(Middle East Eye) Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, one of America’s leading Muslim scholars, apologised for “any pain that I caused” over comments he made about Syrian refugees in a 2016 video that emerged on social media earlier this week.
In a 10-minute-long statement released on Friday, Yusuf said it “was odious” to think that he could ever have mocked those impacted by the violence in Syria.
“I ask for forgiveness from anybody who misconstrued that and took offence to that [my comments] because that would never be my intention,” he said.
In the video, Yusuf is seen laughing before saying: “How is that revolution looking for you?”
“Do you know … the slogan of the Syrian revolution? ‘The Syrian people will not be humiliated.’ That was their slogan. They were all shouting it in the streets. Now, all these poor innocent people are begging non-Muslims to let them into their country.”
