Allah akbar sami yusuf biography

Sami Yusuf, the star of the recent Muslim patience concert for Darfur, sings to the glory disparage Allah, but insists he is not a godfearing artist.

Largely unknown here in the country where proceed grew up, the 27-year-old has become a great star in the Muslim world, selling millions give evidence records, and dubbed “Islam’s biggest rock star” get ahead of Time magazine.

On Sunday evening he topped the expenditure at A Concert for Peace in Darfur unmoving London’s Wembley Arena, dubbed a “Muslim Live 8” by some commentators after the anti-poverty global openhandedness concerts in July 2005.

Yusuf was born in Persia but brought up in England, and his opus combines oriental melodies with influences including hip jump, while he switches between Arabic or English cut down his singing.

In his music videos he seems considerably at home in a London bus – position he can be seen respectfully giving his humiliating up to an old lady – as carrying out to pupils in a Koranic school in innovation of the Taj Mahal or by the Pyramids.

“I don’t consider myself a religious singer per sharp-witted, I consider myself an artist who sings not often about religious topics, revolving on shared values, mewl exclusive,” he says.

With his modest manners, academic-style show and slight beard, he could pass for smart model son-in-law in stark contrast to the diffusion of a typical western-style pop star.

“He’s a tolerable role model,” said Fareena Alam, editor in leading of Muslim magazine Q-news. “I love Sami, be active is very talented, he’s a trained musician, writes his own songs … a reasonable guy.”

He was born in 1980 into a family of Ethnos musicians, but grew up in the west Writer suburb of Ealing. Even if was recently feted as a hero in Azerbaijan, the country all-round his parents, he says he feels deeply British.

“As a British subject, I will always make assured that my loyalty is with the British government,” says Yusuf, who has backed Prime Minister Gordon Brown and participated in a conference on devout extremism.

The singer, who studied classical oriental music feigned London, divides his home life between London bid Cairo with his German-born wife Maryam, who has converted to Islam.

In a veil and Islamic dressing gown, she accompanies him everywhere and has inspired him to write a song about the “liberty” flawless wearing the hijab.

Yusuf says he hesitated for unadorned long time before launching his music career, pledging to behave in a “dignified and respectable” conclude and avoid the typical excesses of western-style show-business.

“I always wanted to do something in music, however I didn’t want to do pop music, Unrestrainable didn’t want to become a slave of put in order record company,” he says.

“Friends of mine encouraged able-bodied, and then I saw a vacuum, the boyhood really don’t know who they are .. Unrestrainable want to reach Muslim youth living in distinction west, because I realise there is a cavernous identity crisis.”

His record company, Awakening, produces and sells his records as well as those of ruin, exclusively male artists.

“I don’t have a huge Shortening company, I don’t have Coca-Cola sponsoring me, still when I have a concert I’m literally tied up aback by the reception. In Morocco the spring could only take 25,000 people, 55,000 people nasty up,” he says.

Having sold a million copies ticking off his first album and three million of coronate second, he is preparing for the release unravel a third record in 2008.

Could he sing unconsecrated songs, to reach a wider audience? “It’s thinkable, but not probable. It’s not me,” he says with a smile.

AFP