View source for Hamza Yusuf

{{distinguish|text=the Scottish politician [[Humza Yousaf]]}}{{Short description|American Islamic scholar (born 1958)}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| name               = Hamza Yusuf
| image              = Hamza Yusuf (2022).jpg
| caption            = Yusuf in 2022
| birth_date         = 1 January 1958
| birth_name         = Mark Hanson
| birth_place        = [[Walla Walla, Washington|Walla Walla]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], U.S.
| religion           = [[Islam]]
| denomination       = [[Sunni]]
| jurisprudence      = [[Maliki]]
| creed              = [[Ash'ari]]
| occupation         = [[Islamic scholar]], [[Author]]
| title              = Shaykh
| main_interests     = [[Tasawwuf]], [[Aqida]], [[Fiqh]], Islamic Eschatology
| movement           = [[Islamic neo-traditionalism]]
| education          = {{plainlist|
*[[Graduate Theological Union]] {{smaller|([[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])}}
*[[San Jose State University]] {{smaller|([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])}}<ref name="Edward E. Curtis p. 405"/><ref name="Pelgrave MacMillan">{{cite book |last1=Cesari |first1=Jocelyne |title=When Islam and Democracy Meet: Muslims in Europe and in the United States |url=https://archive.org/details/whenislamdemocra00cesa |url-access=limited | publisher=Pelgrave MacMillan | date=2004 |isbn=1403978565 |page=[https://archive.org/details/whenislamdemocra00cesa/page/n160 150]}}</ref>
*[[University of Ez-Zitouna]]
*[[Imperial Valley College]] {{smaller|([[Associate degree|AS]]}}, {{smaller|[[Associate degree|AA]])}}
*[[United Arab Emirates University]]
}}
| website            = {{URL|sandala.org}}
}}

'''Hamza Yusuf''' (born '''Mark Hanson'''; 1 January 1958) is an American Islamic scholar. A pioneer of [[Islamic neo-traditionalism]], he has promoted [[Islamic sciences]] and classical teaching methodologies throughout the world.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cesari |first1=Jocelyne |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofis0000unse/page/643 |title=Encyclopedia of Islam in the United States |date=2007 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0313336256 |page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofis0000unse/page/643 643] |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Grewal |first1=Zareena |title=Islam Is a Foreign Country: American Muslims and the Global Crisis of Authority |date=2014 |publisher=New York University Press |isbn=978-1479800568 |page=377}}</ref><ref name="Edward E. Curtis p. 405">{{cite book |last1=E. Curtis |first1=Edward |title=The Columbia Sourcebook of Muslims in the United States |date=2009 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0231139571 |page=405}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=al-Azami |first=U. |url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:13f8f597-5b0f-4f30-b083-d10220e4fcad |title=Neo-traditionalist Sufis and Arab politics: a preliminary mapping of the transnational networks of counter-revolutionary scholars after the Arab revolutions |date=2019-09-26 |publisher=C.Hurst & Co. Ltd |isbn=978-1-78738-134-6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Quisay |first=Walaa |title=Neo-traditionalism in the West: navigating modernity, tradition, and politics |date=2019 |degree=PhD |publisher=University of Oxford |url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:dc7aec3c-757e-4004-a721-db2d9ee3ba13}}</ref><ref name="Pelgrave MacMillan" /><ref>Multiple sources :

* {{cite book |last1=Lumbard |first1=Joseph E. B. |url=https://archive.org/details/islamfundamental00lumb |title=Islam, Fundamentalism, and the Betrayal of Tradition: Essays by Western Muslim Scholars |publisher=World Wisdom, Inc |year=2009 |isbn=978-1933316666 |page=[https://archive.org/details/islamfundamental00lumb/page/n68 40] |url-access=limited}}
* {{cite book |last=Al-Rasheed |first=M. |author-link=Madawi al-Rasheed |title=Transnational Connections and the Arab Gulf |publisher=Psychology Press |year=2005 |isbn=1134323999 |page=175}}
* {{cite news |date=October 11, 2001 |title=Islam 'hijacked' by terror |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1591024.stm |access-date=December 19, 2014 |work=[[BBC]] |location=London}}
* {{cite news |last=Khan |first=Riz |date=June 17, 2007 |title=Sheikh Hamza Yusuf The American Islamic scholar discusses building bridges between Islam and the west. |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/rizkhan/2007/06/200852519340511165.html |access-date=December 19, 2014 |work=[[Al Jazeera Arabic|al-Jazeera]]}}</ref>

