Hamza Yusuf

Shaykh Hamza Yusuf (born 1958)[5] is an American Islamic scholar[3][6][7][8][9] and co-founder of Zaytuna College.[2][10] He is a proponent of classical learning in Islam and has promoted Islamic sciences and classical teaching methodologies throughout the world.[11]

He is an advisor to the Center for Islamic Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.[12] 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.[13][14] He 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.[15]

He is one of the signatories[16] of A Common Word Between Us and You, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders calling for peace and understanding. The Guardian has referred to Yusuf as "arguably the West's most influential Islamic scholar,"[17] and The New Yorker magazine also called him "perhaps the most influential Islamic scholar in the Western world."[18]