Hamza Yusuf

Hamza Yusuf (born Mark Hanson; 1958)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref> is an American Islamic scholar, neo-traditionalist,<ref name=":02">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref><ref name="Pelgrave MacMillan"/><ref>Multiple sources :

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite news
• Template:Cite news</ref> and co-founder of Zaytuna College.<ref name="Edward E. Curtis p. 405">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He is a proponent of classical learning in Islam and has promoted Islamic sciences and classical teaching methodologies throughout the world.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

He is an advisor to both the Center for Islamic Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and the Islamic Studies programme at Stanford University.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In addition, he serves as vice-president for the Global Center for Guidance and Renewal, which was founded and is currently presided over by Abdallah bin Bayyah.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He also serves as vice-president of the United Arab Emirates-based Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, where bin Bayyah also serves as president.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Forum has attracted huge controversy for its close ties to the UAE government, Yusuf's personal support for authoritarian leaders since the Arab Spring, and Yusuf's support for the Abraham Accords between Israel and the UAE.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref name=":12">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Yusuf has been listed in the top 50 of The 500 Most Influential Muslims publication.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His detractors, however, have widely criticised him for his stance on race, politics, the Syrian revolution, and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.<ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":0">Template:CitationTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref name=":4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":7">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":6">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":10">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Early life and education

Yusuf was born as Mark Hanson in Walla Walla, Washington to two academics working at Whitman College, and was raised in northern California.<ref name="Edward E. Curtis p. 405"/> He grew up as a practicing Irish Catholic Christian and attended prep schools on both the East and West coasts. In 1977, after a near-death experience in a car accident and reading the Qur'an, he converted to Islam.<ref name="Edward E. Curtis p. 405"/><ref name="guardian.co.uk">Template:Cite news</ref> Yusuf has Irish, Scottish and Greek ancestry.<ref name="guardian-2001">Template:Cite news</ref>

After being impressed by a young couple from Saudi Arabia who were followers of Abdalqadir as-Sufi<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>—a Scottish convert to Islam and leader of the Darqawa Sufi order and the Murabitun World Movement—Yusuf moved to Norwich, England to study directly under as-Sufi.<ref name=Grewal>Grewal, Zareena Islam Is a Foreign Country: American Muslims and the Global Crisis of Authority p 160-171</ref><ref>Ukeles, Raquel The Evolving Muslim Community in America: The Impact of 9/11 p 101</ref> In 1979, Yusuf moved to Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates where he spent the next four years studying Sharia sciences at the Islamic Studies Institute of the United Arab Emirates University,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> more often on a one-on-one basis with Islamic scholars.<ref name=Grewal /> Yusuf became fluent in the Arabic language and also learned Qur'anic recitation (tajwid), rhetoric, poetry, law (fiqha) and theology (aqidah) among other classical Islamic disciplines.<ref name=Grewal />

In 1984, Yusuf formally disassociated himself from as-Sufi's teachings and moved in a different intellectual direction, having been influenced by a number of Mauritanian scholars residing in the Emirates. He moved to North Africa in 1984 and studied in Algeria and Morocco, as well as Spain and Mauritania.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In Mauritania he developed his most lasting and powerful relationship with Islamic scholar Sidi Muhammad Ould Fahfu al-Massumi, known as Murabit al-Hajj.<ref name=Grewal />

In 2020, Yusuf completed his Ph.D. at the Graduate Theological Union. His dissertation was titled, "The Normative Islamic Tradition in North and West Africa: A Case Study of Transmission of Authority and Distillation of Knowledge in Ibn Ashir’s Al-Murshid al-Mu’in (The Helpful Guide)." Yusuf previously earned an associate degree in nursing from Imperial Valley College and a bachelor's degree in religious studies from San José State University.<ref name=":11">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Scholarly career

Zaytuna College

He and other colleagues founded the Zaytuna Institute in Berkeley, California, United States, in 1996,<ref name="Edward E. Curtis p. 405"/> dedicated to the revival of traditional study methods and the sciences of Islam.<ref>Daniel Brumberg, Dina Shehata, Conflict, Identity, and Reform in the Muslim World: Challenges for U.S Engagement, p 367</ref> He was joined by Zaid Shakir and Hatem Bazian in establishing what was then Zaytuna Institute. In fall 2010, it opened its doors as Zaytuna College, a four-year Muslim liberal arts college, the first of its kind in the United States.<ref name="Romig">Template:Cite magazine</ref> It incorporates Yusuf's vision of combining the classical liberal arts—based in the trivium and quadrivium—with rigorous training in traditional Islamic disciplines. It aims to "educate and prepare morally committed professional, intellectual, and spiritual leaders".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Zaytuna College became the first accredited Muslim campus in the United States after it received approval from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.<ref name="LATimes">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="ExpressTribune">Template:Cite news</ref> Yusuf stated that "We hope, God willing, that there will be more such Muslim colleges and universities to come".<ref name="LATimes" />

Interfaith

Yusuf participates in the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies hosted by the UAE. He praised the UAE for its increasing tolerance and its adoption of multi-faith initiatives and plans to build a multi-faith centre in Abu Dhabi.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Views and influence

