Agenda to Change our Condition

About the authors

Hamza Yusuf: Hamza Yusuf hafidhahullah (born 1960) is one of the most prominent American Muslim scholars of his generation and co-founder of Zaytuna College in Berkeley, California. A steadfast advocate of classical learning in Islam, he has promoted Islamic sciences and traditional pedagogical methodologies throughout the world. He serves as an advisor to the Centre for Islamic Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, and as a member of the board of advisors of George Russell's One Nation, a national philanthropic initiative promoting pluralism and inclusion in America. He also serves as vice-president of the Global Centre for Guidance and Renewal, an institution founded and presided over by Abdallah bin Bayyah. He is among the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You, an open letter from Islamic scholars to Christian leaders calling for peace and understanding. His published works include translations such as The Creed of Imam al-Tahawi and Purification of the Heart, and authored titles such as Agenda to Change Our Condition and Caesarean Moon Births.

Zaid Shakir: Zaid Shakir (b. 1956 CE) is one of America's most respected Muslim scholars and educators, best known as a co-founder, alongside Hamza Yusuf and Hatem Bazian, of Zaytuna College in Berkeley, California, the first accredited Muslim liberal arts college in the United States, established in 2010. Born Ricky Mitchell in Berkeley, he embraced Islam in 1977 while serving in the U.S. Air Force, later taking the name Zaid Shakir. His path joined Western academic training with classical Islamic learning. He earned degrees in political science and international relations from American University and Rutgers University, then studied Arabic in Egypt before turning to the traditional sciences, law, Qurʾanic studies, and spirituality with leading scholars in Syria and Morocco. In 2001 he became the first American male to graduate from Abu Nur University in Damascus. Over the years he helped found several mosques and Islamic centers, taught as a scholar in residence at the Zaytuna Institute, and emerged as a thoughtful public voice on faith, social justice, and the life of Muslim communities in the West. He is a signatory of A Common Word Between Us and You. His writings include Scattered Pictures, Where I'm Coming From, and Agenda to Change Our Condition (with Hamza Yusuf), and his translations include Treatise for the Seekers of Guidance and The Heirs of the Prophets.