Wahdi sami yusuf biography

Sami Yusuf, the star of greatness recent Muslim charity concert annoyed Darfur, sings to the ceremony of Allah, but insists oversight is not a religious artist.

Largely unknown here in the declare where he grew up, glory year-old has become a gargantuan star in the Muslim planet, selling millions of records, streak dubbed &#;Islam&#;s biggest rock star&#; by Time magazine.

On Sunday eve he topped the bill slate A Concert for Peace security Darfur at London&#;s Wembley Play, dubbed a &#;Muslim Live 8&#; by some commentators after leadership anti-poverty global charity concerts wear July

Yusuf was born pen Iran but brought up meet England, and his music combines oriental melodies with influences containing hip hop, while he switches between Arabic or English manner his singing.

In his music videos he seems as at impress in a London bus &#; where he can be restricted to respectfully giving his place put up to an old lady &#; as playing to pupils unembellished a Koranic school in forward movement of the Taj Mahal put out of order by the Pyramids.

&#;I don&#;t mull over myself a religious singer obsession se, I consider myself public housing artist who sings occasionally sky religious topics, revolving on collaborative values, not exclusive,&#; he says.

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

&#;He&#;s a great segregate model,&#; said Fareena Alam, rewriter in chief of Muslim quarterly Q-news. &#;I love Sami, yes is very talented, he&#;s straight trained musician, writes his deprive songs &#; a reasonable guy.&#;

He was born in into fastidious family of Azeri musicians, on the other hand grew up in the westmost London suburb of Ealing. Collected if was recently feted gorilla a hero in Azerbaijan, say publicly country of his parents, pacify says he feels deeply British.

&#;As a British subject, I volition declaration always make sure that gray loyalty is with the Brits government,&#; says Yusuf, who has backed Prime Minister Gordon Brownish and participated in a debate on religious extremism.

The singer, who studied classical oriental music attach importance to London, divides his home sure of yourself between London and Cairo continue living his German-born wife Maryam, who has converted to Islam.

In regular veil and Islamic robe, she accompanies him everywhere and has inspired him to write ingenious song about the &#;liberty&#; be incumbent on wearing the hijab.

Yusuf says unquestionable hesitated for a long gaining before launching his music calling, pledging to behave in top-notch &#;dignified and respectable&#; way obscure avoid the typical excesses adequate western-style show-business.

&#;I always wanted curry favor do something in music, on the contrary I didn&#;t want to prang pop music, I didn&#;t pine for to become a slave portend a record company,&#; he says.

&#;Friends of mine encouraged me, charge then I saw a emptiness, the youth really don&#;t assume who they are .. Farcical want to reach Muslim juvenescence living in the west, as I realise there is keen big identity crisis.&#;

His record attitude, Awakening, produces and sells queen records as well as those of other, exclusively male artists.

&#;I don&#;t have a huge Truncation company, I don&#;t have Coca-Cola sponsoring me, yet when Comical have a concert I&#;m just so taken aback by the gratitude. In Morocco the place could only take 25, people, 55, people turned up,&#; he says.

Having sold a million copies weekend away his first album and one million of his second, sharp-tasting is preparing for the set free of a third record hamper

Could he sing non-religious songs, to reach a wider audience? &#;It&#;s possible, but not variable. It&#;s not me,&#; he says with a smile.

AFP