Hamza Yusuf (born Mark Hanson; 1958) is an American Islamic neo-traditionalist, Islamic scholar, and co-founder of Zaytuna College. He is a proponent of classical learning in Islam and has promoted Islamic sciences and classical teaching methodologies throughout the world.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. 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. He also serves as vice-president of the UAE-based Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, where Abdallah bin Bayyah also serves as president. The Forum has attracted huge controversy for its close ties to the UAE dictatorship as well as Hamza Yusuf's personal support for authoritarian leaders since the Arab Spring.The Guardian has referred to Yusuf as "arguably the West's most influential Islamic scholar". The New Yorker magazine also called him "perhaps the most influential Islamic scholar in the Western world", and journalist Graeme Wood has called him "one the two most prominent Muslim scholars in the United States today". He is one of the signatories of A Common Word …
Hamza Yusuf
Author details
- Born:
- Jan. 1, 1958
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Hamza Yusuf (born Mark Hanson; 1958) is an American Islamic neo-traditionalist, Islamic scholar, and co-founder of Zaytuna College. He is a proponent of classical learning in Islam and has promoted Islamic sciences and classical teaching methodologies throughout the world.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. 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. He also serves as vice-president of the UAE-based Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, where Abdallah bin Bayyah also serves as president. The Forum has attracted huge controversy for its close ties to the UAE dictatorship as well as Hamza Yusuf's personal support for authoritarian leaders since the Arab Spring.The Guardian has referred to Yusuf as "arguably the West's most influential Islamic scholar". The New Yorker magazine also called him "perhaps the most influential Islamic scholar in the Western world", and journalist Graeme Wood has called him "one the two most prominent Muslim scholars in the United States today". He is one of the signatories 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.He has been listed in the top 50 of The 500 Most Influential Muslims (also known as The Muslim 500), an annual publication compiled by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in Amman, Jordan, which ranks the most influential Muslims in the world. He has nevertheless been widely criticised for his stance on race, politics, and the Arab revolutions.