Yusuf co-founded [[Zaytuna College]] in Berkeley, California in 1996 as Zaytuna Institute. 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>{{cite web|url=http://gtu.edu/centersandaffiliates/islamicstudies/carnegie/biographies#hamza|title=Carnegie Workshop Biographies|date=10 May 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Affairs |first=Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World |title=Hamza Yusuf |url=https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/people/hamza-yusuf |access-date=2022-07-13 |website=berkleycenter.georgetown.edu |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sheikh Hamza Yusuf Hanson |url=https://rfp.org/leadership_member/sheikh-hamza-yusuf-hanson/ |access-date=2022-07-13 |website=Religions for Peace |date=13 October 2020 |language=en-US}}</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|Abdallah bin Bayyah]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://binbayyah.net/english/2012/06/19/introducing-global-center-for-renewal-and-guidance/|title=Introducing global center for renewal and guidance « Bin Bayyah|website=binbayyah.net|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112171647/http://binbayyah.net/english/2012/06/19/introducing-global-center-for-renewal-and-guidance/|archive-date=2012-11-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2008082515395|title=Introducing global center for renewal and guidance|work=[[Saudi Gazette]]|access-date=December 19, 2014|first=Mozammel|last=Haque|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219220136/http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2008082515395|archive-date=December 19, 2014}}</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>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theory/wp/2016/06/24/the-orlando-shooter-googled-my-name-i-wish-he-had-reached-out-to-me/|title=Opinion {{!}} The Orlando shooter Googled my name. I wish he had reached out to me.|last=Yusuf|first=Hamza|date=2016-06-24|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2018-01-20|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> The Forum has attracted huge controversy for its close ties to the [[Politics of the United Arab Emirates|UAE government]], Yusuf's personal support for [[Authoritarianism|authoritarian leaders]] since the [[Arab Spring]], and Yusuf's support for the [[Abraham Accords]] between Israel and the UAE.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sarant |first=Louise |date=2015-07-22 |title=UAE's Masdar launches first models to predict Emirates' climate evolution |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nmiddleeast.2015.121 |journal=Nature Middle East |doi=10.1038/nmiddleeast.2015.121 |issn=2042-6046|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Parikh |first=Crystal |title=Epilogue: The Traitors in Our Midst |date=2009-04-13 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5422/fso/9780823230426.003.0006 |work=An Ethics of Betrayal |pages=160–172 |access-date=2023-03-14 |publisher=Fordham University Press|doi=10.5422/fso/9780823230426.003.0006 |isbn=9780823230426 |s2cid=183278363 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Middle East Eye">{{Cite web |title=Influential Muslim scholar Hamza Yusuf criticised for backing UAE-Israel deal |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uae-israel-muslim-scholar-hamza-yusuf |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=Middle East Eye |language=en}}</ref><ref name="AL-AZAMI-2022">{{Cite book |last=AL-AZAMI |first=USAAMA |title=ISLAM AND THE ARAB REVOLUTIONS : the ulama between democracy and autocracy. |date=2022 |publisher=C HURST & CO PUB LTD |isbn=978-1-78738-822-2 |location=[S.l.] |pages=PAGE 103. Chapter Hamza Yusuf and Abdallah Bin Bayyah |oclc=1304817590}}</ref>

