News Right Now: Built on Compromise

U.S. President Trump’s May 2025 announcement naming Hamza Yusuf and Ismail Royer to the White House Religious Liberty Commission’s Advisory Board sparked immediate controversy. As noted by the White House, Hamza Yusuf—co-founder of Zaytuna College and once regarded as one of the Western world’s most influential Islamic scholars—will advise on matters of religious freedom alongside Ismail Royer, former director of the Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team at the Religious Freedom Institute. Royer, who served thirteen years in prison for his role in the Virginia Jihad Network, has since renounced extremism and shifted toward interfaith advocacy.

This move takes place against the clear and ongoing backdrop of an open war on Islam and Muslims. A campaign that has shaped global policy and public perception since the events of September 11, 2001; under the guise of fighting terrorism, a relentless assault has been waged against Muslim individuals, communities, and values. Drone strikes have wiped out entire families in Pakistan and Yemen, to the indefinite imprisonment and torture of Muslims in Guantánamo Bay without trial, to the mass surveillance and criminalization of ordinary Muslim citizens in the West. Muslims have borne the brunt of this so-called “War on Terror.” Muslim communities have faced infiltration, profiling, and surveillance, while anti-Muslim hate crimes spiked and remain deeply embedded in the social climate. Across Europe, Muslims are targeted through bans on hijab, niqab, halal slaughter, and mosque construction—all cloaked in the language of secularism. In India, Myanmar, and China, this war takes genocidal forms, with Muslims stripped of rights, dignity, and even life. This is not merely a war against “extremism”; it is a war that has demonized Islam itself, and created an atmosphere where Muslims are either forced to apologize for their faith or water it down for acceptability. The global Muslim ummah continues to suffer politically, spiritually, and physically under this ongoing assault.

Hamza Yusuf has long been complicit in legitimizing the very forces that have harmed Muslims globally. After 9/11, he led a White House prayer and praised President Bush while others condemned the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. He served on government-affiliated panels and softened criticism of American foreign policy. He mocked the Syrian revolution’s slogan for freedom, dismissing a people under siege. On Palestine, he suggested Palestinians bore responsibility for their suffering—prompting outrage. He publicly supported the UAE-'Israel' Abraham Accords, aligning with a regime known for betraying Muslim causes. His attendance at UAE interfaith events was seen as legitimizing normalization with Zionist occupation. In the U.S., he downplayed racism, claiming America is “one of the least racist countries,” using murder stats to dismiss Black Lives Matter concerns. Rather than defend Muslim dignity, Hamza Yusuf has pacified resistance, justified oppression, and stood with those waging war on Islam. His record reflects alignment with power—not principled leadership.

Instead of calling out people like Hamza Yusuf or Ismail Royer, who have compromised Islam for political approval. We, the Ummah of Muhammad (saw), reject them entirely and need to turn back to Islam in its wholeness. Islam is a complete and perfect way of life, offering real solutions for justice, leadership, and society. We don’t need to mix it with failed ideas or rely on people who want to make Islam more “acceptable” to governments that harm Muslims. Now is the time to focus our energy and efforts on reviving true Islam and bringing back the system of Allah (swt) with his rulings, laws, and system in the form of the Islamic Khilafah system. Real change comes through the message of Islam not by advising those who rule by other than what Allah (swt) has revealed. Only then can we begin to push back against the war on Islam and bring true justice.

Allah (swt) said in Surah Saff Verse 13:

[وَأُخْرَى تُحِبُّونَهَا نَصْرٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَفَتْحٌ قَرِيبٌ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ]

“And [He will give you] another [favor] that you love—help from Allah and a near victory; so give good news to the believers.”

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