Hamza Yusuf

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 has been listed in the top 50 of The 500 Most Influential Muslims. His detractors, however, have widely criticised him for his stance on race, politics, the Syrian revolution, and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Provided by Wikipedia