Shaykh Hamza Yusuf is an American Islamic scholar and co-founder of Zaytuna College, a Muslim liberal arts college in Berkeley, CA. The Guardian has referred to him as "arguably the West's most influential Islamic scholar," and The New Yorker described him as "perhaps the most influential Islamic scholar in the Western world." He is a proponent of classical learning in Islam and has promoted Islamic sciences and classical teaching methodologies throughout the world. He is an advisor to the Center for Islamic Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. In addition, he serves as vice-president of the Global Center for Guidance and Renewal and as vice-president of the UAE-based Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies. Yusuf is also one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders calling for peace and understanding.