Hamza Yusuf

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Not to be confused with Humza Yousaf.
Hamza Yusuf
Hamza Yusuf at Yale University, 2016.
TitleShaykh
Personal
Born
Mark Hanson

(1958-01-01) January 1, 1958 (age 66)
Walla Walla, Washington, U.S.
CitizenshipUnited States
EraModern era
DenominationSunni[1]
JurisprudenceMaliki[7]
MovementSufi[2][3]
EducationSan Jose State University[4][5]
TariqaShadhili[6]
OccupationIslamic scholar, author
Websitewww.sandala.org

Hamza Yusuf (born January 1, 1958)[8] is an American Islamic scholar,[5][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] and is co-founder of Zaytuna College.[4][16] He is a proponent of classical learning in Islam and has promoted Islamic sciences and classical teaching methodologies throughout the world.[17]

He is an advisor to the Center for Islamic Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.[18] He also serves as a member of the board of advisors of George Russell's One Nation, a national philanthropic initiative that promotes pluralism and inclusion in America. 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.[19][20] He is also serves as the vice-president of the UAE-based Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, where Abdullah bin Bayyah also serves as president.[21]

He is one of the signatories[22] of A Common Word Between Us and You, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding. The Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom reported that "Hamza Yusuf is arguably the west's most influential Islamic scholar."[13] Similarly, The New Yorker magazine reported that Yusuf is "perhaps the most influential Islamic scholar in the Western world."[23]

Early life

Yusuf was born as Mark Hanson in Walla Walla, Washington to two academics working at Whitman College and he was raised in northern California.[4] He grew up a practicing Greek Orthodox Christian and attended prep schools on both the east and west coasts. In 1977, after a near-death experience and reading the Qur'an, he converted from Christianity to Islam[4] (he seemed destined for the Greek Orthodox priesthood at his early age).[24] Yusuf has Irish, Scottish and Greek ancestry.[13]

Education

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.[25][26] 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 Institute, more often on a one-on-one basis with Islamic scholars.[25] Yusuf became fluent in the Arabic language and also studied Qur'anic recitation (tajwid), rhetoric, poetry, law (fiqh) and theology (aqidah) among other classical Islamic disciplines.[25]

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 studying in Algeria and Morocco, as well as Spain and Mauritania.[27] In Mauritania he developed his most lasting and powerful relationship with Islamic scholar Sidi Muhammad Ould Fahfu al-Massumi, known as Murabit al-Hajj.[25]

Career

Zaytuna

He and other colleagues founded the Zaytuna Institute in Berkeley, California, United States, in 1996,[4] dedicated to the revival of traditional study methods and the sciences of Islam.[28] In the early 2000s he was joined by additional colleagues Zaid Shakir and Hatem Bazian in further establishing what was then Zaytuna Institute. Eventually, in the fall of 2010 it would open its doors as Zaytuna College, a four-year Muslim liberal arts college, the first of its kind in the United States.[23] 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".[29] The Zaytuna Institute became the first accredited Muslim campus in the United States after it received approval from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.[30][31] Yusuf stated that "We hope, God willing, that there will be more such Muslim colleges and universities to come".[30]

Views

Yusuf has taken a stance against religious justifications for terrorist attacks.[32] He described the 9/11 attacks as "an act of mass murder, pure and simple." Condemning the attacks, he has also stated "Islam was hijacked... on that plane as an innocent victim."[13]

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.[33] The magazine Egypt Today described him as a kind of theological rock star, "the Elvis Presley of western Muslims."[34] 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.[33]

In the April 2016 issue of Dabiq Magazine, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant declared him a murtadd (or apostate).[35]

Anti-Qatar Stance

The UAE-based Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, where Yusuf serves as vice-president, issued a strong statement condemning Qatar during the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis. This has led to criticism that Yusuf and other scholars are, in essence, puppets of the UAE.[21]

Publications

Books and pamphlets authored

  • Beyond schooling: building communities where learning really matters (2001, 2003). 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.
  • Agenda to Change our Condition (2007, 2013). Co-authored with Zaid Shakir.
  • Caesarean Moon Births: Calculations, Moon Sighting, and the Prophetic Way (2008).

Translations

  • Imām Busiri, The Burda: Poem of the Cloak (2003). Includes a CD of performances by The Fez Singers feat. Bennis Abdelfettah.
  • Imām Mawlūd, Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart (2004, 2012). Translation and commentary of the poem Maṭharat al-Qulūb composed by a 19th century Mauritanian scholar.
  • Shaykh Al-Amin Mazrui, The Content of Character (2004). Foreword by Ali Mazrui, son of the author.
  • Imām Ṭaḥāwī, The Creed of Imam al-Tahawi (2007).
  • Imām Muhammad bin Nasir al-Dar'i, The Prayer of the Oppressed (2010). Includes a CD of performances by The Fez Singers.

Books with a foreword or introduction

  • Imām al-Zarnūjī, Instruction of the Student: The Method of Learning (2001). Translated by G.E. Von Grunebaum.
  • Dr. Mostafa Al-Badawî, The Prophetic Invocations (2003). Includes a CD of performances.
  • Reza Shah-Kazemi, Common Ground Between Islam and Buddhism: Spiritual and Ethical Affinities (2010).
  • Asad Tarsin, Being Muslim: A Practical Guide (2015).

