The “Sufi” Master of Deceit: Hamza Yusuf Hanson
By Stephen Schwartz | April 12, 2007
In 1995 Hanson described Judaism as “a most racist religion.”
In the long and exhausting historical process gripping America since the terrorist atrocities of September 11, 2001, some things have become tediously predictable. One such is the series of efforts by Hamza Yusuf Hanson, based in the San Francisco Bay Area and one of the country’s most strident radical Islamist preachers, to reinvent himself as an adherent of the spiritual Sufi Muslim tradition.
Before 9/11, Hanson, a convert to Islam, was known for his high-pitched, hysterical rhetoric in denouncing America. His manner was notable in that many radical Muslim clerics tended to affect a quieter demeanor, even when dispensing a message of venomous hatred. Hanson, by contrast, appeared to have taken his oratorical cues from newsreels of Adolf Hitler or the harangues of Fidel Castro.
Hanson’s bigoted declamations are well recorded and widely-known. As previously noted on FSM – [HERE] – in 1995 Hanson described Judaism as “a most racist religion.” On September 9, 2001, two days before 9/11, Hanson hollered in Los Angeles, “This country (America) unfortunately has a great, a great tribulation coming to it. And much of it is already here, yet people are too illiterate to read the writing on the wall.”
In another pearl of Hansonian wisdom, the Islamist extremist side of his multiple personality babbled freely at a 1996 convention of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), a paramilitary front for Pakistani jihadists. There Hanson described America as “a country that has little to be proud of in its past and less to be proud of in the present. I am a citizen of this country not by choice but by birth. I reside in this country not by choice but by conviction in attempting to spread the message of Islam in this country. I became Muslim in part because I did not believe in the false gods of this society whether we call them Jesus or democracy or the Bill of Rights or any other element of this society that is held sacrosanct by the ill-informed peoples that make up this charade of a society… [F]undamentals of Islam are being compromised… [C]onvention resolutions are meaningless Masonic exersises (sic) devised by men who desire to engage people in forums that would insure nothing changes… [T]here should be no voting or debate… [W]e have no room for ayes or nays.” The final lines in this quotation reflect the standard radical Islamist contempt for all forms of democratic governance.
But after 9/11, as noted, a seemingly new Hamza Yusuf Hanson appeared. The former America-hater began parading as an alleged adviser to President George W. Bush, on the basis of a limited exchange of irrelevant views. Hanson began lecturing on Sufism, or Islamic spirituality, in a manner some said was more reminiscent of a self-help program than serious instruction in religious thought. And when, as such things inevitably will, he began facing questions about his turn around, Hanson assembled a cadre of enforcers to quash those who would challenge him. These acolytes, in the U.S., Britain, and elsewhere, harass critics with tendentious e-mails, and work, with notable success, to elicit praise in print, from na?ve journalists, for Hamza Yusuf as the epitome of Islamic moderation.
One member of Hanson’s entourage, Aftab Malik, is extremely interesting, in that his association with Hanson provides echoes of the themes in Hanson’s pre-9/11 agitation. Malik has defended Hanson against my criticisms of him on FSM, labeling such inquiries into Hanson’s ideological shell game as expressions of crude American patriotism, leading to hate crimes! Malik throws in other gratuitous insults and distortions, to substitute for real answers. But moderate Muslims see no contradiction between belief in Islam as a normal religion and deep feelings of patriotism, and I refuse to apologize for my devotion to America’s interests.
Malik’s past includes a role as an editor for one of the most troubling authors in Islam today: Harun Yahya, a Turkish Islamist known for producing elaborately-printed volumes in many languages. These works include anti-Masonic conspiracy propaganda, in line with the bizarre vocabulary Hamza Yusuf Hanson employed when he was open about his Islamist radicalism. Malik’s name appears as editor of Harun Yahya’s 2002 book, Islam Denounces Terrorism, published in a lavish four-color format in Turkey, and purporting to be a Muslim response to 9/11. But according to Harun Yahya, as supported by Aftab Malik, the “real root of terrorism” is found in neither extremist ideology nor political grievances, but in.. Darwinism.
Thus, once again, the mask slips in the circle of Hamza Yusuf Hanson. Harun Yahya represents something beyond radical Islam, which might best be called “crank Islam.” But whatever pseudo-intellectual garb Hamza Yusuf Hanson and his friends put on, they cannot escape reality: they have separated themselves from normal American life, first in the name of “pure Islam” and now as purported devotees of Sufism. They cannot be trusted in dialogue or cooperation with moderate Muslims, or members of other faiths. While he and his followers occupy a large space in the American Muslim community, and express themselves loudly and vigorously, Hanson remains alienated and hostile to the common values that will bring repudiation of extremism and acceptance in American religious life for moderate Islam.
Guest columns do not necessarily reflect the views of Accuracy in Media or its staff.
4 comments
Gee Steven…why aren’t you a little more forthcoming about your lack of impartiality, lack of basic knowledge, lack of logic (playing “Straw Man” and “Guilt by Association” is fun!), ignorance (fear?)of Islam (especially Sufism),and hatred of Muslims? I envy your miraculous ability to see into people’s hearts and know their intentions. You must never have had to change your position or approach upon learning something new-lucky you! Your lack of humility and self-reflection is still not a problem! Please let the world know where it must come to submit itself to you, O Great Defender of American Interests…
This article may be a bit old but here is my take on it.
