Originally from Istanbul, Turkey, Sherif Baba (Shaykh el-Haj el-Fakir er-Rifa'i Mehmet Sherif Catalkaya) was born in 1944. His formal education at the Vefa Imam Hatib and the Fatih Mosque Medrese was traditional Islamic and his first teacher was of the Nakshibendi path.

Sherif Baba taught Koran studies in various mosques in Istanbul and Bursa before he met his true teacher on the path of humanity in Izmir.