Yusuf has been listed in the top 50 of ''[[The 500 Most Influential Muslims]]'' publication.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.themuslim500.com/profiles/hamza-yusuf-hanson/|title=Hamza Yusuf Hanson|website=The Muslim 500|date=27 May 2018 |language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-13}}</ref> His detractors, however, have widely criticised him for his stance on race, politics, the [[Syrian revolution]], and the [[Palestinian-Israeli conflict]].<ref name="Bokth-2019">{{Cite web|url=https://themuslimvibe.com/muslim-current-affairs-news/the-controversy-of-hamza-yusuf-being-appointed-human-rights-adviser-to-the-trump-administration|title=The controversy of Hamza Yusuf being appointed Human Rights Adviser to the Trump administration - TMV|last=Bokth|first=Noshin|date=2019-07-19|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-09-28}}</ref><ref name="5Pillars-2016">{{Cite web|url=https://5pillarsuk.com/2016/12/25/hamza-yusuf-stokes-controversy-with-comments-about-black-lives-matter-and-political-islam/|title=Hamza Yusuf stokes controversy with comments about Black Lives Matter and political Islam|last=5Pillars|date=2016-12-25|website=5Pillars|access-date=2019-09-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/influential-muslim-scholar-criticised-calling-uae-tolerant-country|title=Influential Muslim scholar criticised for calling the UAE a 'tolerant country'|website=Middle East Eye|language=en|access-date=2019-09-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20231227-american-islamic-scholar-hamza-yusuf-interrupted-at-canada-conference-over-gaza-remarks/|title=American Islamic scholar Hamza Yusuf interrupted at Canada conference over Gaza remarks – Middle East Monitor |date=27 December 2023 }}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Yusuf was born as Mark Hanson on 1 January 1958<ref>{{cite web |date=5 October 2011 |title=إضاءات :. حمزة يوسف |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhV791UyT0o&t=121 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/WhV791UyT0o |archive-date=2021-12-12 |website=youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}</ref> in [[Walla Walla, Washington]] to two academics working at [[Whitman College]], and was raised in northern California.<ref name="Edward E. Curtis p. 405"/> His father was a [[Catholic]] of [[Irish people|Irish]] descent while his mother, who was half [[Greeks|Greek]] and half Irish, was [[Greek Orthodox]], with his grandfather being an [[Archon]]. He was raised in his mother's faith.<ref name="thecairoreview.com">{{cite journal |last=MacLeod |first=Scott |url=https://www.thecairoreview.com/q-a/all-american-sheikh/ |title=All-American Sheikh |number=19 |date=Fall 2015 |journal=[[The Cairo Review of Global Affairs]] |access-date=September 27, 2025}}</ref> 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 [[Quran|Qur'an]], he converted to Islam. He mentioned several concepts that were present in Christianity were present in Islam and described his conversion as a "fulfillment".<ref name="thecairoreview.com"/><ref name="Edward E. Curtis p. 405"/><ref name="guardian-2001">{{cite news |last=O'Sullivan |first=Jack |date=October 7, 2001 |title=If you hate the west, emigrate to a Muslim country |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/08/religion.uk |access-date=November 22, 2011 |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=London|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