Hamza Yusuf is clearly a two faced fool. Anyone who has heard his lectures from the 90’s, which can be heard on Youtube, can see that this guy has a few screws loose.
The Dajjal (Hadith loving Muslims version of the Anti Christ) is your borders gift card, the government is collecting this data and doing “statistical” analysis, does that sound the like ravings of a sane man?
Now with that said, his leanings toward “sufism” is rather disturbing, it is like the modern Western fad of Buddhism. It may seem benign, but hardcore Buddhist’s are so in love with the Dali Llama (a man who basically lived as a King in Tibet along with all of the “monks” at the expense of the common man) that they not only excuse his former repressive rule of Tibet, but even embrace his stern opposition (which has even provoked violence) against “deviant” practices such as Dorje Shugden.
“Sufi” Islam is far more dangerous than any Salafist. “Sufi” Islam is basically “folk” Islam and has been associated with all kinds of dangerous and superstitious evil practices such as strapping clamps to children’s heads in Sindh to perpetuate tribute being paid to Sufi Mystics who run the Shrine of Shah Dola who offer blessings to the people who pray their. They also use the children to beg to raise revenue.
That is just one example of sufi “islam.” Religious leaders are a blight on humanity and Hamza Yusuf is no different.
With that said I am a proud Muslim, I have no qualms with the Holy Quran or even harsh punishments decried by the Shariah. What is troubling to me is the level dishonesty among my brothers (including Hamza Yusuf) and their lack of hard work ethnic and desire to acquire capital to build industrialized societies. Progress does not mean accepting gays and free sex, progress means inventing new technologies to reduce travel time, increase communication speeds, reduce mortality rates, and increase yields and productivity in agriculture and manufacturing.
It seems to me that the writer of this article not only is offended by the treasoness behavior of Hamza Yusuf, but is also angered by anyone who does not pledge blind allegiance to America.
Any self respecting immigrant would not look at his or her stay in the West as permanent but rather an opportunity to acquire skills and expertise as well as act as an agent in the transfer of capital from the resource rich and labor scarce West to their homelands and increase global production.
Salamalikum,
Tariq Sahib. I dont mean to offend you, but you seem to be having the same misinformation about Sufism as any other person who has taken Sufis as crazy dunkheads who dance at shrines and worship graves.
Let me assure you, REAL Sufism is a science, and it has only one purpose- Purify the soul of a person while strictly remaining withing the boundaries of Shariah. The Companions of Prophet (PBUH) had the purest of souls, and that along with many other factors made them perform miracles. Sufism makes an attempt at purifying soul – THAT IS ALL TO IT! Anyone suggesting anything beyond this for Sufism is ‘transgressing’ beyond true Sufism, and can be called whatever you may please – In yours, and many other cases; They’re still called Sufis, hence spoiling the name of Sufi’s.
Sufism is not complete Islam; Sufism is not even a major part of Islam. Sufism is a minor branch of Islam, and its not even necessary for a person to know it – And a true Sufi would always tell you this, if you can purify your soul, your heart in such a manner than this world looks like a wasteground and anything it has to offer is junk, then you really dont need Sufism. And you’d be rewarded more than a True Sufi if you can do that.
I’m still not a fan of Hamza Yusuf, you can throw all the dirt you want to at him. Whole purpose of my comment was to tell you that Sufism in its purest form is a divine science, and it exists rarely today. It has been spoiled by people who I feel disgrace in even calling humans, let along Muslims!
December 8 at 2:41 pm | #1 | Link
Salamalikum,
I’m surprised to see ‘zero’ comments in reply to this article.
let me assure you before i start writing – Im NOT a fan/supporter/follower or in anyway a favour’er of Hamza Yusuf or Harun Yahya.
But the writer here evidently seems to be a person who hasnt experianced Islam, He seems like someone who knows islam only as a religon with crazy people who speak loudly, or people who fight.
Islam has many more dimensions than the one you seem to be aware of. It has many branches..Sufi’ism in its true sense, is a part of Islam – and to throw off the claim you make where you try to make it look as if its something horrible is just insensitive and wrong and, sort of shows your lack of information.
secondly, While I dont disagree, or rather I dont know if you have correctly described the change in Hamza Yusuf; 9/11 did shock many of us, and Hamza Yusuf being from the US might also have been effected. Secondly, there could have been many other reason too, personal or reason you might not be aware of which caused the change, if there was any.
Lastly, I find it very hard to believe that a person becomes a sufi in a day – knowing sufi’ism as i do, becoming a sufi.. like Hamza Yusuf is (again, I am in no way praising what he does or appreciating what he writes, but just pointing out he is sort of developed at this science of sufism), is a very long process – not a days or evven a year’s job – it takes atleast 5 years if not more to be as developed in sufism as Hamza Yusuf is – so the claim that he became a sufi all of a sudden seems out of line. He might have bought out his Sufi side (which he learned from Shaykh Murabit Al Hajj, in Africa) after 9/11 because that is when the US started this craze about islamic jihadist/extremist – which really dont exist, they are just a fragment of your imagination.
Again, getting back to the point – I might not have explained what I tried to explain, but the point being the writer can not possibly understand all that is to the story he himself tries to tell because he doesnt know Islam in the real sense.
I, and many others have reservations about Harun Yahya. I will leave discussing him because I really dont know alot about him.