Hamza Tzortzis Explained

Hamza Tzortzis
Birth Name:Andreas Tzortzis
Birth Date:1980
Nationality:British
Occupation:Speaker, Author, Educator
Notable Works:
Honours:British Muslim Awards

Hamza Andreas Tzortzis (Greek, Modern (1453-);: Χάμζα Ανδρέας Τζώρτζης; born 1980[1]) is a British writer, philosopher, public speaker, researcher on Islam,[2] and Muslim apologist.[3] He is a British Muslim convert of Greek descent. He wrote .

Career

Tzortzis has been a guest speaker in the United Kingdom, Turkey and Australia.[4] [5] Tzortzis was involved in publishing a survey study in 2010 to gauge non-Muslims' views of Islam in the United Kingdom.[2] In 2015 he was a finalist for Religious Advocate of the Year at the British Muslim Awards.[6] Tzortzis has contributed to the BBC news programs: The Big Questions and Newsnight.[7] [8] Tzortzis stepped down from his role at iERA and joined the Sapience Institute as of 2020.[9]

Andrew Gilligan described Tzortzis in a 2010 The Telegraph article as "a former researcher for the hardline Hittin Institute and chaired the launch event of iERA, an umbrella organisation hosting many well-known British Muslim extremists who preach opposition to democracy and hatred against homosexuals and Jews."[4] Tzortzis calls this misrepresentations and lies.[10] After Keele University cancelled a speech by Tzortzis, the Stoke Sentinel called him a "radical Islamic speaker ... a former member of the radical group Hizb ut-Tahrir which believes in the idea of an Islamic state ... who supports Sharia law ... [and has] also been linked to controversial comments on homosexuality and a series of other issues."[11] Tzortzis said in a 2016 interview that, while he still sees homosexuality as "sinful" in the eyes of God, he condemns any violence towards the homosexual community.[10]

According to Metro, Tzortzis has "claimed that those who leave the Islamic faith ‘should be killed.'"[12] He has since stated that he does not believe in apostasy laws, which he calls "outdated".[10] Tzortzis also criticises child marriage, opposes extremism, denounces the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), and tries to present a peaceful case for Islam. In 2016 India's National Investigation Agency (NIA), in a chargesheet against the Islamic State, named Tzortzis as having directly or indirectly influenced suspects accused of having links with ISIS.[10] Tzortzis says that he has influenced Muslims of all persuasions and cannot be blamed for extremists latching onto his words.[10] He further stated that ISIS are "spiritually diseased, sick people".

Publications

Books

Translations

Bengali

Arabic

Notes and References

  1. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/7235/1/Baz17PhD.pdf Baz17PhD.pdf
  2. Web site: Three-quarters of non-Muslims believe Islam negative for Britain. 9 August 2016. Haroon Siddique . 2 August 2010. The Guardian, 2 August 2016 .
  3. 10.2478/perc-2021-0015 . A Refutation of Several Muslim Apologetic Arguments and a Powerful Argument Against God's Authorship of the Quran . Perichoresis . July 2021 . 19 . 3 . 29–37 . Lataster . Raphael . 239770161 . free .
  4. News: Andrew Gilligan. Andrew Gilligan. 18 January 2010. Speaker with extremist links to address Detroit bomber's former student group. The Telegraph, 18 January 2010. 8 May 2016.
  5. Web site: Rohan Smith . 17 February 2016 . So-called radical aiming to speak at Australian Muslim conference declares: 'I'm a peaceful hippie' . news.com.au, 17 February 2016 . 8 August 2016.
  6. Web site: British Muslim Awards 2015 finalists unveiled . 10 May 2016. Asian Image, 23 January 2015.
  7. Web site: BBC One - The Big Questions, Series 8, Episode 2 - Credits . 28 December 2016. BBC.
  8. News: Is clash between Islam and the West inevitable? . 28 December 2016. 17 December 2010 . BBC.
  9. Musa Adnan. Hamza Tzortzis leaves iERA . www.iera.org/blog/rerooted . ReRooted (iERA) . 15 July 2020 . 9 September 2022.
  10. Web site: ISIS are spiritually diseased, sick people: Hamza Tzortzis, UK preacher named in NIA charges. 28 December 2016. Ayaz Farooqui . 9 August 2016. ABP News, 12 August 2016 .
  11. Web site: Keele University cancels visit from radical Islamic speaker Hamza Tzortzis. 8 May 2016. Kathie McInnes. The Sentinel, 1 March 2016.
  12. Web site: Islamic preacher 'named' on the leaked list of Ashley Madison members. 8 May 2016. Nicholas Reilly. 23 August 2015. Metro, 23 August 2015.
  13. Book: Tzortzis, Hamza Andreas. The Divine Reality: God, Islam and the Mirage of Atheism. 2016-12-10. FB Publishing. 978-0-9965453-8-9. en.
  14. Web site: الحقيقة الإلهية. www.goodreads.com. 2020-05-29.