After being impressed by a young couple from [[Saudi Arabia]] who were followers of [[Abdalqadir as-Sufi]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.scribd.com/book/351486485/Secret-Practices-of-the-Sufi-Freemasons-The-Islamic-Teachings-at-the-Heart-of-Alchemy|title=Read Secret Practices of the Sufi Freemasons Online by Baron Rudolf von Sebottendorff {{!}} Books|language=en}}</ref>—a [[Scottish people|Scottish]] convert to Islam and leader of the [[Darqawa|Darqawa Sufi]] order and the [[Murabitun World Movement]]—Yusuf moved to [[Norwich, England]] to study directly under as-Sufi.<ref name=Grewal>Grewal, Zareena [https://books.google.com/books?id=K1lNBQAAQBAJ&q=AlQadir&pg=PA161 Islam Is a Foreign Country: American Muslims and the Global Crisis of Authority] p 160-171</ref><ref>Ukeles, Raquel [http://www.bjpa.org/Publications/details.cfm?PublicationID=4041 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>{{Cite web |last=Tariq |first=Aisha |title=From student to honoured guest |url=https://www.khaleejtimes.com/article/from-student-to-honoured-guest |access-date=2023-02-09 |website=Khaleej Times |language=en}}</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, Maliki jurisprudence,<ref>''"Prominent Malikis in the American milieu include the founder of the Zaytuna Institute Shaykh Hamza Yusuf Hanson".'' Jocelyne Cesari, Encyclopedia of Islam in the United States, p 23.</ref> 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>{{cite book |last1=Grewal |first1=Zareena |title=Islam Is a Foreign Country: American Muslims and the Global Crisis of Authority | publisher=New York University Press |date=2014 |isbn=978-1479800568 |page=161}}</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 Jose State University|San José State University]].<ref name="zaytuna.edu">{{Cite web |title=Hamza Yusuf |url=http://zaytuna.edu/faculty-details/Hamza-Yusuf |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=zaytuna.edu |language=en}}</ref>

== Scholarly career ==
===Zaytuna College===
Yusuf, [[Zaid Shakir]] and [[Hatem Bazian]] 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> In fall 2010, it opened its doors as Zaytuna College, a four-year Muslim [[Liberal arts education|liberal arts]] college, the first of its kind in the United States.<ref name="Romig">{{cite magazine |last=Romig |first=Rollo |date=May 20, 2013 |title=Where Islam Meets America |url=http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/where-islam-meets-america |access-date=December 19, 2014 |magazine=[[The New Yorker|New Yorker]]}}</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>{{cite web|title=Zaytuna College|url=http://www.zaytunacollege.org/about/our_mission/|website=zaytunacollege.org|access-date=2017-10-26|archive-date=2014-04-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410102617/http://www.zaytunacollege.org/about/our_mission/|url-status=dead}}</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">{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-muslim-college-accreditated-20150311-story.html|title=Muslim college gains accreditation|work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=March 12, 2015 |first=Jason |last=Song|date=March 11, 2015}}</ref><ref name="ExpressTribune">{{cite news |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/852075/us-gets-its-first-accredited-muslim-college/|title=US gets its first accredited Muslim college
|work=[[The Express Tribune]]|access-date=March 12, 2015 |date=March 12, 2015}}</ref>

=== 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>{{Cite web |date=6 December 2019 |title=Plans for multi-faith centre in Abu Dhabi presented to the UN |url=https://www.thenational.ae/uae/plans-for-multi-faith-centre-in-abu-dhabi-presented-to-the-un-1.947701 |access-date=2020-04-26 |website=The National |language=en}}</ref>

==Views and influence==
[[Jordan|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">{{cite web|url=http://themuslim500.com/downloads/151001-TheMuslim500-2016v009(23%7c48)-Web-Low.pdf|title=The 2016 Edition is Here!<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=2017-06-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126065025/http://themuslim500.com/downloads/151001-TheMuslim500-2016v009(23%7C48)-Web-Low.pdf|archive-date=2016-01-26|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The 500 Most Influential Muslims|last=Esposito|first=J.|author-link=John Esposito|publisher=Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre|year=2009|isbn=978-9957-428-37-2|page=86}}</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 (journalist)|Graeme Wood]] has referred to Yusuf "one the two most prominent Muslim scholars in the United States today".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wood |first1=Graeme |title=The Way of the Strangers: Encounters with the Islamic State |date=2016 |publisher=Random House |isbn=9780812988765 |page=214 |chapter=The War of the End of Time |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bPoOCwAAQBAJ&q=al-Bahrumi&pg=PT132}}</ref>

Yusuf has taken a stance against religious justifications for terrorist attacks.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cohen |first1=Charles L. |last2=Numbers |first2=Ronald L. |title=Gods in America: Religious Pluralism in the United States | publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2013 |isbn=978-0199931927 |page=186}}</ref> He described the [[September 11 attacks|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 name="guardian-2001" />

