Hamza Yusuf
Background
Hamza Yusuf is the arguably the most influential Islamic scholar in the West. He was born as Mark Hanson in a Greek Orthodox Christian family in Washington state. He converted to Islam in 1977 as a teenager. Soon after his conversion, he went to Middle East for studying Islam with various religious scholars. After spending a decade of intensive traditional Islamic study, he returned to US. He is married with five children and lives in the Bay Area.
Impact
Hamza Yusuf co-founded Zaytuna College in Berkeley, California which is the first accredited Muslim College in USA. He has been ranked in the top 50 most influential Muslims in the world.
He has been an advisor to various organizations and governments including the White House and Ten Downing Street.