Hamza Yusuf

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 United Arab Emirates-based Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, where bin Bayyah also serves as president. The Forum has attracted huge controversy for its close ties to the UAE government, its support for authoritarian leaders since the Arab Spring, and support for the Abraham Accords between Israel and the UAE. Yusuf has denied, in his 2023 address as Toronto's RIS Conference, that the Forum's statements reflect his personal opinions and that he has "never been in favor of normalization." Yusuf has been listed in the top 50 of The 500 Most Influential Muslims publication. His detractors, however, have widely criticised him for his stance on race, politics, the Syrian revolution, and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

• Name — Hamza Yusuf • Born — 1958 • Birth Name — Mark Hanson • Birthplace — Walla Walla, Washington, U.S. • Religion — Islam • Denomination — Sunni • Jurisprudence — Maliki • Creed — Ash'ari • Occupation — Islamic scholar, Author • Title — Shaykh • Teacher — Murabit al-Hajj, Abdallah bin Bayyah • Main Interests — Tasawwuf, Aqida, Fiqh, Islamic Eschatology • Movement — Islamic neo-traditionalism • Education — * Graduate Theological Union (PhD) • San Jose State University (BA) • University of Ez-Zitouna • Imperial Valley College (AS, AA) • United Arab Emirates University • Website — sandala.org

Yusuf was born as Mark Hanson in 1958 in Walla Walla, Washington to two academics working at Whitman College, and was raised in northern California. His father was a Catholic of Irish descent while his mother, who was half Greek and half Irish, was Greek Orthodox, with his grandfather being an Archon. He was raised in his mother's faith. He 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. He mentioned several concepts that were present in both Christianity and Islam, and described his conversion as a "fulfillment". After being impressed by a young couple from Saudi Arabia who were followers of Abdalqadir as-Sufi, 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. 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, more often on a one-on-one basis with Islamic scholars. Yusuf became fluent in the Arabic language and also learned Qur'anic recitation (tajwid), rhetoric, poetry, Maliki jurisprudence, and theology (aqidah) among other classical Islamic disciplines. 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. In Mauritania he developed his most lasting and powerful relationship with Islamic scholar Sidi Muhammad Ould Fahfu al-Massumi, known as Murabit al-Hajj. 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.

Yusuf, Zaid Shakir and Hatem Bazian founded the Zaytuna Institute in Berkeley, California, United States, in 1996, dedicated to the revival of traditional study methods and the sciences of Islam. 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. 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". Zaytuna College became the first accredited Muslim campus in the United States after it received approval from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

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.

In an interview with Turki al-Dakhil of Saudi Arabia in 2011, Hamza Yusuf argued that constitutional monarchy was a stronger form of governance than democracy. He stated: "Firstly, kings are incorruptible unlike those who possess great wealth. [Presenter interjecting: Like the nouveau riche?] Yes, like that. Such a person can be corrupted. As for kings, he is satiated. He has everything. He does not need anything".

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, Yusuf responded, rejecting this interpretation.

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." Yusuf was criticized for these comments, including on social media. Zaid Shakir 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."

• Illustration — Timothy Winter and Shaykh Hamza • Illustration — ShMurabbit_mauritania • Illustration — Shaykh Hamza with Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah • Illustration — Shaykh Hamza with Habib Ali Al jfr i and Shaykh Yahya Rhodus