Yusuf 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]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Signatories - A Common Word Between Us and You |url=http://www.acommonword.com/signatories/ |website=acommonword.com}}</ref> Yusuf was also one of the signatories of an [[Letter to Baghdadi|open letter]] to former [[Islamic State|ISIS]] leader [[Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi]] that sought to refute the principles promoted by the [[terrorist organization]].<ref>{{Cite tweet|number=514931398357299201|user=zaytunacollege|title=A Letter responding to #ISIS leader al-Baghdadi and signed by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf as well as 125 Sunni scholars... http://fb.me/6M9gDKUy1|date=2014-09-24|access-date=2020-01-16|language=en|last=College|first=Zaytuna|website=@zaytunacollege}}</ref>{{primary source inline|date=October 2023}}

Yusuf has been involved in controversies in recent years on issues of race, politics, and the [[Arab Spring|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="Bokth-2019" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hamza Yusuf and the struggle for the soul of western Islam |url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/big-story/hamza-yusuf-and-struggle-soul-western-islam |access-date=2019-09-28 |website=Middle East Eye |language=en}}</ref><ref name="5Pillars-2016" /><ref name="Middle East Eye" />

=== Support for constitutional monarchy over democracy ===
In an interview with [[Turki Aldakhil|Turki al-Dakhil]] of Saudi Arabia in 2011, Hamza Yusuf argued that constitutional monarchy was a stronger form of governance than democracy. He stated:<blockquote>''"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".'' <ref name="AL-AZAMI-2022" /></blockquote>

=== 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 [[Assad regime|Syrian regime]], Yusuf responded, rejected this interpretation.<ref>{{Citation |title=Hamza Yusuf under fire for comments about the Syrian revolution |date=11 September 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x96kvfDNjhs |access-date=2019-09-28 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/x96kvfDNjhs |archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live |language=en}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/hamza-yusuf-issues-apology-hurting-feelings-over-syria-comments|title=Hamza Yusuf issues apology for 'hurting feelings' with Syria comments|website=Middle East Eye|language=en|access-date=2019-09-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2019/9/10/outrage-as-hamza-yusuf-releases-video-mocking-syrian-refugees|title=Outrage as Hamza Yusuf releases video mocking Syrian refugees|last=Arab|first=The New|website=alaraby|date=10 September 2019 |language=en|access-date=2019-09-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcYNdmaA-Oo|title=Don't Curse the People of Syria|last=Yusuf|first=Hamza|website=Youtube|date=13 September 2019 }}</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="Green-2017">{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Emma |date=2017-03-11 |title=Muslim Americans Are United by Trump—and Divided by Race |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/03/muslim-americans-race/519282/ |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref> Yusuf was criticized for these comments, including on social media.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hilal |first=Maha |title=It's time for Muslim Americans to condemn Hamza Yusuf |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/time-muslim-americans-condemn-hamza-yusuf-190715130254222.html |access-date=2019-09-28 |website=aljazeera.com}}</ref><ref name="Green-2017" /> [[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."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/imamzaidshakir/posts/10154205928883359 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/17621258358/10154205928883359 |archive-date=2022-02-26 |url-access=limited|title=Imam Zaid Shakir|website=facebook.com|language=en|access-date=2020-04-26}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Publications==
{| class="wikitable"
|+
Publications and works by Hamza Yusuf
!Title
!Description
!Year
!Type
|-
|''Agenda to Change our Condition''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Agenda to Change Our Condition |url=https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu/products/agendatochangeourcondition |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=Zaytuna College Bookstore |language=en}}</ref>
|<small>Co-authored with [[Zaid Shakir]]</small>
|1999
|Books and Pamphlets 
|-
|[[Al-Zarnuji|Imām al-Zarnūjī]], ''Instruction of the Student: The Method of Learning''
|<small>Translated by [[Gustave E. von Grunebaum|G.E. Von Grunebaum]].</small>
|2001
|Books with a foreword or introduction
|-
|''Beyond schooling: building communities where learning really matters''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gatto |first=John Taylor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P00LtwAACAAJ |title=Beyond Schooling: Building Communities where Learning Really Matters |date=2001 |publisher=Ihya Productions |language=en}}</ref>
|<small> 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''.</small>
|2003
|Books and Pamphlets 
|-
|[[Al-Busiri|Imām Busiri]], ''The [[Al-Burda|Burda]]: Poem of the Cloak''<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Burda of Al-Busiri - The Poem of the Cloak |url=https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu/products/the-burda-of-al-busiri-the-poem-of-the-cloak |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=Zaytuna College Bookstore |language=en}}</ref>
|<small>Includes a CD of performances by ''The Fez Singers'' feat.  Bennis Abdelfettah.</small>
|2003
|Translations
|-
|Mostafa Al-Badawî, ''The Prophetic Invocations''
|
|2003
|Books with a foreword or introduction
|-
|Shaykh Al-Amin Mazrui, ''The Content of Character''
|<small>Foreword by [[Ali Mazrui]], son of the author.</small>
|2004
|Translations
|-
|Imām Mawlūd, ''Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Purification of the Heart |url=https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu/products/purificationoftheheart |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=Zaytuna College Bookstore |language=en}}</ref>
|<small>Translation and commentary of the poem ''Maṭharat al-Qulūb'' composed by a 19th-century [[Mauritania]]n scholar.</small>
|2004
|Translations
|-
|[[Al-Tahawi|Imām Ṭaḥāwī]], ''The Creed of Imam al-Tahawi''
|
|2007
|Translations
|-
|''Caesarean Moon Births: Calculations, Moon Sighting, and the Prophetic Way''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Caesarean Moon Births {{!}} 2nd Edition |url=https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu/products/caesarean-moon-births-2nd-edition |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=Zaytuna College Bookstore |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Yusuf |first=Hamza |title=Caesarean Moon Births: Calculations, Moon Sighting, and the Prophetic Way |date=2008-09-01 |publisher=Fons Vitae |isbn=978-0-9702843-2-7 |language=English}}</ref>
|Available in

