Yusuf Estes
Yusuf Estes (born 1944), is an American convert to Islam. He was brought up in a Protestant Christian family; they were members of the Disciples of Christ. Estes was known then as Skip Estes.
From 1962 until 1990, he had a varied career as a music minister, preacher, and the owner of Estes Piano and Organ Company. He lived in Texas and Florida.
In 1991, Estes had business dealings with an Egyptian Muslim. He learned about the religion firsthand and converted to Islam the same year. He has since pursued Arabic language and Quranic studies in Egypt, Morocco and Turkey.
His Islamic activities include:
- Volunteer imam in a Texas military installation.
- Chaplain for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, starting 1994.
- Delegate to the United Nations Peace Summit for Religious Leaders in August of 2000.
- University guest speaker.
- Television preacher, syndicated television programs on satellite and cable networks.
- Maintaining Islamic websites. (see sources)
Yusuf Estes is known for his humour and how he makes everybody laugh with his patent 'bush jokes'. In his pursuit for da'wah he has travlled to various countries including India and Indonesia. He claims to present a non-sectarian approach to living as a Muslim, relying only on the Qur'an and Sunnah. He has criticized Sufi Muslims and other Muslim traditions, such as Shi'a Islam[1], [2], [3]. The claim to non-sectarianism, the use of the words "Qur'an and Sunnah", and the criticism of Sufism and Shi'a Islam could be considered characteristic of a tradition within Sunni Islam called Salafism -- however, Yusuf Estes does not characterize himself as a Salafi.