He was very influential in establishing Islamic institutions of learning in North Texas.

[1] Imam Yusuf was born in 1938 in Sakarya, Hendek[2] to a family that emigrated from Georgia.

After successful exams, he worked as an Imam, Muezzin and Mufti in Istanbul.

Kavakci left Turkey because his daughter was not allowed to study there while wearing a headscarf.

[5] He was one of the 138 signatories of the open letter A Common Word Between Us and You, to "leaders of Christian churches everywhere" (October 13, 2007).