*[http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/moonsighting/Cesarean_Moon_Births_Pt_1.pdf Caesarean Moon Births Part 1]
*[http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/moonsighting/Cesarean_Moon_Births_Pt_2.pdf Caesarean Moon Births Part 2]
|2008
|Books and Pamphlets 
|-
|[http://www.mujahideenryder.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/hamza-yusuf-climbing-mount-purgatorio.pdf Climbing Mount Purgatorio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905050135/http://www.mujahideenryder.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/hamza-yusuf-climbing-mount-purgatorio.pdf |date=2014-09-05 }} 
|
|2008
|Papers
|-
|''The Prayer of the Oppressed'' by Imām Muhammad bin Nasir al-Dar'i <ref>{{Cite web |title=The Prayer of the Oppressed |url=https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu/products/theprayeroftheoppressed |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=Zaytuna College Bookstore |language=en}}</ref>
|<small>Includes a CD of performances by ''The Fez Singers''.</small>
|2010
|Translations
|-
|[[Joseph E. B. Lumbard|Joseph Lumbard]], ''Submission, faith and beauty: the religion of Islam''
|<small>Co-edited with [[Zaid Shakir]].</small>
|2009
|Edited Books
|-
|Hamza Yusuf, ''Walk on Water: The Wisdom of Jesus from Traditional Islamic Sources''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Team |first=Content |date=2010-01-02 |title=Walk on Water: The Wisdom of Jesus from Traditional Islamic Sources - Shaykh Hamza Yusuf |url=https://seekersguidance.org/articles/general-artices/walk-on-water-the-wisdom-of-jesus-from-traditional-islamic-sources/ |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=SeekersGuidance |language=en-US}}</ref>
|
|2010
|Article
|-
|[[Reza Shah-Kazemi]], ''Common Ground Between Islam and Buddhism: Spiritual and Ethical Affinities''
|
|2010
|Books with a foreword or introduction
|-
|Hamza Yusuf & Robert P. George, ''Pornography, Respect, and Responsibility: A Letter to the Hotel Industry''<ref>{{Cite web |last=George |first=Robert |date=2012-07-09 |title=Pornography, Respect, and Responsibility: A Letter to the Hotel Industry |url=https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/07/5815/ |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=Public Discourse |language=en-US}}</ref>
|
|2012
|
|-
|Hamza Yusuf & Robert P. George, ''Hotels and the Pornography Plague: An Example of Moral Responsibility from Scandinavia'' <ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-09-04 |title=Hotels and the Pornography Plague: An Example of Moral Responsibility from Scandinavia |url=https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2013/09/10850/ |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=Public Discourse |language=en-US}}</ref>
|
|2013
|
|-
|Asad Tarsin, ''Being Muslim: A Practical Guide''
|
|2015
|Books with a foreword or introduction
|-
|Shaykh Al-Amin Ali Mazrui, ''The Content of Character: Ethical Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ<ref name="zaytuna.edu"/>''<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Content of Character |url=https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu/products/thecontentofcharacter |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=Zaytuna College Bookstore |language=en}}</ref>
|Translation and Introduction by Hamza Yusuf. Collected by Shaykh Al-Amin Ali Mazrui
|2015
|Translation and Introduction
|-
|Edwin Arnold, ''Pearls of the Faith''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pearls of the Faith |url=https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu/products/pearlsofthefaith |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=Zaytuna College Bookstore |language=en}}</ref>
|
|2017
|Edited and Prefaced
|-
|Scott F. Crider, ''The Art of Persuasion Aristotle's Rhetoric for Everybody''<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Art of Persuasion: Aristotle's Rhetoric for Everybody |url=https://bookstore.zaytuna.edu/products/the-art-of-persuasion-aristotles-rhetoric-for-everybody |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=Zaytuna College Bookstore |language=en}}</ref>
|The [[Zaytuna College|Zaytuna]] Curriculum Series
|2019
|Books with a foreword or introduction
|-
|Shaykh Ahmad Badawi Tayyib al-Asma, ''The Mindful Messenger: Occasional Supplications of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ'' <ref>{{Cite web |title=zaytuna Publisher Publications |url=https://issuu.com/zaytuna |access-date=2024-10-15 |website=Issuu |language=en}}</ref>
|
|2022
|Translations
|}