Jordan's Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre currently places him 36th on its list of the top 500 most influential Muslims in the world.<ref name="themuslim500.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In its 2016 edition, Yusuf is described "as one of the foremost authorities on Islam outside of the Muslim world" by The 500 Most Influential Muslims, edited by John Esposito and Ibrahim Kalin.<ref name="themuslim500.com" /> Additionally, Journalist Graeme Wood has referred to Yusuf "one the two most prominent Muslim scholars in the United States today".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Yusuf has taken a stance against religious justifications for terrorist attacks.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He described the 9/11 attacks as "an act of mass murder, pure and simple". Condemning the attacks, he also stated that "Islam was hijacked ... on that plane as an innocent victim."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Yusuf is one of the signatories<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> of A Common Word Between Us and You, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders calling for peace and understanding. Yusuf was also one of the signatories of an open letter to former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi that sought to refute the principles promoted by the terrorist organization.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref>Template:Non-primary source needed

Hamza Yusuf has been involved in controversies in recent years on issues of race, politics, and the Arab revolutions, including as a result of his support for the Abraham Accords and UAE government, and for "positing blame on the Palestinians for their suffering".<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":7" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":6" />

Comments on the Syrian Revolution

In 2019, in reference to Arab Spring protests against Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, Yusuf criticized the Syrian Revolution, stating that "If you humiliate a ruler, God will humiliate you." Although some viewed these comments as supportive of the Syrian regime, this has been rejected by Yusuf, who made a statement of response.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":8">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

2016 Black Lives Matter comments

In December 2016, Yusuf made comments that were perceived as critical of the tactics employed by the Black Lives Matter movement. He argued that, "The United States is probably, in terms of its laws, one of the least racist societies in the world." He also stated that, “We have between 15,000 and 18,000 homicides per year. Fifty percent are black-on-black crime, literally." He added, "There are twice as many whites that have been shot by police, but nobody ever shows those videos.”<ref name=":9">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Yusuf was criticized for these comments, including on social media.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":9" /> Zaid Shakir, co-founder of Zaytuna College, defended Yusuf, writing that "I can say with absolute confidence that there is not a racist bone in Shaykh Hamza’s body. A racist is someone who believes in the superiority of one race over another. Shaykh Hamza, like any serious Muslim, totally rejects that idea."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref>

Publications

Publications and works by Hamza Yusuf

Title	Description	Year	Type
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Co-authored with Zaid Shakir	1999	Books and Pamphlets
Imām al-Zarnūjī, Instruction of the Student: The Method of Learning	Translated by G.E. Von Grunebaum.	2001	Books with a foreword or introduction
Beyond schooling: building communities where learning really matters<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	Also includes essays by John Taylor Gatto, Dorothy L Sayers and Nabila Hanson. Re-edited in 2010 as Educating Your Child in Modern Times: How to Raise an Intelligent, Sovereign & Ethical Human Being.	2003	Books and Pamphlets
Imām Busiri, The Burda: Poem of the Cloak<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Includes a CD of performances by The Fez Singers feat. Bennis Abdelfettah.	2003	Translations
Mostafa Al-Badawî, The Prophetic Invocations		2003	Books with a foreword or introduction
Shaykh Al-Amin Mazrui, The Content of Character	Foreword by Ali Mazrui, son of the author.	2004	Translations
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Translation and commentary of the poem Maṭharat al-Qulūb composed by a 19th-century Mauritanian scholar.	2004	Translations
Imām Ṭaḥāwī, The Creed of Imam al-Tahawi		2007	Translations
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	Available in Caesarean Moon Births Part 1 Caesarean Moon Births Part 2	2008	Books and Pamphlets
Climbing Mount Purgatorio Template:Webarchive		2008	Papers
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Includes a CD of performances by The Fez Singers.	2010	Translations
Joseph Lumbard, Submission, faith and beauty: the religion of Islam	Co-edited with Zaid Shakir.	2009	Edited Books
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>		2010	Article
Reza Shah-Kazemi, Common Ground Between Islam and Buddhism: Spiritual and Ethical Affinities		2010	Books with a foreword or introduction
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>		2012
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>		2013
Asad Tarsin, Being Muslim: A Practical Guide		2015	Books with a foreword or introduction
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Translation and Introduction by Hamza Yusuf. Collected by Shaykh Al-Amin Ali Mazrui	2015	Translation and Introduction
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>		2017	Edited and Prefaced
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	The Zaytuna Curriculum Series	2019	Books with a foreword or introduction
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>		2022	Translations

See also

• List of Sufis
• Abdallah Bin Bayyah
• Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad
• Zaid Shakir
• Murabit al-Hajj
• Timothy Winter
• Ali al-Jifri
• Umar bin Hafiz
• Nazim Al-Haqqani
• Umar Faruq Abd-AllahTemplate:Div col end

References

<references />

External links

• Template:Commons category-inline
• Template:Official website
• Template:YouTube
• Template:C-SPAN
• Hamza Yusuf Audio Lectures

Photos

• Timothy Winter and SHY.jpg

  Timothy Winter and Shaykh Hamza

• ShaykhsInMuritania.jpg

  ShMurabbit_mauritania

• ShaykhHUY.jpg

  Shaykh Hamza with Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah

• ShaykhHHY.jpg

  Shaykh Hamza with Habib Ali Al jfri and Shaykh Yahya Rhodus