Books edited

Papers

See also

References

  1. ^ Grewal, Zareena (2014). Islam Is a Foreign Country: American Muslims and the Global Crisis of Authority. New York University Press. p. 129. ISBN 1479800562.
  2. ^ Pew Research Center: "Muslim Networks and Movements in Western Europe - Sufi Orders September 15, 2010
  3. ^ Geaves, Ron; Theodore, Gabriel (2013). Sufism in Britain. Bloomsbury 3PL. p. 172. ISBN 978-1441112613.
  4. ^ a b c d e E. Curtis, Edward (2009). The Columbia Sourcebook of Muslims in the United States. Columbia University Press. p. 405. ISBN 0231139578.
  5. ^ a b Cesari, Jocelyne (2004). When Islam and Democracy Meet: Muslims in Europe and in the United States. Pelgrave MacMillan. p. 150. ISBN 1403978565.
  6. ^ Kugles, Scott Alan (2006). Rebel Between Spirit and Law: Ahmad Zarruq, Sainthood, and Authority in Islam. Indiana University Press. p. 8 and 16. ISBN 978-0253347114. He holds allegiance to a Sufi community with close historical ties to Morocco, asserting simply that his approach to Sufism is "Shadhili."
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ "Hanson, Sheikh Hamza Yusuf - The Muslim 500". themuslim500.com.
  9. ^ Bilici, Mucahit (2012). Finding Mecca in America: How Islam Is Becoming an American Religion. University of Chicago Press. p. 86. ISBN 0226922871.
  10. ^ Lumbard, Joseph E. B. (2009). Islam, Fundamentalism, and the Betrayal of Tradition: Essays by Western Muslim Scholars. World Wisdom, Inc. p. 40. ISBN 1933316667.
  11. ^ Esposito, John (2009). The 500 Most Influential Muslims. Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre. p. 86. ISBN 978-9957-428-37-2.
  12. ^ Al-Rasheed, Madawi (2005). Transnational Connections and the Arab Gulf. Psychology Press. p. 175. ISBN 1134323999.
  13. ^ a b c d O'Sullivan, Jack (October 7, 2001). "If you hate the west, emigrate to a Muslim country". The Guardian. London. Retrieved November 22, 2011.
  14. ^ "Islam 'hijacked' by terror". BBC. London. October 11, 2001. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  15. ^ Khan, Riz (June 17, 2007). "Sheikh Hamza Yusuf The American Islamic scholar discusses building bridges between Islam and the west". al-Jazeera. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  16. ^ Grewal, Zareena (2014). Islam Is a Foreign Country: American Muslims and the Global Crisis of Authority. New York University Press. p. 377. ISBN 1479800562.
  17. ^ Cesari, Jocelyne (2007). Encyclopedia of Islam in the United States. Greenwood Press. p. 643. ISBN 0313336253.
  18. ^ "Carnegie Workshop Biographies". 10 May 2012.
  19. ^ "Introducing global center for renewal and guidance «  Bin Bayyah". binbayyah.net.
  20. ^ Haque, Mozammel. "Introducing global center for renewal and guidance". Saudi Gazette. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  21. ^ a b "Gulf crisis: How autocrats use religious scholars against Qatar". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  22. ^ "Signatories - A Common Word Between Us and You". www.acommonword.com.
  23. ^ a b Romig, Rollo (May 20, 2013). "Where Islam Meets America". New Yorker. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  24. ^ O'Sullivan, Jack (October 7, 2001). "If you hate the west, emigrate to a Muslim country". The Guardian. London.
  25. ^ a b c d Grewal, Zareena Islam Is a Foreign Country: American Muslims and the Global Crisis of Authority p 160-171
  26. ^ Ukeles, Raquel The Evolving Muslim Community in America: The Impact of 9/11 p 101
  27. ^ Grewal, Zareena (2014). Islam Is a Foreign Country: American Muslims and the Global Crisis of Authority. New York University Press. p. 161. ISBN 1479800562.
  28. ^ Daniel Brumberg, Dina Shehata, Conflict, Identity, and Reform in the Muslim World: Challenges for U.S Engagement, p 367
  29. ^ "Zaytuna College". www.zaytunacollege.org. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  30. ^ a b Song, Jason (March 11, 2015). "Muslim college gains accreditation". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  31. ^ "US gets its first accredited Muslim college". The Express Tribune. March 12, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  32. ^ Cohen, Charles L.; Numbers, Ronald L. (2013). Gods in America: Religious Pluralism in the United States. Oxford University Press. p. 186. ISBN 0199931925.
  33. ^ a b "The 2016 Edition is Here!" (PDF).
  34. ^ "Modern Lessons from an Ancient Faith - Elmhurst College". public.elmhurst.edu.
  35. ^ "Kill the Imams of the West" (PDF). Dabiq 1437 Rajab (April - May 2016) (14). Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant: 13–14. Retrieved 2016-04-30. Of the Sūfī so-called "mainstream," and perhaps the pinnacle of apostasy in Americanist Islam, is Hamza Yusuf.

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