Quotes from Hamza Yusuf

We don't have any power other than our intellect and our hearts.

Where you don't have people who have strong intellectual capacity, you get demagoguery.

A tree grows. If you're staying the same, something is wrong. You're not alive.

As a Westerner, the child of civil rights and anti-war activists, I embraced Islam not in abandonment of my core values, drawn almost entirely from the progressive tradition, but as an affirmation of them.

Much to the chagrin of the staunchly secular among us, religion shows no sign of going away. Predictions of the demise of religion, faith, tradition - and even God - have consistently been proven wrong.

For believers, both privilege and privation are a trial, and both demand responses: one demands service, and the other demands patience. The greatest privilege is to live well in flourishing lands; the greatest privation is to live in the midst of war, especially civil war.

We must assert to the Abrahamic people that we are the last extension of the Abrahamic religion... There is no such thing as an Islamic tribe.

The fear tactic is a tactic that's used by people who want to maintain control, and it's very effective.

To be aware of others' accomplishments and the indebtedness we have to so many people is to appreciate and begin to respect all members of the human family.

There are many ways to be hungry. One can hunger for love, or fame or social justice, but hunger for food seems to curb all other cravings.

I've said some things about other religions that I regret now. I think they were incorrect.

Whatever one thinks of the wisdom of building a mosque near Ground Zero, this controversy now affords us an immense opportunity to examine who we are as a people. It provides us with the opportunity to get back to our foundational ideals, which have always stood as a beacon for the rest of the world.

To the solace of his name, simply saying 'Muhammad' has an incredibly soothing effect on me.

Radicalization is very easy when you mock what people hold dear.

I think that the idea of a war on an abstract noun is unacceptable.

The weak are dominated by their ego, the wise dominate their ego, and the intelligent are in a constant struggle against their ego.

If you don't wake up for Fajr, then don't wake up at all

A lot of our leadership has become acutely aware of speaking more fairly, of speaking more balanced, of recognizing that hate speech in any form, even if it comes out of emotional anger, is dangerous.

Every day, my love for Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, increases.

I would rather live as a Muslim in the West than in most of the Muslim countries, because I think the way Muslims are allowed to live in the West is closer to the Muslim way.

We want to counter the idea that Muslims and non-Muslims can't live together. This is not who we are or who we want to be.

I don't align myself with the West of the Muslim world. I align myself with what I perceive to be just and in accordance with my principles - the principles that I live my life by which are universal principles and that are embodied in the religion of Islam.

The true object of war fought for God should always be peace.

The weak are dominated by their ego, the wise dominate their ego, and the intelligent are in a constant struggle against their ego.