Hamza Yusuf and Abdallah Bin Bayyah

This chapter begins with Hamza Yusuf's concern for the Tunisian people in light of Bouazizi’s desperate act of self-immolation. Yusuf soon becomes an enthusiastic supporter of the Egyptian revolution, though not of democracy as a system of government. Yet, within months, he begins to articulate his opposition to revolutions as well as his support for monarchy over democracy as a form of government. I argue that this is more in keeping with Yusuf's pre-2011 political orientation. In contrast with Yusuf's transformation, his teacher, Abdallah bin Bayyah, evinces a wariness regarding the revolutions early on. This leads him to part ways with his erstwhile colleague in Qatar, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, and join forces with the UAE's religious establishment to become the most prominent religious authority in the UAE. Part of Abdallah bin Bayyah's intellectual contributions that are touched on in this chapter are his justification of political absolutism in systematic Islamic juristic terms.