=== Poems ===
{{bulleted list |Spring's Gift|Be Like Ahmed, a poem dedicated to the Prophet Mohammed, recited at the ceremony of the Prophet's birthday on the 12th of Rabi' al-Awwal (9th of October 2022).}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Islam|United States}}
{{div col}}
* [[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-Allah]]{{div col end}}

==References==
<references />

==External links==
{{sister project links|d=Q723308|n=no|voy=no|species=no|mw=no|wikt=no|m=no|q=no|b=no|v=no|s=no}}
{{Wikiquote|Hamza Yusuf|Hamza Yusuf}}
*{{Commons category-inline}}
* {{Official website}}
*{{YouTube|c=UC361kz8bZYcYuF7k5j2kXdw}}
*{{C-SPAN|102472}}
* [https://muslimcentral.com/audio/hamza-yusuf Hamza Yusuf Audio Lectures]

== Photos ==
<gallery>
File:Timothy Winter and SHY.jpg|'''Timothy Winter and Shaykh Hamza'''
File:ShaykhsInMuritania.jpg|'''ShMurabbit_mauritania'''
File:ShaykhHUY.jpg|Shaykh Hamza with  Dr. [[Umar Faruq Abd-Allah]]
File:ShaykhHHY.jpg|Shaykh Hamza with [[Ali al-Jifri|Habib Ali Al jfr]]<nowiki/>i and Shaykh Yahya Rhodus
</gallery>
{{Sufi}}
{{Maliki scholars}}
{{Ash'ari}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yusuf, Hamza}}
[[Category:1960 births]]
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[[Category:San Jose State University alumni]]
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