Hamza Yusuf

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Hamza Yusuf in 2007
Hamza Yusuf

Hamza Yusuf Hanson , born Mark Hanson (* 1958 in Walla Walla , Washington, USA ) is an Islamic American theologian and an important figure in the Muslim-Christian dialogue .

He is co-founder and president of Zaytuna College in Berkeley and is considered the most influential “Western” Islamic scholar. Along with 137 other Islamic scholars, he also signed the letter “ A common word between us and you ” to leaders of Christian churches.

Life

Hamza Yusuf was born Mark Hanson in 1958 in Walla Walla, Washington state, and grew up in northern California as a practicing Greek Orthodox Christian. He is the oldest of seven children. His father was a professor of humanities, his mother was a champion of environmental protection and human rights. After a near death experience as a result of a car accident and reading the Koran , he converted to Islam in 1977. He moved to Norwich , England, where he joined the Scottish convert Abdalqadir as-Sufi , the leader of the Murabitun movement . In 1979 he moved to Al Ain in the Emirates , acquired fluent knowledge of Arabic, studied Sharia law , recitation of the Koran and other classical disciplines of Islam and also worked as a muezzin and prayer leader . However, over the years he developed a difficult relationship with as-Sufi when his knowledge began to surpass that of his teacher. After establishing contact with students from Mauritania , he officially separated from as-Sufi in 1984 and moved to North Africa, where he studied with Sheikh "Murabit al-Hajj" Muhammad Fahfu in the Mauritanian desert for several months . Eventually he returned to the United States, where he trained as a nurse and homeopathic physician and completed a degree in comparative religion.

He is one of the Senior Fellows of the Royal Aal-al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought .

He was one of the signatories of A Common Word initiative , the Amman Message ( Amman Message ) and the Open Letter to al-Baghdadi . He was the head of the Muslim delegation at the 4th seminar of the Catholic-Muslim Forum , which took place from November 6th to 8th, 2017 in Berkeley (California, USA) at Zaytuna College and under the theme “Integral Human Development: Growing in Dignity. Catholic and Muslim perspectives ”. At the first seminar of this forum (2008) he was a participant in the Muslim delegation.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b 'If you hate the west, emigrate to a Muslim country' Jack O'Sullivan in: The Guardian , October 7, 2001, London. Retrieved November 22, 2011.
  2. ↑ http://sheikhhamza.com/biography/ “My father was a University Professor in Northern California. (...) Hamza states that his Mother was an environmentalist as early as the 60's; Recycling, eating organic food and being respectful of the Earth. (...) ”
  3. ↑ Zareena Grewal: Islam Is a Foreign Country in the Google Book Search
  4. ↑ aalalbayt.org ( Memento of the original from September 20, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - accessed on November 16, 2017 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.aalalbayt.org
  5. ↑ Final Declaration of the 4th Catholic-Muslim Forum (November 8, 2017, Berkeley, USA), November 10, 2017 - accessed November 16, 2017
  6. ↑ de.radiovaticana.va - accessed on November 16, 2017 (at that time under the direction of Mustafa Cerić , Reisu-l-ulema ( Grand Mufti ) of Bosnia and Herzegovina)
personal data
SURNAME Yusuf, Hamza
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Yusuf Hanson, Hamza (full name); Hanson, Mark
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American Islamic scholar
DATE OF BIRTH 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH Walla Walla , Washington, USA