon which a lot was built later on with other talented people definitely,” Katz said. “She was one to draw a lot of students into the Arabic language classes.”
Feisal Istrabadi said his sister had a way of connecting with her students unlike anyone he had ever known through her positive and humorous personality.
Students such as senior Alyssa Velez, who only had Istrabadi for a single semester, noted the lasting influence she had on their lives.
“I remember one day she made my class and I, probably around 20 people, individual flash drives for each and every one of us with all of her favorite music so we could learn more about Arabic culture,” Velez said. “I still have mine today, and it’s something I’ll cherish forever.”
Senior Brian Hancock said he admired how giving Istrabadi was.
“I remember she came into class in Arabic 101, and she held up a coupon and asked if anyone wanted it,” Hancock said. “I thought she said a $5 coupon. She gives it to me, and it’s a $50 coupon to the shoe store she went to. I got Chacos with it.”
Local baristas at her frequented coffee shop, Needmore Coffee Roasters, also remember her smiling and gracious attitude. Former employee Harrison Wagner said she was his favorite customer, and she always made his day when she came in for a coffee.
“She would come in most days I would work, and I would go out of my way to make her drink. She was always smiling and happy and thankful,” Wagner said. “She’d always tell me I made the best cortados.”
While she was a dedicated educator, Istrabadi was also active in interfaith dialogue to promote acceptance and conversation across religions, both locally and statewide. Many community members in Bloomington and beyond, across different religions and sects, were rooting for her to overcome her battle with cancer, Feisal Istrabadi said.
“I know in the last weeks of her life the Temple Beth Shalom here in Bloomington were saying prayers for her, which she appreciated very much,” Feisal Istrabadi said. “She was extremely active in interfaith dialogue with Christian communities, with Jewish communities, with Buddhist communities. She was herself a devout Muslim.”
Istrabadi attended IU for both her bachelor's degree in biological sciences in 1976 and her Ph.D. in Near Eastern languages and cultures in 1988. She started teaching at IU in 2001.
Kathryn Bayless, executive director of Campus Recreational Sports at IU, said Istrabadi was incredibly smart and an advocate for being active. Istrabadi was a member of the club sport program and helped other students explore Campus Recreational Sports opportunities, Bayless said.
Along with being an accomplished scholar and educator, Istrabadi was also a published poet, Feisal Istrabadi said.
“She first published poems when we were still living in Iraq,” Feisal Istrabadi said. “She was a true teenager, maybe 13 or 14, when she published her first poem. I don’t think very many people knew that.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified the field Istrabadi's bachelor's degree was in and the year it was awarded.
